What is the msbuild property containing the name of a .Net self-contained single-file application accessible to a target that runs after the publish event?

Question

What is the msbuild property containing the name of a .Net self-contained single-file application accessible to a target that runs after the publish event?

RLWA32 52,816

I want to use a Copy task after a self-contained single-file application is published. I added a target to the .csproj containing a Copy task. I know that the published binary is written to the location pointed to by the $(PublishDir) property. At the moment I am using $(Assembly).exe to refer to the binary.

This is what is currently present in the .csproj file to implement the post-publish copy -

  <ItemGroup>
    <SrcFile Include="$(PublishDir)$(AssemblyName).exe" />
    <DestFolder Include="C:\Users\RLWA32\source\repos\RlwA32\Win32SingleTest\Win32SingleTest\" />
  </ItemGroup>

  <Target Name="CopyToWin32" AfterTargets="Publish">
    <Message Importance="high" Text="CopyToWin32 Src: @(SrcFile) Dst: @(DestFolder)" />
    <Copy SkipUnchangedFiles='true' SourceFiles="@(SrcFile)" DestinationFolder="@(DestFolder)" />
  </Target>

Is there an msbuild property that directly refers to the binary so that it can be used for the Copy task?.

Jay Pham (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 4,435 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-21T01:47:18.7066667+00:00

We are currently investigating the issue and will provide an update soon. Thank you for your patience.

Answer accepted by question author

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Your answer

Jay Pham (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 4,435 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-21T01:47:18.7066667+00:00

We are currently investigating the issue and will provide an update soon. Thank you for your patience.

Answer 1

Hi @RLWA32

There is an MSBuild property that directly contains the path to the final single-file binary. You can use the $(PublishedSingleFilePath) property.

I have tested this and it works as expected. This property is populated during the Publish target specifically when creating a single-file bundle.

Because this property is created during the publish process, it will be empty if you define your <ItemGroup> at the top level of your project. You need to move your <ItemGroup> inside your target so MSBuild evaluates it after the publish process is complete and the property has a value.

Here is a general example of how to use it for a copy task:

  <!-- Define the target to run after publish -->
  <Target Name="MyPostPublishCopy" AfterTargets="Publish">

    <!-- The ItemGroup must be inside the target to get the populated value -->
    <ItemGroup>
      <MySourceFile Include="$(PublishedSingleFilePath)" />
      <MyDestFolder Include="C:\MyDestinationFolder\" />
    </ItemGroup>

    <Copy SkipUnchangedFiles="true" 
          SourceFiles="@(MySourceFile)" 
          DestinationFolder="@(MyDestFolder)" />

  </Target>

By doing this, you will dynamically get the exact path and filename of the single-file application, regardless of the operating system or runtime identifier.

For more information on single-file deployments, you can refer to the official documentation on creating a single file for application deployment.If you found my response helpful or informative, I would greatly appreciate it if you could follow this guidance or provide feedback.

Thank you.

RLWA32 52,816 Reputation points

2026-07-21T09:28:50.3066667+00:00

@Danny Nguyen (WICLOUD CORPORATION) Thank you for your quick response.

Because this property is created during the publish process, it will be empty if you define your <ItemGroup> at the top level of your project.

This is exactly the problem I encountered when trying to use $(PublishedSingleFilePath).

Your solution worked perfectly.
Danny Nguyen (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 8,725 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-21T10:03:10.92+00:00

That's great that it works for you. Thank you for your feedback.