Redistributable installers as NuGet packages

[MikeFarrington]

When bundling both the .NET Desktop Runtime and ASP.NET Core Runtime installers into my installers via my CI build chain, I am having to use locally self-created NuGet packages. I must re-create these packages every time a new version of .NET is released.

I use the lesser known "PackageDownload" feature of NuGet within SDK-style project files to pull these NuGet packages containing installer executables down and stage them for bundling into my WiX Toolset based installer. It lets me keep everything in the project files.

Microsoft is already publishing NuGet packages for use in AOT / Self-Contained packages:
Microsoft.AspNetCore.App.Runtime.win-x64
Microsoft.WindowsDesktop.App.Runtime.win-x64
runtime.win-x64.Microsoft.NETCore.DotNetAppHost

Can we get a new set of packages for the redistributable installers that are released automatically?

[MikeFarrington]

For anyone coming across this, the closest existing solution I've come across is making use of the MSBuild FileDownload Task, first using winget show to find the URL of the redistributable you're looking for.

winget show Microsoft.DotNet.DesktopRuntime.8 --version=8.0.11

Here is a quick example from the solution I came up with. Please note, the target "CoreCompile" is used in WiX Toolset. You may need to change this for your chosen installer solution.

  <PropertyGroup>
    <DotNetRedistFolder>$(USERPROFILE)\.DotNetRedistPackages\</RedistFolder>
    <RedistUrlDotNetDesktopRuntime>https://dotnetcli.azureedge.net/dotnet/WindowsDesktop/8.0.11/windowsdesktop-runtime-8.0.11-win-x64.exe</RedistUrlDotNetDesktopRuntime>
    <RedistUrlAspNetCoreRuntime>https://dotnetcli.azureedge.net/dotnet/aspnetcore/Runtime/8.0.11/aspnetcore-runtime-8.0.11-win-x64.exe</RedistUrlAspNetCoreRuntime>
  </PropertyGroup>
  <ItemGroup>
    <!-- BindPath used by WiX Toolset so full path isn't needed in the package definitions -->
    <BindPath Include="$(DotNetRedistFolder)" />
  </ItemGroup>
  <Target Name="DownloadMicrosoftInstallers" BeforeTargets="CoreCompile">
    <DownloadFile
      SourceUrl="$(RedistUrlDotNetDesktopRuntime)"
      DestinationFolder="$(DotNetRedistFolder)">
    </DownloadFile>
    <DownloadFile
      SourceUrl="$(RedistUrlAspNetCoreRuntime)"
      DestinationFolder="$(DotNetRedistFolder)">
    </DownloadFile>
  </Target>