Dotnet clickonce config

Skill a5c-ai/babysitter/library/specializations/desktop-development/skills/dotnet-clickonce-config

Babysitter enforces obedience on agentic workforces and enables them to manage extremely complex tasks and workflows through deterministic, hallucination-free self-orchestration

Install

npx -y skills add a5c-ai/babysitter --skill dotnet-clickonce-config

Assembled from the repository path, not quoted from the project. Check it against their README if it does not work.

What its author says it does

Copied from the file, not written here

Configure ClickOnce deployment with auto-update, prerequisites, and publish settings for .NET applications

SKILL.md

9.1 KB, as published. Nobody here has run it

dotnet-clickonce-config

Configure ClickOnce deployment for .NET applications with auto-update capabilities, prerequisite management, and publish settings. This skill sets up the complete ClickOnce deployment pipeline.

Capabilities

Configure ClickOnce publish settings
Set up automatic update checking
Manage application prerequisites
Configure file associations
Set up signing with certificates
Generate publish profiles
Configure deployment manifest
Set up web or file share deployment

Input Schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "projectPath": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Path to the .NET project"
    },
    "publishSettings": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "publishUrl": { "type": "string" },
        "installUrl": { "type": "string" },
        "updateMode": { "enum": ["foreground", "background"] },
        "updateInterval": { "type": "number" },
        "minimumVersion": { "type": "string" }
      }
    },
    "prerequisites": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": { "type": "string" }
    },
    "fileAssociations": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "extension": { "type": "string" },
          "description": { "type": "string" }
        }
      }
    },
    "signing": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "certificatePath": { "type": "string" },
        "timestampUrl": { "type": "string" }
      }
    }
  },
  "required": ["projectPath", "publishSettings"]
}

Output Schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "success": { "type": "boolean" },
    "files": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "path": { "type": "string" },
          "type": { "enum": ["pubxml", "manifest", "settings"] }
        }
      }
    },
    "publishCommand": { "type": "string" }
  },
  "required": ["success"]
}

.csproj Configuration

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">

  <PropertyGroup>
    <OutputType>WinExe</OutputType>
    <TargetFramework>net8.0-windows</TargetFramework>
    <UseWPF>true</UseWPF>

    <!-- ClickOnce settings -->
    <PublishUrl>https://myserver.com/myapp/</PublishUrl>
    <InstallUrl>https://myserver.com/myapp/</InstallUrl>
    <UpdateUrl>https://myserver.com/myapp/</UpdateUrl>
    <ApplicationRevision>1</ApplicationRevision>
    <ApplicationVersion>1.0.0.*</ApplicationVersion>
    <IsWebBootstrapper>true</IsWebBootstrapper>
    <PublisherName>My Company</PublisherName>
    <ProductName>My Application</ProductName>
    <MapFileExtensions>true</MapFileExtensions>
    <Install>true</Install>
    <InstallFrom>Web</InstallFrom>
    <UpdateEnabled>true</UpdateEnabled>
    <UpdateMode>Foreground</UpdateMode>
    <UpdateInterval>7</UpdateInterval>
    <UpdateIntervalUnits>Days</UpdateIntervalUnits>
    <UpdatePeriodically>true</UpdatePeriodically>
    <UpdateRequired>false</UpdateRequired>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <!-- Prerequisites -->
  <ItemGroup>
    <BootstrapperPackage Include=".NETFramework,Version=v4.8">
      <Visible>False</Visible>
      <ProductName>.NET Framework 4.8</ProductName>
      <Install>true</Install>
    </BootstrapperPackage>
  </ItemGroup>

</Project>

Publish Profile (pubxml)

<!-- Properties/PublishProfiles/ClickOnce.pubxml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project>
  <PropertyGroup>
    <PublishProtocol>ClickOnce</PublishProtocol>
    <PublishDir>bin\publish\</PublishDir>
    <PublishUrl>https://myserver.com/myapp/</PublishUrl>
    <InstallUrl>https://myserver.com/myapp/</InstallUrl>
    <UpdateUrl>https://myserver.com/myapp/</UpdateUrl>
    <ApplicationVersion>1.0.0.*</ApplicationVersion>
    <Configuration>Release</Configuration>
    <Platform>Any CPU</Platform>
    <TargetFramework>net8.0-windows</TargetFramework>
    <SelfContained>false</SelfContained>
    <RuntimeIdentifier>win-x64</RuntimeIdentifier>
    <PublishSingleFile>false</PublishSingleFile>
    <PublishReadyToRun>false</PublishReadyToRun>

    <!-- Install settings -->
    <Install>true</Install>
    <InstallFrom>Web</InstallFrom>
    <CreateDesktopShortcut>true</CreateDesktopShortcut>
    <CreateWebPageOnPublish>true</CreateWebPageOnPublish>
    <WebPageFileName>publish.htm</WebPageFileName>

    <!-- Update settings -->
    <UpdateEnabled>true</UpdateEnabled>
    <UpdateMode>Foreground</UpdateMode>
    <UpdateInterval>7</UpdateInterval>
    <UpdateIntervalUnits>Days</UpdateIntervalUnits>
    <UpdatePeriodically>true</UpdatePeriodically>
    <UpdateRequired>false</UpdateRequired>

    <!-- Security -->
    <SignManifests>true</SignManifests>
    <ManifestCertificateThumbprint>1234567890ABCDEF</ManifestCertificateThumbprint>
    <ManifestTimestampRFC3161Url>http://timestamp.digicert.com</ManifestTimestampRFC3161Url>

    <!-- File associations -->
    <TargetCulture>en-US</TargetCulture>
    <ProductName>My Application</ProductName>
    <PublisherName>My Company</PublisherName>
    <OpenBrowserOnPublish>false</OpenBrowserOnPublish>
  </PropertyGroup>
</Project>

Programmatic Update Checking

using System.Deployment.Application;

public class UpdateManager
{
    public async Task<bool> CheckForUpdatesAsync()
    {
        if (!ApplicationDeployment.IsNetworkDeployed)
        {
            return false;
        }

        var deployment = ApplicationDeployment.CurrentDeployment;

        try
        {
            var info = deployment.CheckForDetailedUpdate();

            if (info.UpdateAvailable)
            {
                if (info.IsUpdateRequired)
                {
                    // Force update
                    deployment.Update();
                    Application.Restart();
                    return true;
                }
                else
                {
                    // Optional update - prompt user
                    var result = MessageBox.Show(
                        $"Version {info.AvailableVersion} is available. Update now?",
                        "Update Available",
                        MessageBoxButton.YesNo);

                    if (result == MessageBoxResult.Yes)
                    {
                        deployment.Update();
                        Application.Restart();
                        return true;
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        catch (DeploymentDownloadException ex)
        {
            MessageBox.Show($"Update failed: {ex.Message}");
        }

        return false;
    }

    public Version GetCurrentVersion()
    {
        if (ApplicationDeployment.IsNetworkDeployed)
        {
            return ApplicationDeployment.CurrentDeployment.CurrentVersion;
        }
        return Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetName().Version;
    }
}

Publishing Commands

# Publish via dotnet CLI
dotnet publish -p:PublishProfile=ClickOnce

# Publish via MSBuild
msbuild /t:Publish /p:PublishProfile=ClickOnce

# Publish with version increment
dotnet publish -p:PublishProfile=ClickOnce -p:ApplicationRevision=$(($(date +%s)))

Signing Configuration

<!-- Sign manifests with certificate -->
<PropertyGroup>
  <SignManifests>true</SignManifests>
  <ManifestCertificateThumbprint>YOUR_CERT_THUMBPRINT</ManifestCertificateThumbprint>
  <ManifestTimestampRFC3161Url>http://timestamp.digicert.com</ManifestTimestampRFC3161Url>
</PropertyGroup>

# Find certificate thumbprint
Get-ChildItem -Path Cert:\CurrentUser\My | Format-Table Thumbprint, Subject

# Sign manually
mage -sign MyApp.application -CertFile cert.pfx -Password mypassword

Server Setup (IIS)

<!-- web.config for ClickOnce hosting -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
  <system.webServer>
    <staticContent>
      <mimeMap fileExtension=".application" mimeType="application/x-ms-application"/>
      <mimeMap fileExtension=".manifest" mimeType="application/x-ms-manifest"/>
      <mimeMap fileExtension=".deploy" mimeType="application/octet-stream"/>
    </staticContent>
  </system.webServer>
</configuration>

Best Practices

Always sign manifests: Required for production
Use semantic versioning: Clear version updates
Set minimum version: Force updates for critical fixes
Test update flow: Verify before releasing
Use HTTPS: Secure download channel
Monitor publish folder: Verify deployment success

Related Skills

windows-authenticode-signer - Code signing
auto-update-system process - Update workflow
desktop-build-pipeline process - CI/CD

Related Agents

wpf-dotnet-expert - .NET expertise
release-manager - Release coordination