dotnet reference add

Article
2025-04-03

This article applies to: ✔️ .NET Core 3.1 SDK and later versions

Name

dotnet reference add - Adds project-to-project (P2P) references.

Note

If you're using .NET 9 SDK or earlier, use the "verb first" form (dotnet add reference) instead. The "noun first" form was introduced in .NET 10. For more information, see More consistent command order.

Synopsis

dotnet reference add reference [-f|--framework <FRAMEWORK>]
     [--interactive] <PROJECT_REFERENCES> [--project <PROJECT>]

dotnet reference add -h|--help

Description

The dotnet reference add command provides a convenient option to add project references to a project. After running the command, the <ProjectReference> elements are added to the project file.

<ItemGroup>
  <ProjectReference Include="app.csproj" />
  <ProjectReference Include="..\lib2\lib2.csproj" />
  <ProjectReference Include="..\lib1\lib1.csproj" />
  <ProjectReference Include="..\lib3\lib3.fsproj" />
</ItemGroup>

Add a reference to an assembly that isn't in a project

There's no CLI command to add a reference to an assembly that isn't in a project or a package. But you can do that by editing your .csproj file and adding markup similar to the following example:

<ItemGroup>
  <Reference Include="MyAssembly">
    <HintPath>.\MyDLLFolder\MyAssembly.dll</HintPath>
  </Reference>
</ItemGroup>

Arguments

PROJECT

Specifies the project file. If not specified, the command searches the current directory for one.
PROJECT_REFERENCES

Project-to-project (P2P) references to add. Specify one or more projects. Glob patterns are supported on Unix/Linux-based systems.

Options

-f|--framework <FRAMEWORK>

Adds project references only when targeting a specific framework using the TFM format.

-?|-h|--help

Prints out a description of how to use the command.

--interactive

Allows the command to stop and wait for user input or action. For example, to complete authentication. Available since .NET Core 3.0 SDK.

Examples

Add a project reference:

dotnet reference add lib/lib.csproj --project app/app.csproj

Add a compatible .NET language (for example, F#) project reference, which works in both directions:
```
dotnet add app/app.csproj reference lib/lib.fsproj
```
Add multiple project references to the project in the current directory:
```
dotnet reference add lib1/lib1.csproj lib2/lib2.csproj
```
Add multiple project references using a globbing pattern on Linux/Unix:
```
dotnet reference add **/*.csproj --project app/app.csproj
```

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