Can't restore a DotNetCliToolReference for a tools package that targets netcoreapp1.1

[danroth27]

I was playing around with creating a .NET CLI tool. I created a .NET Core console app that targets netcoreapp1.1, because there are APIs in 1.1 that I wanted to use. When I added my package as a DotNetCliToolReference in a project I get the following error when restoring:

C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk\1.0.0-rc3-004517\NuGet.targets(97,5): error : Package dotnet-toolbox 1.0.0-alpha-0001 is not compatible with netcoreapp1.0 (.NETCoreApp,Version=v1.0). Package dotnet-toolbox 1.0.0-alpha-0001 supports: netcoreapp1.1 (.NETCoreApp,Version=v1.1) [C:\Users\daroth\AppData\Local\Temp\2c239e15-0209-46df-9ccb-0116bdadd2a5\temp.csproj]
C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk\1.0.0-rc3-004517\NuGet.targets(97,5): error : One or more packages are incompatible with .NETCoreApp,Version=v1.0. [C:\Users\daroth\AppData\Local\Temp\2c239e15-0209-46df-9ccb-0116bdadd2a5\temp.csproj] 

I'd like to be able to build a tool that targets netcoreapp1.1, but apparently I can only target netcoreapp1.0?

[mishra14]

Further discussion going on through email.

[natemcmaster]

This was requested before and closed "by design". See https://github.com/dotnet/cli/issues/4764#issuecomment-261331122. Current design is to add the 'prefercliruntime' file to your tool and target netcoreapp1.0.

there are APIs in 1.1 that I wanted to use.

When we made this choice, though we didn't consider this. Which APIs do you need that are not availabe on netcoreapp1.0 ?

[danroth27]

For example, I had wanted to use the 1.1.0 version of https://www.nuget.org/packages/Microsoft.Extensions.CommandLineUtils for my tool. Technically to stay in a supported configuration this package should be used with .NET Core 1.1. Targeting netcoreapp1.0 actually works, but isn't technically a supported configuration.

[natemcmaster]

The unfortunate state of .NET Core CLI tools is that you have to do jump through all sorts of hoops to make .NET Core 1.1 stuff work. The simplest solution for this specific case is to just use 'netcoreapp1.0' tfm with 1.1 packages.

[danroth27]

Sure, but I don't think we should get too caught up in my particular case. .NET Core will continue to add new features and surface area. You should be able to use those new APIs from a .NET Core tool and be clear in your tool package about that dependency. Doesn't the current behavior prevent that?

[natemcmaster]

Yup. And that will be addressed in 2.0. But for the 1.0.0 release, CLI tools are required to be 'netcoreapp1.0'.