target-authoring SKILL.md skillA
target-authoring 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/target-authoring@git:20260716.9c7436bPins git:20260716.9c7436b 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/target-authoring/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 3
- Latest version
- git:20260716.9c7436b, committed Jul 16, 2026
- First version recorded
- May 22, 2026
- Size
- 6,662 bytes
- Repository stars
- 5,788
- License
- MIT
Canonical patterns for writing custom MSBuild targets. USE FOR: diagnosing and fixing custom target authoring anti-patterns; broken SDK target chains across files (e.g., Directory.Build.targets silently redefining SDK targets); targets that replace CompileDependsOn instead of extending it with $(CompileDependsOn); query targets returning stale results from Outputs vs Returns misuse; missing Inputs/Outputs causing unnecessary rebuilds; missing FileWrites registration. Covers DependsOnTargets vs…
Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.
What the file says
# Custom Target Authoring Patterns
Canonical patterns from `Microsoft.Common.CurrentVersion.targets` in the MSBuild repository.
## The Three-Level Target Chain
Every major entry point (Build, Rebuild, Clean) delegates to a **property** listing its dependencies, which chains through Before → Core → After:
```xml
<PropertyGroup>
<BuildDependsOn>
BeforeBuild;
CoreBuild;
AfterBuild
</BuildDependsOn>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="Build"
Condition=" '$(_InvalidConfigurationWarning)' != 'true' "
DependsOnTargets="$(BuildDependsOn)"
Returns="@(TargetPathWithTargetPlatformMoniker)" />
<!-- Empty extensibility targets — users override these -->
<Target Name="BeforeBuild" />
<Target Name="AfterBuild" />
```
`CoreBuild` delegates to `$(CoreBuildDependsOn)` and includes error handlers:
```xml
<Target Name="CoreBuild" DependsOnTargets="$(CoreBuildDependsOn)">
<OnError ExecuteTargets="_TimeStampAfterCompile;PostBuildEvent"
Condition="'$(RunPostBuildEvent)' == 'Always'" />
<OnError ExecuteTargets="_CleanRecordFileWrites" />
</Target>
```
### Rules
- Delegate to a property (`DependsOnTargets="$(MyTargetDependsOn)"`), not hardcoded targets.
…Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add dotnet/skills/target-authoring@sha256:e39b9ad0bfe65746The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260716.9c7436b, 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_qqmkgbzal4dl5otb)
3 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 3 versions of this file, between May 22, 2026 and Jul 16, 2026, about one every 28 days.
| version | committed | commit | size | audit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| git:20260716.9c7436b latest | 2026-07-16 | 9c7436b | 6,662 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260624.67e2a47 | 2026-06-24 | 67e2a47 | 6,788 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260522.5f11701 | 2026-05-22 | 5f11701 | 6,833 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 (6662 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_qqmkgbzal4dl5otb GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=dotnet/skills/target-authoring GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/e39b9ad0bfe65746c8110f971847a1dd8988feccc10b8ad19674ab544926bcc0
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.