5/10/2018 Introductory Guide to Using NuGet Packages from within Visual Studio | Microsoft Docs
NuGet packages contain reusable code that other developers make available to you for use in your projects. See What is NuGet? for background.
Packages are installed into a Visual Studio project using the Package Manager UI or the Package Manager Console. This article demonstrates the
process using the popular Newtonsoft.Json package and a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) project. The same process applies to any other .NET or
.NET Core project.
Once installed, refer to the package in code with using <namespace> where <namespace> is specific to the package you're using. Once the reference is
made, you can call the package through its API.
Tip
Start with nuget.org: Browsing nuget.org is how .NET developers typically find components they can reuse in their own applications. You can
search nuget.org directly or find and install packages within Visual Studio as shown in this article.
Prerequisites
Visual Studio 2017 with the Universal Windows Platform development workload, or
Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 with Tools for Universal Windows Apps.
You can install the 2017 Community edition for free from visualstudio.com or use the Professional or Enterprise editions.
Create a project
NuGet packages can be installed into any .NET project, provided that the package supports the same target framework as the project.
For this walkthrough, use a simple Universal Windows (UWP) app. Create a project in Visual Studio using File > New Project... and selecting the
Windows Universal > Blank App (Universal Windows). Accept the default values for Target Version and Minimum Version when prompted.
Add the Newtonsoft.Json NuGet package
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To install the package, you can use either the Package Manager UI or the Package Manager Console. When you install a package, NuGet records the
dependency in either your project file or a packages.config file. For more information, see Package consumption overview and workflow.
Package Manager UI
1. In Solution Explorer, right-click References and choose Manage NuGet Packages.
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2. Choose "nuget.org" as the Package source, select the Browse tab, search for Newtonsoft.Json, select that package in the list, and select Install:
3. Accept any license prompts.
4. (Visual Studio 2017) If prompted to select a package management format, select PackageReference in project file:
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5. If prompted to review changes, select OK.
Package Manager Console
1. Select the Tools > NuGet Package Manager > Package Manager Console menu command.
2. Once the console opens, check that the Default project drop-down list shows the project into which you want to install the package. If you have a
single project in the solution, it is already selected.
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3. Enter the command Install-Package Newtonsoft.json (see Install-Package). The console window shows output for the command. Errors typically
indicate that the package isn't compatible with the project's target framework.
Use the Newtonsoft.Json API in the app
With the Newtonsoft.Json package in the project, you can call its JsonConvert.SerializeObject method to convert an object to a human-readable
string.
1. Open MainPage.xaml and replace the existing Grid element with the following:
XAML ＝ Copy
<Grid Background="{ThemeResource ApplicationPageBackgroundThemeBrush}">
<StackPanel VerticalAlignment="Center">
<Button Click="Button_Click" Content="Click Me" Margin="10"/>
<TextBlock Name="TextBlock" Text="TextBlock" Margin="10"/>
</StackPanel>
</Grid>
2. Open the MainPage.xaml.cs file (located in Solution Explorer under the MainPage.xaml node), and insert the following code inside the MainPage
constructor:
C# ＝ Copy
public class Account
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public string Email { get; set; }
public DateTime DOB { get; set; }
}
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private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
Account account = new Account
{
Name = "John Doe",
Email = "john@microsoft.com",
DOB = new DateTime(1980, 2, 20, 0, 0, 0, DateTimeKind.Utc),
};
string json = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(account, Formatting.Indented);
TextBlock.Text = json;
}
3. Even though you added the Newtonsoft.Json package to the project, red squiggles appears under JsonConvert because you need a using
statement at the top of the code file:
C# ＝ Copy
using Newtonsoft.json;
4. Build and run the app by pressing F5 or selecting Debug > Start Debugging:
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5. Select on the button to see the contents of the TextBlock replaced with some JSON text:
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Related articles
Overview and workflow of package consumption
Finding and choosing packages
Ways to install a package
Configuring NuGet Behavior
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