Compiling Azure Functions with NuGet package dependencies fails

I have a solution with multiple Azure Function HTTP APIs. They were previously using a shared base class in the same project and were able to build without issue. Now, the shared base class has been moved to a NuGet package. Using the base class from the installed NuGet package (even with symbols) fails to compile with the following message:

Unexpected error: Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.Abstractions, Version=3.1.3.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=adb9793829ddae60'. Could not find or load a specific file. (0x80131621)  
 at Blueprint.Serverless.ServerlessApiBuilder.Build(ServerlessApi api)   
at Blueprint.Forms.Api.FunctionAppConfiguration.Build(IFunctionHostBuilder builder) 
in [...]\FunctionAppConfiguration.cs:line 33   at FunctionMonkey.Compiler.Core.Compiler.Compile() 
in /Users/jamesrandall/code/functionMonkey/library/Source/FunctionMonkey.Compiler.Core/Compiler.cs:line 91   at FunctionMonkey.Compiler.Program.Main(String[] args) 
in /Users/jamesrandall/code/functionMonkey/library/Source/FunctionMonkey.Compiler/Program.cs:line 56 | Blueprint.Forms.Api | [...].nuget\packages\functionmonkey.compiler\4.0.56-beta.4\build\netstandard1.0\FunctionMonkey.Compiler.targets

[mmeckes]

Not sure if this is related, but I had a similar issue when upgrading to Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Functions 3.0.6 with various nuget packages failing with “Unexpected error: Could not load file or assembly” errors.

I was able to resolve them by adding <_FunctionsSkipCleanOutput>true</_FunctionsSkipCleanOutput> as a property in my cproj file.

[MarkusBernhardt]

We are using FunctionMonkey built with Azure Pipelines in production. I believe I can remember these problems. The root cause was that parts of the required libraries are loaded from the SDK and in an Azure Pipeline build this works somehow different from a local build.

1. It is important you install the correct .Net Core SDK on the build machine. Use the task: “Use .NET Core”, choose “SDK” and enter the exact version. We use 3.1.201.

2. Add to all your .csproj files:

<ItemGroup>
    <FrameworkReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.App" />
</ItemGroup>

Our full YAML pipeline file as reference (some things overwritten with xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx):

pool: name: Azure Pipelines demands:

• msbuild
• visualstudio
• vstest

variables: BuildPlatform: ‘any cpu’ BuildConfiguration: ‘debug’

steps:

• task: UseDotNet@2 displayName: ‘Use .Net Core sdk 3.1.201’ inputs: version: 3.1.201

• task: NuGetToolInstaller@0 displayName: ‘Use NuGet 4.x’ inputs: versionSpec: 4.x

• task: NuGetCommand@2 displayName: ‘NuGet restore’ inputs: restoreSolution: ‘xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.sln’ vstsFeed: ‘xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx’

• task: VSBuild@1 displayName: ‘Build solution’ inputs: solution: ‘xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.sln’ msbuildArgs: ‘/p:DeployOnBuild=true /p:WebPublishMethod=Package /p:PackageAsSingleFile=true /p:SkipInvalidConfigurations=true /p:PackageLocation=“$(build.artifactstagingdirectory)\”’ platform: ‘$(BuildPlatform)’ configuration: ‘$(BuildConfiguration)’

• task: VSTest@2 displayName: ‘Test assemblies’ inputs: testAssemblyVer2: | *test.dll !*TestAdapter.dll !\obj** !**.Test.Base.dll platform: ‘$(BuildPlatform)’ configuration: ‘$(BuildConfiguration)’ diagnosticsEnabled: True

• task: PublishSymbols@2 displayName: ‘Publish symbols path’ inputs: PublishSymbols: false

• task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1 displayName: ‘Publish Artifact: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx’ inputs: ArtifactName: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hope this helps somehow and good luck, Markus