Referencing DLLs in Visual Studio Code

Question

I just downloaded Visual Studio Code and are having a hard time trying to add some references as you could in Visual Studio.

How do I add DLLs in VSC to get Intellisense working?

Answer 1

I had the same problem, I don't think that this is possible at the moment. My solution was to generate a NuGet package with the target dll.

You will need to install NuGet command line and then:

nuget spec YourNameOrCompany.PackageName

This will generate a YourNameOrCompany.PackageName.nuspec, open the file and change as follow:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<package >
  <metadata>
    <id>YourNameOrCompany.PackageName</id>
    <version>1.0.0</version>
    <authors>Your Name</authors>
    <owners>Your Company</owners>
    <licenseUrl>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_License</licenseUrl>
    <projectUrl>http://www.yourporject.url</projectUrl>
    <iconUrl>http://www.urltoyourimage.com</iconUrl>
    <requireLicenseAcceptance>false</requireLicenseAcceptance>
    <description>Package to expose DLL</description>
    <copyright>Copyright 2016</copyright>
    <tags>DLL</tags>
    <dependencies>
    </dependencies>
  </metadata>
  <files>
    <file src="path/to/you/file.dll" target="lib"></file>
  </files>
</package>

Save the file and run:

nuget pack YourNameOrCompany.PackageName.nuspec

You will probably get a warning message about the target of your file, but that fine.

Now you need to publish the generated .nupkg file on NuGet Gallery, just register and follow the instructions on the website.

Once you finish publishing, go to your project folder and type:

dnu install YourNameOrCompany.PackageName

This will add the reference to your pkg and you will be able to reference it on your project and get the Intellisense.

I hope that helps. cheers