Paths: File paths (
references/,../ln-*) are relative to this skill directory.
ln-822-nuget-upgrader
Type: L3 Worker Category: 8XX Optimization
Upgrades .NET NuGet packages with automatic breaking change detection and migration.
Overview
| Aspect | Details |
|--------|---------|
| Input | Solution or project path plus upgrade policy |
| Output | Updated .csproj files and a machine-readable dependency upgrade summary |
| Supports | .NET 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 |
Workflow
Phases: Pre-flight -> Find Projects -> Security Audit -> Check Outdated -> Identify Breaking -> Apply Upgrades -> Restore and Build -> Report
Phase 0: Pre-flight Checks
| Check | Required | Action if Missing |
|-------|----------|-------------------|
| .csproj file(s) | Yes | Block upgrade |
| .sln file | No | Fall back to recursive project discovery |
| dotnet CLI | Yes | Block upgrade |
| Workspace baseline safe | Yes | In managed runs coordinator already prepared it; in standalone runs protect rollback locally |
Runtime Coordination
Managed runs receive deterministic runId and exact summaryArtifactPath from ln-820.
Standalone runs remain supported; if runtime arguments are omitted, generate a standalone run-scoped artifact before returning.
Phase 1: Find Projects
| Method | Command |
|--------|---------|
| Find .csproj files | Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter *.csproj |
| Read solution members | dotnet sln list |
Phase 2: Security Audit
| Check | Command |
|-------|---------|
| Vulnerable packages | dotnet list package --vulnerable |
| Outdated packages | dotnet list package --outdated |
Actions:
| Severity | Action | |----------|--------| | Critical | Block and report | | High | Warn and continue | | Moderate/Low | Log only |
Phase 3: Check Outdated
| Step | Command |
|------|---------|
| Install helper | dotnet tool install --global dotnet-outdated-tool |
| Detect outdated packages | dotnet outdated --output json |
Phase 4: Identify Breaking Changes
Detection flow:
- Compare current vs latest major versions.
- Check breaking_changes_patterns.md.
- Use MCP tools for migration guides before changing code.
Common examples:
| Package | Breaking Version | Key Changes | |---------|------------------|-------------| | Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore | 8 -> 9 | Query and migration changes | | Serilog.AspNetCore | 7 -> 8 | Configuration updates | | Swashbuckle.AspNetCore | 6 -> 7 | Minimal API integration changes |
MCP Tools for Migration Search
| Priority | Tool | When to Use |
|----------|------|-------------|
| 1 | mcp__context7__query-docs | First choice for library docs |
| 2 | mcp__Ref__ref_search_documentation | Official Microsoft docs |
| 3 | WebSearch | Latest info and community fixes |
Use the tool chain to confirm migrations before applying them.
Phase 5: Apply Upgrades
Priority order:
- SDK or runtime packages
- framework packages
- EF Core
- logging packages
- everything else
| Action | Command |
|--------|---------|
| Update one package | dotnet add package <name> --version <ver> |
| Update many packages | dotnet outdated --upgrade |
Phase 6: Restore and Build
| Step | Command |
|------|---------|
| Restore | dotnet restore |
| Build | dotnet build --configuration Release |
| Test | dotnet test |
On failure:
- Identify the failing package.
- Search Context7 or Ref for the migration guide.
- If unresolved, rollback that package and continue.
Phase 7: Report Results
| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| solution | Solution path |
| projects[] | Updated projects |
| duration | Total time |
| upgrades[] | Applied upgrades |
| verification | Restore/build/test verdict |
| warnings[] | Non-blocking issues |
| artifact_path | Durable worker report path, if written |
Configuration
Options:
upgradeType: major # major | minor | patch
auditLevel: high
minimumReleaseAge: 14
includePrerelease: false
targetFramework: net10.0
runTests: true
runBuild: true
Error Handling
| Error | Cause | Solution | |-------|-------|----------| | CS0246 | Missing type | Search for replacement API | | NU1605 | Downgrade detected | Check package constraints | | Build fail | Breaking change | Apply migration guide or rollback offending package |
References
Runtime Summary Artifact
MANDATORY READ: Load references/coordinator_summary_contract.md
Emit a dependency-worker summary envelope.
Managed mode:
ln-820passes deterministicrunIdand exactsummaryArtifactPath- write the summary to the provided
summaryArtifactPath
Standalone mode:
- omit
runIdandsummaryArtifactPath - write
.hex-skills/runtime-artifacts/runs/{run_id}/dependency-worker/ln-822--{identifier}.json
Monitor (2.1.98+): For restore/build/test commands expected >30s, use Monitor. Fallback: Bash(run_in_background=true).
Definition of Done
- [ ] All target
.csprojfiles discovered - [ ] Security audit completed for NuGet dependencies
- [ ] Outdated packages identified
- [ ] Breaking changes checked via patterns plus current docs
- [ ] Upgrades applied in a safe order with rollback on failure
- [ ]
dotnet restore,dotnet build, and required tests succeed - [ ]
dependency-workersummary artifact written to the managed or standalone path
Version: 1.1.0 Last Updated: 2026-01-10