How to use the .NET (C#) plugin

Run C# scripts and dotnet CLI commands from Kestra workflows using dotnet-script inside a .NET SDK container.

Authentication

This plugin has no authentication properties. Use environment variables for secrets (e.g., connection strings, API keys) passed via env on the task, or use {{ secret('SECRET_NAME') }} in your script body.

Tasks

Script

Runs an inline C# script defined in the script property. The script is written to a temporary .csx file and executed with dotnet-script.

dotnet-script is installed automatically via dotnet tool install -g dotnet-script before each run. To avoid the installation overhead, use a custom containerImage that already includes dotnet-script.

NuGet package references work out of the box — place #r "nuget: PackageName,Version" directives at the top of your script. The first run with a new package reference triggers a NuGet restore which may take 30–60 seconds.

Required properties:

• script — inline C# script body in .csx format

Optional:

• containerImage — defaults to mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk: 10.0
• beforeCommands — shell commands to run before the script (e.g., set environment variables)
• inputFiles — additional files to stage alongside the script
• outputFiles — glob patterns for files to capture into Kestra internal storage
• taskRunner — override the execution environment (default: Docker)

Commands

Runs arbitrary shell commands sequentially inside a .NET SDK container. Use this task when script files live in namespace files or are cloned from a Git repository, or when you need raw dotnet CLI access (e.g., dotnet build, dotnet test).

dotnet-script is not pre-installed in the default image. Add the following to beforeCommands when running .csx files:

beforeCommands: 
  - dotnet tool install -g dotnet-script --ignore-failed-sources || true
  - export PATH="$PATH: $HOME/.dotnet/tools"

Required properties:

• commands — list of shell commands to execute in order

Optional:

• containerImage — defaults to mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk: 10.0
• beforeCommands, inputFiles, namespaceFiles, outputFiles, taskRunner — same as Script