validate-slnf 0.1.1

validate-slnf

A .NET tool to validate that Visual Studio Solution Filter (.slnf) files have not fallen out of date.

Purpose

When working with large codebases, .slnf files are used to create a subset of projects from a larger solution (.sln or .slnx). However, these files can become invalid over time if:

• Projects referenced in the .slnf are removed from the parent solution (.sln or .slnx)
• Project files referenced in the .slnf no longer exist on disk

This tool checks both of these conditions and reports any issues.

Installation

dotnet tool install --global validate-slnf

Usage

Basic usage:

validate-slnf mysolution.slnf

Multiple files:

validate-slnf file1.slnf file2.slnf file3.slnf

Check all .slnf files in current directory:

validate-slnf

Options:

--help, -h                Display help information
--verbose, -v             Print detailed information about the validation process
--skip-solution-check, -s Skip checking if projects exist in the parent solution file (.sln or .slnx)
--skip-disk-check, -d     Skip checking if projects exist on disk

Exit codes:

• 0: All checks passed (or no .slnf files found)
• 1: One or more checks failed

Behavior

• With no arguments: Processes all .slnf files in the current directory.
• With file arguments: Processes only the specified .slnf files.
• If no .slnf files are found or provided: Outputs a warning to STDOUT and returns exit code 0.
• With no options: By default, performs both parent solution and disk existence checks.
• In case of success (no issues found): No output is produced.
• In case of failure: All issues are logged to STDERR and the program exits with code 1.
• With --verbose: Detailed information is logged to STDOUT regardless of success/failure.

Example

# Validating a single file
> validate-slnf MyProject.slnf --verbose
Processing MyProject.slnf...
Parent solution file: C:\path\to\MyProject.sln
Projects in .slnf file (15):
  Project1\Project1.csproj
  Project2\Project2.csproj
  ...additional projects...

All projects exist in the parent solution
All project files exist on disk
All files validated successfully

# Validating multiple files
> validate-slnf Project1.slnf Project2.slnf --verbose
Processing Project1.slnf...
Parent solution file: C:\path\to\Project1.sln
Projects in .slnf file (2):
  Project1\Project1.csproj
  Project2\Project2.csproj

All projects exist in the parent solution
All project files exist on disk
Processing Project2.slnf...
Parent solution file: C:\path\to\Project2.sln
Projects in .slnf file (3):
  Project1\Project1.csproj
  Project2\Project2.csproj
  Project3\Project3.csproj

Projects missing from parent solution:
  Project3\Project3.csproj
Projects missing from disk:
  Project3\Project3.csproj

# Validating a file with issues (non-verbose)
> validate-slnf InvalidProject.slnf
Validation failed for InvalidProject.slnf:
  Projects missing from parent solution:
    Project3\Project3.csproj
  Projects missing from disk:
    Project3\Project3.csproj

# No .slnf files found
> validate-slnf
Warning: No .slnf files found in the current directory.

License

MIT