including-generated-files SKILL.md skillA
including-generated-files from dotnet/skills is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add dotnet/skills/including-generated-files@git:20260930.f3cad1ePins git:20260930.f3cad1e in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- dotnet/skills
- Path
plugins/dotnet-msbuild/skills/including-generated-files/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 6
- Latest version
- git:20260930.f3cad1e, committed Sep 30, 2026
- First version recorded
- Feb 27, 2026
- Size
- 7,126 bytes
- Repository stars
- 5,788
- License
- MIT
Own MSBuild generated-artifact integration. USE FOR: a target that creates or should create source, Content, None, or another physical file but the artifact is missing from compilation or output; target timing; evaluation-time glob misses; $(IntermediateOutputPath) placement; and FileWrites clean tracking. The prompt may describe the generated artifact without naming the producing task. DO NOT USE when the primary defect is general Include/Remove/Update semantics, item metadata or batching…
Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.
What the file says
# Including Generated Files Into Your Build
## Overview
Files generated during the build are generally ignored by the build process. This leads to confusing results such as:
- Generated files not being included in the output directory
- Generated source files not being compiled
- Globs not capturing files created during the build
This happens because of how MSBuild's build phases work.
## Quick Takeaway
For code files generated during the build - we need to add those to `Compile` and `FileWrites` item groups within the target generating the file(s):
```xml
<ItemGroup>
<Compile Include="$(GeneratedFilePath)" />
<FileWrites Include="$(GeneratedFilePath)" />
</ItemGroup>
```
The target generating the file(s) should be hooked before CoreCompile and BeforeCompile targets - `BeforeTargets="CoreCompile;BeforeCompile"`
## Why Generated Files Are Ignored
For detailed explanation, see [How MSBuild Builds Projects](https://docs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/msbuild/build-process-overview).
### Evaluation Phase
MSBuild reads your project, imports everything, creates Properties, expands globs for Items **outside of Targets**, and sets up the build process.
…Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add dotnet/skills/including-generated-files@sha256:8216b42f0b12361aThe line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260930.f3cad1e, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.
[](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_5oomjf3qszy6rvwy)
2 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 6 versions of this file, between Feb 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026, about one every 43 days.
| version | committed | commit | size | audit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| git:20260930.f3cad1e latest | 2026-09-30 | f3cad1e | 7,126 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260930.ac46442 | 2026-09-30 | ac46442 | 6,899 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260624.67e2a47 | 2026-06-24 | 67e2a47 | 7,265 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260421.05aeb65 | 2026-04-21 | 05aeb65 | 7,354 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260317.7e7dabd | 2026-03-17 | 7e7dabd | 7,341 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260227.250b1c2 | 2026-02-27 | 250b1c2 | 6,851 B | A | view |
Audit of the latest version
- pass: Frontmatter block present
- pass: Frontmatter declares a name
- pass: Frontmatter declares a description
- pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (7126 bytes)
- pass: No zero-width or bidi control characters
- pass: No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
- pass: No link to an exfiltration or paste host
- pass: No credential-shaped string
- pass: No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
- pass: No text hidden with inline styles
- pass: No prompt-injection phrasing
- pass: No curl or wget piped into a shell
- pass: No recursive delete of root, home or parent
- pass: No instruction to read or print local credentials
- pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
- pass: No link to a raw IP address
- pass: No script tag
Source
dotnet/skills · 5,788 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-11-01 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_5oomjf3qszy6rvwy GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=dotnet/skills/including-generated-files GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/8216b42f0b12361abc85ad4c439a4c90f728ceccaf7ff184898ff9a99b2336b9
Your AI assistant does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.
Guides: the SKILL.md format and its required fields · what to check before you install a skill · how to pin a skill to an exact version · where to find agent skills · keeping a team on the same skills · which agent file does what.