Is there a way to list all the build targets available in a build file?

Question

Given a build file (.csproj or msbuild.xml or whatever), I\'d like to run a msbuild command that lists all the available, defined targets.

Does that function exist?

Answer 1

Starting with Visual Studio 16.6 preview 1, this is implemented in MSBuild.

Example usage: msbuild myProject.proj -targets

This should go out with Visual Studio 16.6 preview 1 (at some point in the future).

(source: https://github.com/microsoft/msbuild/pull/5032#issuecomment-587901124)

Documentation:

-targets[:file]
                 Prints a list of available targets without executing the
                 actual build process. By default the output is written to
                 the console window. If the path to an output file
                 is provided that will be used instead.
                 (Short form: -ts)
                 Example:
                   -ts:out.txt