As a .Net Developer who´s working with Visual Studio, we all love NuGet.  If you don't know what NuGet is, i encourage you to check it out... its awesome.

Some months ago i introduced a NuGet Package Wizard on Codeplex. But i think it was not that much easier to create a new package using the Wizard than using the NuGet Package Explorer.
So i decided to focus on one particular part of the wizard and create a new approach.

The Problem, that we all have, is time. I would love to write a longer blog post, spend more time on this project and releasing it on github or codeplex.
But I'm using this tool now for a few weeks and its works fine. So i will do this if YOU like it ;)

What is it? 

Project2NuGet is a Visual Studio 2010 Add-In as well as a Console Application that makes it possible to configure, build, copy and (not yet) publish your package with 2 clicks or a few keystrokes.
It gives you the possibilities to define your package once and build it any time you want with ease.


Installation (Yes, screenshots are in german language) 

 
Please make sure, that the path is your Visual Studio 2010 Directory.


Using the Tool

Creating a new package

1. At first, you have to start Visual Studio and load a existing project or create a new one. In this example i create a new console Application.
   
2. For the sample, i need some content in my project. So i create a new HelloWorld Class.
   
   
    
3. If you do a left click on your project you will find a new entry in the context menu.
   
    
    
4. After clicking "Create Package..." the Project2NuGet Package Configuration Dialog will pop up. This dialog create a new file called "Project2NuGet.nubuild" and append it to your project. This file is a simple xml file with your package configuration.
   
   As you can see there is the content of our project on the left side and a empty NuGet Package on the right.
   
   I put my HelloWorld class to the content of the package.
   
   
    
   
5. The next screenshots shows the content of the other tabs of the window. You can set the Metadata (Name, Version, License and more) as well as the output path´s for the package.

Changing your package

1. Just click on the "Configure Package..." context menu entry.
   
   

Building your package

1. Just click on the "Build Package..." context menu entry.
   
   
   
   
2. In the Visual Studio Output Window you will see
    
   

Of course, this was just a simple sample. In our company we have multiple Assemblies, Tests und Test Applications. With Project2NuGet I´m able to create a Test application with all dependencies, content, and deliver this “kind of project template” to my employees. I also can provide updates and the others can update their project.

Download:

Visual Studio 2010 Add-In 
Project2NuGet.msi (1,34 mb)


Future changes:

- bug fixes and other improvements
- excluding svn, git and others
- publishing to NuGet feed 
- ability to create the powershell scripts 
- web.config transform and code transform
- package statistics

Thats it! Please let me know if you need some more information's.
As you can see, I'm new in the world of blogging. Suggestions are always welcome.


Sources:
NuGet on CodePlex
NuGet Website