Bennewitz.Ninja.AutoVersioning by Brian Bennewitz

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Name: Bennewitz.Ninja.AutoVersioning

Assembly info incremental source generator.

Author: Brian Bennewitz

NuGet: https://www.nuget.org/packages/Bennewitz.Ninja.AutoVersioning/

You can find more details at https://github.com/JanusMael/Bennewitz.Ninja.AutoVersioning

Source: https://github.com/JanusMael/Bennewitz.Ninja.AutoVersioning

Author

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Brian Bennewitz Alt text

Original Readme

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Bennewitz.Ninja.AutoVersioning

A Roslyn incremental source generator that injects assembly metadata attributes and build-time constants into .NET projects at compile time — no AssemblyInfo.cs, no disk writes, full IDE caching.

Requirements

.NET SDK 6.0 or later (requires Roslyn 4.0+ for IIncrementalGenerator support). The consuming project may target any framework — .NET Framework 4.x, .NET Standard, .NET 6+, etc.

Quick Start

1. Add the package:

<PackageReference Include="Bennewitz.Ninja.AutoVersioning" Version="x.x.x" />

2. Enable the generator in your root Directory.Build.props (or any .props / .csproj imported by your build):

<PropertyGroup>
  <GenerateAutoVersionedAssemblyInfo>true</GenerateAutoVersionedAssemblyInfo>
  <AssemblyCompany>YourCompany</AssemblyCompany>
  <AssemblyProduct>YourProduct</AssemblyProduct>

  <!-- Optional: map your CI provider's variables -->
  <CommitSha Condition="'$(CommitSha)' == ''">$(GITHUB_SHA)</CommitSha>
  <IsContinuousIntegration>$(GITHUB_ACTIONS)</IsContinuousIntegration>
  <PublicVersion Condition="'$(PublicVersion)' == ''">$(MY_VERSION_VAR)</PublicVersion>
</PropertyGroup>

Note: The package's auto-imported Build.props automatically suppresses the 8 SDK-generated attributes that conflict with this generator (e.g. AssemblyVersion, AssemblyCopyright). It uses granular per-attribute suppressions rather than <GenerateAssemblyInfo>false</GenerateAssemblyInfo>, which means InternalsVisibleTo and all other SDK-generated attributes continue to work normally. Do not add <GenerateAssemblyInfo>false</GenerateAssemblyInfo> yourself — it will break InternalsVisibleTo.

A ready-to-use template is available at Directory.Build.props.template.

3. Build. The generator runs automatically — no further setup needed.

Tip: View the generated files in your IDE under Dependencies → Analyzers → *SourceGenerators.

Generated Output

Given a build on 2026-04-29 at 14:35 UTC for company Acme Corp, product Acme App, commit abc1234def, and public version 3.1.0:

######### AutoVersionedAssemblyInfo.g.cs

using System.Reflection;
using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;

[assembly: AssemblyDescription("Assembly Version: 2026.2.429.1435")]
[assembly: AssemblyConfiguration("Release")]
[assembly: AssemblyCompany("Acme Corp")]
[assembly: AssemblyProduct("Acme App v2026.2.429.1435")]
[assembly: AssemblyCopyright("Copyright 2026 [Release]")]
[assembly: AssemblyVersion("2026.2.429.1435")]
[assembly: AssemblyFileVersion("2026.2.429.1435")]
[assembly: AssemblyInformationalVersion("Commit♥: abc1234def")]
[assembly: AssemblyMetadata("CommitSha", "abc1234def")]
[assembly: AssemblyMetadata("GITHUB_SHA", "abc1234def")]
[assembly: AssemblyMetadata("PublicVersion", "3.1.0")]

######### DirectoryBuildInfo.g.cs

// <auto-generated/>
namespace Bennewitz.Ninja.AutoVersioning
{
    /// <summary>Build-time constants generated by the source generator.</summary>
    public static class DirectoryBuildInfo
    {
        public const string BuildRelease = "Version 2026.2.429.1435 [built 4/29/2026 2:35:00 PM (UTC)]";
    }
}

Use DirectoryBuildInfo.BuildRelease wherever you need the build version at runtime — error trackers, log enrichment, health endpoints — without reading environment variables.

Configuration Reference

MSBuild Property	Description	Required
`GenerateAutoVersionedAssemblyInfo`	Set to `true` to enable the generator	Yes
`AssemblyCompany`	Value for `[assembly: AssemblyCompany(...)]`	Yes
`AssemblyProduct`	Value for `[assembly: AssemblyProduct(...)]`	Yes
`CopyrightHolder`	Name shown in the copyright attribute — defaults to `AssemblyCompany` if omitted	No
`CommitSha`	Git commit SHA	No
`IsContinuousIntegration`	`true` on CI runs	No
`PublicVersion`	Your app's public-facing version string	No
`Configuration`	`Debug` / `Release` — set automatically by MSBuild	Auto
`BuildTimestamp`	Build start time in `yyyyMMddHHmmss` format — captured automatically at MSBuild evaluation time (before any project compiles), ensuring a consistent version across all projects in a multi-project solution build. Override on CI for an exact guarantee: `dotnet build -p:BuildTimestamp=$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S)`	Auto

######### CI Provider Mappings

Provider	Commit SHA	CI flag
GitHub Actions	`$(GITHUB_SHA)`	`$(GITHUB_ACTIONS)`
GitLab CI	`$(CI_COMMIT_SHA)`	`$(GITLAB_CI)`
Bitbucket Pipelines	`$(BITBUCKET_COMMIT)`	`$(CI)`

######### Version Format

The generator uses CalVer: YEAR.QUARTER.MMDD.HHmm

Part	Example	Meaning
Major	`2026`	Calendar year
Minor	`2`	Quarter (1–4)
Build	`429`	Month + day (`MMdd` as integer)
Revision	`1435`	Hour + minute (`HHmm` as integer)

How It Works

This is a modern C# IIncrementalGenerator. Compared to legacy ISourceGenerator approaches it:

Runs entirely in-memory — zero files written to disk
Uses the Roslyn caching pipeline — the IDE (Rider, Visual Studio) only re-runs the generator when its inputs change, eliminating background compilation loops
Reads MSBuild properties via AnalyzerConfigOptionsProvider — safe, no direct environment variable reads

The package auto-imports Build.props via NuGet, which declares CompilerVisibleProperty items and suppresses the SDK's default AssemblyInfo generation (preventing CS0579 duplicate attribute errors when the generator is enabled).

######### Timestamp Consistency in Multi-Project Builds

BuildTimestamp keeps the version consistent across every project in a solution build. See docs/MultiProjectBuildTimestamps.md for how it works and what alternative approaches were considered.

TL;DR: For CI, or any local build where an exact guarantee matters more than convenience, use -p:BuildTimestamp=... to fix the value explicitly instead of relying on evaluation-time capture. Ready-to-use wrappers are available at Build.ps1.template (Windows/PowerShell 7+) and Build.sh.template (Linux/macOS/bash).

######### Diagnostics

ID	Severity	Description
`BAUTOVERSIONING00`	Warning	Generator is installed but `GenerateAutoVersionedAssemblyInfo` is not set to `true` (single-line signal)
`BAUTOVERSIONING01`	Warning	Generator threw an unexpected exception
`BAUTOVERSIONING02`	Error	`AssemblyCompany` is not configured
`BAUTOVERSIONING03`	Error	`AssemblyProduct` is not configured
`BAUTOVERSIONING04`	Warning	Multi-line setup snippet emitted alongside BAUTOVERSIONING00 — shows the required `Directory.Build.props` configuration

Building Locally

Requires PowerShell 7+ and the .NET SDK.

./Pack.ps1

The script prompts for a version (defaults to CalVer YYYY.Q.MMDD) and produces .nupkg files in packages/Debug/ and packages/Release/.

License

About

note

Generating build version numbers for .NET projects

How to use

Example (source csproj, source files)

CSharp Project
Program.cs

This is the CSharp Project that references Bennewitz.Ninja.AutoVersioning

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">

  <PropertyGroup>
    <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
    <TargetFramework>net10.0</TargetFramework>
    <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
    <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="Bennewitz.Ninja.AutoVersioning" Version="2026.3.701">
      <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
      <IncludeAssets>runtime; build; native; contentfiles; analyzers; buildtransitive</IncludeAssets>
    </PackageReference>
  </ItemGroup>

	<PropertyGroup>
		<GenerateAutoVersionedAssemblyInfo>true</GenerateAutoVersionedAssemblyInfo>
		<!-- Prevents CS0579 duplicate attribute errors by suppressing only the 8 SDK-generated
         attributes that this generator also emits. Using granular suppressions (rather than
         GenerateAssemblyInfo=false) preserves other SDK-generated attributes such as
         InternalsVisibleTo from MSBuild item groups.
         NOTE: The NuGet package's auto-imported Build.props sets these automatically when
         GenerateAutoVersionedAssemblyInfo=true. You only need these here if your build does
         not pick up the auto-imported Build.props for some reason. -->
		<GenerateAssemblyVersionAttribute>false</GenerateAssemblyVersionAttribute>
		<GenerateAssemblyFileVersionAttribute>false</GenerateAssemblyFileVersionAttribute>
		<GenerateAssemblyInformationalVersionAttribute>false</GenerateAssemblyInformationalVersionAttribute>
		<GenerateAssemblyCompanyAttribute>false</GenerateAssemblyCompanyAttribute>
		<GenerateAssemblyProductAttribute>false</GenerateAssemblyProductAttribute>
		<GenerateAssemblyConfigurationAttribute>false</GenerateAssemblyConfigurationAttribute>
		<GenerateAssemblyDescriptionAttribute>false</GenerateAssemblyDescriptionAttribute>
		<GenerateAssemblyCopyrightAttribute>false</GenerateAssemblyCopyrightAttribute>
		
		
		<AssemblyCompany>AOM Company</AssemblyCompany>
		<AssemblyProduct>Andrei Ignat Product</AssemblyProduct>


		<CommitSha Condition="'$(CommitSha)' == ''">$(GITHUB_SHA)</CommitSha>
		<IsContinuousIntegration>$(GITHUB_ACTIONS)</IsContinuousIntegration>
		<PublicVersion Condition="'$(PublicVersion)' == ''">$(MY_VERSION_VAR)</PublicVersion>
	</PropertyGroup>
	<PropertyGroup>
		<EmitCompilerGeneratedFiles>true</EmitCompilerGeneratedFiles>
		<CompilerGeneratedFilesOutputPath>$(BaseIntermediateOutputPath)\GX</CompilerGeneratedFilesOutputPath>
	</PropertyGroup>

</Project>

This is the use of Bennewitz.Ninja.AutoVersioning in Program.cs

using Bennewitz.Ninja.AutoVersioning;

Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!");
Console.WriteLine(DirectoryBuildInfo.BuildRelease);

Generated Files

Those are taken from $(BaseIntermediateOutputPath)\GX

AutoVersionedAssemblyInfo.g.cs
DirectoryBuildInfo.g.cs

//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
// <auto-generated>
//     This code was automatically generated by Andrei Ignat Product version 2026.3.716.1852;
//
//     Changes to this file may cause incorrect behavior and will be lost if
//     the code is regenerated.
// </auto-generated>
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
using System.CodeDom.Compiler;
using System.Reflection;
using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;

[assembly: AssemblyDescription("Assembly Version: 2026.3.716.1852")]
[assembly: AssemblyConfiguration("Debug")]
[assembly: AssemblyCompany("AOM Company")]
[assembly: AssemblyProduct("Andrei Ignat Product v2026.3.716.1852")]
[assembly: AssemblyCopyright("Copyright 2026 [Debug]")]
[assembly: AssemblyVersion("2026.3.716.1852")]
[assembly: AssemblyFileVersion("2026.3.716.1852")]
[assembly: AssemblyInformationalVersion("Built with ♥")]

// <auto-generated/>
namespace Bennewitz.Ninja.AutoVersioning
{
   /// <summary>
   /// Build-time constants generated by the source generator.
   /// </summary>
   public static class DirectoryBuildInfo
   {
       /// <summary>The build version string calculated at compile time.</summary>
       public const string BuildRelease = "Version 2026.3.716.1852 [built 7/16/2026 6:52:32 PM (GST)]";
   }
}