Fix csc/vbc misinterpretation of source files in root directory on Unix #80866

Copilot · 2025-10-23T15:26:30Z

Fix csc/vbc misinterpretation of source files in root directory on Unix

Problem

On Unix systems, the C# and VB compilers misinterpret source files in the root directory as command-line switches because they start with /. For example:

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
    <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
  </PropertyGroup>
  <ItemGroup>
    <Compile Include="/Program.cs" />
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>

This fails with:

CSC : error CS2007: Unrecognized option: '/Program.cs'

This is particularly problematic for file-based apps where the source file lives in the root directory.

Solution

Transform Unix paths that would be misinterpreted as options to use the /./ prefix before passing them to the compiler. This uses the same heuristic as the compiler's CommandLineParser.TryParseOption: a path starting with / is treated as an option unless it contains another / after the first character.

The transformation is applied in ManagedCompiler.GetTransformedSourcesForCommandLine():

Only runs on Unix (detected via RuntimeInformation.IsOSPlatform(OSPlatform.Windows))
Transforms paths like /Program.cs → /./Program.cs
Does NOT transform paths like /dir/File.cs (already safe due to second /)
Uses lazy initialization and string[] overload to minimize allocations
Returns null when no transformation is needed to avoid unnecessary allocations

Compatibility

The fix maintains full compatibility with:

CallerFilePath: The compiler normalizes /./path to /path when resolving file paths
SourceLink: Uses a separate JSON file for path mapping, unaffected by source file arguments
PathMap: The compiler resolves paths before applying path mappings
Debug info: File paths are normalized during PDB generation

Testing

Added tests for both C# and VB compilers covering:

Single source file in root directory
Multiple source files with mixed paths (some in root, some in subdirectories)
Paths with /dir/file.cs format (verified NOT transformed)
Windows behavior (verified no transformation, even for /test.cs)

All 377 existing MSBuild task tests continue to pass.

Comment Updates

Updated the comment in CommandLineParser.TryParseOption to reflect that this heuristic is no longer "temporary" and is now relied upon by the MSBuild tasks.

Original prompt

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>csc misinterprets a source file in root directory on Unix as a command-line option switch</issue_title>
<issue_description>```sh
docker run --rm -it mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:10.0 bash

inside the docker container:

dotnet new console
sed -i 's|||' ConsoleApp1.csproj # the default globs don't work in root
dotnet build -bl
(I guess you could also create the project anywhere else, and just put the C# file to root folder and add the `<Compile Include="/Program.cs" />`.)

Observed:
CSC : error CS2007: Unrecognized option: '/Program.cs'
Motivating scenario: file-based apps: https://github.com/dotnet/sdk/issues/51282

Proposed solution: change the Csc/Vbc tasks so they pass such files as `/./Program.cs` (this workaround is mentioned in https://github.com/dotnet/roslyn/issues/401). Should also check what happens with source link, CallerMemberFilePath, etc. in that case.</issue_description>

## Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

<comments>
</comments>

Fixes #80865

💬 We'd love your input! Share your thoughts on Copilot coding agent in our 2 minute survey.

Co-authored-by: jjonescz <[email protected]>

src/Compilers/Core/MSBuildTask/ManagedCompiler.cs

src/Compilers/Core/MSBuildTaskTests/CscTests.cs

…rove tests Co-authored-by: jjonescz <[email protected]>

src/Compilers/Core/MSBuildTask/ManagedCompiler.cs

jaredpar · 2025-10-24T15:45:10Z

The comment for this in TryParseOption is:

            // temporary heuristic to detect Unix-style rooted paths
            // pattern /goo/*  or  //* will not be treated as a compiler option
            //
            // TODO: consider introducing "/s:path" to disambiguate paths starting with /

Given this change, should we update the comment? Doesn't feel temporary anymore 😄

jaredpar · 2025-10-24T15:41:58Z

src/Compilers/Core/MSBuildTask/ManagedCompiler.cs

+                return null;
+
+            // On Windows, no transformation is needed
+            if (Path.DirectorySeparatorChar == '\\')


Suggested change

if (Path.DirectorySeparatorChar == '\\')

if (RuntimeInformation.IsOSPlatform(OSPlatform.Windows))

Believe that works across the frameworks. If not existing code is fine.

@copilot apply this suggestion

Done in 7448e85. Changed to use RuntimeInformation.IsOSPlatform(OSPlatform.Windows).

jaredpar · 2025-10-24T15:47:34Z

src/Compilers/Core/MSBuildTask/ManagedCompiler.cs

+                        // Copy all items processed so far
+                        for (int j = 0; j < i; j++)
+                        {
+                            transformedSources[j] = sources[j].ItemSpec;
+                        }


Suggested change

// Copy all items processed so far

for (int j = 0; j < i; j++)

{

transformedSources[j] = sources[j].ItemSpec;

}

sources.AsSpan(0, j).CopyTo(transformedSources.AsSpan());

@copilot apply this suggestion

The suggestion doesn't directly apply here since we're copying from ITaskItem[] to string[] (extracting ItemSpec). We need to iterate to extract the ItemSpec values, so Span.CopyTo can't be used directly.

333fred · 2025-10-24T16:25:10Z

src/Compilers/Core/MSBuildTaskTests/CscTests.cs

+        }
+
+        [ConditionalFact(typeof(WindowsOnly)), WorkItem("https://github.com/dotnet/roslyn/issues/80865")]
+        public void SourceFilePathsOnWindows()


This test should be added to VbcTests as well.

@copilot add the test for VB

Done in 7448e85. Added SourceFilePathsOnWindows test for VB.

RikkiGibson · 2025-10-24T17:55:04Z

The comment for this in TryParseOption is:
            // temporary heuristic to detect Unix-style rooted paths
            // pattern /goo/*  or  //* will not be treated as a compiler option
            //
            // TODO: consider introducing "/s:path" to disambiguate paths starting with /
Given this change, should we update the comment? Doesn't feel temporary anymore 😄

who wants to start a betting pool on the age of the comment? (no cheating).

RikkiGibson · 2025-10-24T17:56:20Z

src/Compilers/Core/MSBuildTaskTests/VbcTests.cs

+            Assert.Contains("/./App.vb", responseFileContents);
+            Assert.Contains("src/Test.vb", responseFileContents);
+            // /dir/File.vb should NOT be transformed (contains second '/')
+            Assert.Contains("/dir/File.vb", responseFileContents);


The other test had a leading space for this assertion, it seems reasonable to have it here also.

Suggested change

Assert.Contains("/dir/File.vb", responseFileContents);

Assert.Contains(" /dir/File.vb", responseFileContents);

@copilot add the space, and to other asserts where it makes sense too

Done in 7448e85. Added leading spaces to assertions for src/Test.vb and /dir/File.vb, as well as corresponding C# test assertions.

jaredpar · 2025-10-24T17:56:38Z

who wants to start a betting pool on the age of the comment? (no cheating).

I'm guessing that it comes from the "Hello World" commit in Git.

Edit well at least I guessed the right person.

jjonescz · 2025-10-27T11:17:32Z

src/Compilers/Core/MSBuildTaskTests/VbcTests.cs

+            Assert.Contains("/./App.vb", responseFileContents);
+            Assert.Contains("src/Test.vb", responseFileContents);
+            // /dir/File.vb should NOT be transformed (contains second '/')
+            Assert.Contains("/dir/File.vb", responseFileContents);


@copilot add the space, and to other asserts where it makes sense too

jjonescz · 2025-10-27T11:17:45Z

src/Compilers/Core/MSBuildTaskTests/CscTests.cs

+        }
+
+        [ConditionalFact(typeof(WindowsOnly)), WorkItem("https://github.com/dotnet/roslyn/issues/80865")]
+        public void SourceFilePathsOnWindows()


@copilot add the test for VB

jjonescz · 2025-10-27T11:18:03Z

src/Compilers/Core/MSBuildTask/ManagedCompiler.cs

+                        // Copy all items processed so far
+                        for (int j = 0; j < i; j++)
+                        {
+                            transformedSources[j] = sources[j].ItemSpec;
+                        }


@copilot apply this suggestion

jjonescz · 2025-10-27T11:18:27Z

src/Compilers/Core/MSBuildTask/ManagedCompiler.cs

+                return null;
+
+            // On Windows, no transformation is needed
+            if (Path.DirectorySeparatorChar == '\\')


@copilot apply this suggestion

jjonescz · 2025-10-27T11:20:18Z

src/Compilers/Core/MSBuildTask/ManagedCompiler.cs

+            for (int i = 0; i < sources.Length; i++)
+            {
+                var itemSpec = sources[i].ItemSpec;
+                // Check if this path needs transformation using the compiler's heuristic:


@copilot given the heuristic is not "temporary" anymore, can you update the comment in TryParseOption as jaredpar suggested?

Done in 7448e85. Updated the comment in CommandLineParser.TryParseOption to reflect that this heuristic is no longer "temporary" and added a reference to issue #80865.

…t, improve assertions, update comment Co-authored-by: jjonescz <[email protected]>

Initial plan

e262e2b

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and jjonescz Oct 23, 2025

Copilot started work on behalf of jjonescz October 23, 2025 15:26 View session

Add fix for Unix root directory source file issue and tests

d1f1683

Co-authored-by: jjonescz <[email protected]>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Fix csc misinterpreting source file as command-line option~~ Fix csc/vbc misinterpretation of source files in root directory on Unix Oct 23, 2025

Copilot AI requested a review from jjonescz October 23, 2025 15:46

Copilot finished work on behalf of jjonescz October 23, 2025 15:46

jjonescz reviewed Oct 24, 2025

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Copilot started work on behalf of jjonescz October 24, 2025 10:21 View session

Address PR feedback: use compiler heuristic, optimize allocation, imp…

a56c7dc

…rove tests Co-authored-by: jjonescz <[email protected]>

Copilot AI requested a review from jjonescz October 24, 2025 10:30

Copilot finished work on behalf of jjonescz October 24, 2025 10:30

jjonescz reviewed Oct 24, 2025

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src/Compilers/Core/MSBuildTask/ManagedCompiler.cs Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

src/Compilers/Core/MSBuildTask/ManagedCompiler.cs Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

Remove trailing whitespace

45f4f3d

jjonescz approved these changes Oct 24, 2025

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jjonescz marked this pull request as ready for review October 24, 2025 12:48

jjonescz requested a review from a team as a code owner October 24, 2025 12:48

jaredpar approved these changes Oct 24, 2025

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333fred reviewed Oct 24, 2025

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RikkiGibson reviewed Oct 24, 2025

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RikkiGibson approved these changes Oct 24, 2025

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jjonescz reviewed Oct 27, 2025

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Copilot started work on behalf of jjonescz October 27, 2025 11:20 View session

Address final PR feedback: use RuntimeInformation, add VB Windows tes…

7448e85

…t, improve assertions, update comment Co-authored-by: jjonescz <[email protected]>

Copilot finished work on behalf of jjonescz October 27, 2025 11:30

Copilot AI requested a review from jjonescz October 27, 2025 11:30

RikkiGibson approved these changes Oct 27, 2025

View reviewed changes

	if (Path.DirectorySeparatorChar == '\\')
	if (RuntimeInformation.IsOSPlatform(OSPlatform.Windows))

	Assert.Contains("/dir/File.vb", responseFileContents);
	Assert.Contains(" /dir/File.vb", responseFileContents);

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Fix csc/vbc misinterpretation of source files in root directory on Unix #80866

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Fix csc/vbc misinterpretation of source files in root directory on Unix #80866

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Problem

Solution

Compatibility

Testing

Comment Updates

inside the docker container:

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Copilot AI commented Oct 23, 2025 •

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