For larger file-based Cake apps, you can organize your code into multiple files. Use the IncludeAdditionalFiles and ExcludeAdditionalFiles properties to control which files are included during compilation. This allows you to place models, utility functions, and other code in separate files.

Usage

Use the #:property directive to specify which additional files should be included or excluded during compilation.

Include additional files

Use IncludeAdditionalFiles to specify which files should be included:

#:sdk Cake.Sdk
#:property IncludeAdditionalFiles=build/**/*.cs

This will include all .cs files in the build directory and its subdirectories.

Exclude additional files

Use ExcludeAdditionalFiles to specify which files should be excluded:

#:sdk Cake.Sdk
#:property IncludeAdditionalFiles=build/**/*.cs
#:property ExcludeAdditionalFiles=build/**/Except*.cs

This will include all .cs files in the build directory, except for files that match the ExcludeAdditionalFiles pattern.

Example

Here's a complete example showing how to organize a multi-file Cake app:

Main build file (build.cs)

#:sdk Cake.Sdk
#:property IncludeAdditionalFiles=build/**/*.cs
#:property ExcludeAdditionalFiles=build/**/Except*.cs

var target = Argument("target", "Default");
var config = new BuildConfiguration 
{ 
    ProjectName = "MyProject",
    Version = "1.0.0" 
};

Task("Default")
    .Does(() =>
{
    BuildUtilities.LogInfo($"Building {config.ProjectName} v{config.Version}");
});

RunTarget(target);

Models file (build/Models.cs)

public class BuildConfiguration
{
    public string ProjectName { get; set; } = "";
    public string Version { get; set; } = "";
}

Utilities file (build/Utilities.cs)

public static partial class Program
{
    public static void LogInfo(string message)
    {
        Information($"INFO: {message}");
    }
}

Excluded file (build/ExceptThisFile.cs)

// This class will not be compiled.
public class UnusedLogic
{
}

The ExceptThisFile.cs file will not be compiled because it matches the ExcludeAdditionalFiles pattern.

Pattern syntax

Both IncludeAdditionalFiles and ExcludeAdditionalFiles support glob patterns:

** - Matches any number of directories
* - Matches any number of characters (except path separators)
? - Matches a single character
[abc] - Matches any character in the set

Examples

Include all C# files in a specific directory:

#:property IncludeAdditionalFiles=build/**/*.cs

Include files from multiple directories:

#:property IncludeAdditionalFiles=build/**/*.cs;scripts/**/*.cs

Exclude test files:

#:property IncludeAdditionalFiles=build/**/*.cs
#:property ExcludeAdditionalFiles=build/**/*Test*.cs

Additional files