copy-to-output-directory SKILL.md skillA
copy-to-output-directory 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/copy-to-output-directory@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/copy-to-output-directory/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 1
- Latest version
- git:20260716.9c7436b, committed Jul 16, 2026
- Size
- 7,279 bytes
- Repository stars
- 5,836
- License
- MIT
Choosing an MSBuild CopyToOutputDirectory / CopyToPublishDirectory mode: Never, PreserveNewest, Always, and IfDifferent (MSBuild 17.13+), plus $(SkipUnchangedFilesOnCopyAlways). USE FOR: removing the per-build Always copy perf hit; resetting output files mutated between builds. DO NOT USE FOR: general incremental-build diagnosis (use incremental-build); non-MSBuild build systems.
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
# Choosing a CopyToOutputDirectory Mode ## Overview The `CopyToOutputDirectory` metadata (and its publish counterpart `CopyToPublishDirectory`) controls whether an item — `Content`, `None`, `EmbeddedResource`, or `Compile` — is copied next to your build output, and under what conditions the copy happens. Picking the wrong mode causes either stale files in `bin/` or an unnecessary per-build performance hit. As of **MSBuild 17.13 / .NET SDK 9.0.2xx** there are four values: | Mode | Copies when… | Incremental cost | Typical use | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `Never` (default) | Never | None | Files not needed at runtime | | `PreserveNewest` | Source is **newer** than destination (or destination missing) | Cheap (timestamp check) | The common case — source files you edit | | `Always` | **Every build**, unconditionally | Expensive — copies on every build even in no-op builds | Legacy workaround; avoid (see below) | | `IfDifferent` | Source **differs** from destination in either direction (newer **or** older, or size differs, or destination missing) | Cheap (timestamp + size check) | Destination may be mutated between builds | ```xml <ItemGroup> …
Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add dotnet/skills/copy-to-output-directory@sha256:f099db9b3165ca2eThe 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_tlnhfjxtbp5mvr55)
3 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 1 version of this file, committed on Jul 16, 2026.
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 (7279 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 · 5,836 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-11-06 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_tlnhfjxtbp5mvr55 GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=dotnet/skills/copy-to-output-directory GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/f099db9b3165ca2e49e4c3117612ef2d4e133af67c4a33b9b32775c9b493e52c
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.