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Update-Package (Package Manager Console in Visual Studio)

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Available only within the NuGet Package Manager Console in Visual Studio on Windows.

Updates a package and its dependencies, or all packages in a project, to a newer version.

Syntax

Update-Package [-Id] <string> [-IgnoreDependencies] [-ProjectName <string>] [-Version <string>]
    [-Safe] [-Source <string>] [-IncludePrerelease] [-Reinstall] [-FileConflictAction]
    [-DependencyVersion] [-ToHighestPatch] [-ToHighestMinor] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]

In NuGet 2.8+, Update-Package can be used to downgrade an existing package in your project. For example, if you have Microsoft.AspNet.MVC 5.1.0-rc1 installed, the following command would downgrade it to 5.0.0:

Update-Package Microsoft.AspNet.MVC -Version 5.0.0.

Parameters

Parameter Description
Id The identifier of the package to update. If omitted, updates all packages. The -Id switch itself is optional.
IgnoreDependencies Skips updating the package's dependencies.
ProjectName The name of the project containing the packages to update, defaulting to all projects.
Version The version to use for the upgrade, defaulting to the latest version. In NuGet 3.0+, the version value must be one of Lowest, Highest, HighestMinor, or HighestPatch (equivalent to -Safe).
Safe Constrains upgrades to only versions with the same Major and Minor version as the currently installed package.
Source The URL or folder path for the package source to search. Local folder paths can be absolute, or relative to the current folder. If omitted, Update-Package searches the currently selected package source.
IncludePrerelease Includes prerelease packages for updates.
Reinstall Resintalls packages using their currently installed versions. See Reinstalling and updating packages.
FileConflictAction The action to take when asked to overwrite or ignore existing files referenced by the project. Possible values are Overwrite, Ignore, None, OverwriteAll, and IgnoreAll (3.0+).
DependencyVersion The version of the dependency packages to use, which can be one of the following:
  • Lowest (default): the lowest version
  • HighestPatch: the version with the lowest major, lowest minor, highest patch
  • HighestMinor: the version with the lowest major, highest minor, highest patch
  • Highest (default for Update-Package with no parameters): the highest version
You can set the default value using the dependencyVersion setting in the Nuget.Config file.
ToHighestPatch equivalent to -Safe.
ToHighestMinor Constrains upgrades to only versions with the same Major version as the currently installed package.
WhatIf Shows what would happen when running the command without actually performing the update.

None of these parameters accept pipeline input or wildcard characters.

Common Parameters

Update-Package supports the following common PowerShell parameters: Debug, Error Action, ErrorVariable, OutBuffer, OutVariable, PipelineVariable, Verbose, WarningAction, and WarningVariable.

Examples

# Updates all packages in every project of the solution
Update-Package

# Updates every package in the MvcApplication1 project
Update-Package -ProjectName MvcApplication1

# Updates the Elmah package in every project to the latest version
Update-Package Elmah

# Updates the Elmah package to version 1.1.0 in every project showing optional -Id usage
Update-Package -Id Elmah -Version 1.1.0

# Updates the Elmah package within the MvcApplication1 project to the highest "safe" version.
# For example, if Elmah version 1.0.0 of a package is installed, and versions 1.0.1, 1.0.2,
# and 1.1 are available in the feed, the -Safe parameter updates the package to 1.0.2 instead
# of 1.1 as it would otherwise.
Update-Package Elmah -ProjectName MvcApplication1 -Safe

# Reinstall the same version of the original package, but with the latest version of dependencies
# (subject to version constraints). If this command rolls a dependency back to an earlier version,
# use Update-Package <dependency_name> to reinstall that one dependency without affecting the
# dependent package.
Update-Package Elmah –reinstall 

# Reinstall the Elmah package in just MyProject
Update-Package Elmah -ProjectName MyProject -reinstall

# Reinstall the same version of the original package without touching dependencies.
Update-Package Elmah –reinstall -ignoreDependencies