.NET SDK files not consistently/properly installing or extracting.

[justin-newman]

Description:
Sometimes files do not get properly installed or extracted which requires me to go in and delete everything associated with the specific .NET version so it will run the setup again. I think it would be great if the action could at least offer the ability to do a clean install or repair when requested.

Task version:
actions/setup-dotnet@v3, actions/setup-dotnet@v4, and actions/setup-dotnet@v5 have all had this issue.

Platform:

• Ubuntu
• macOS
• Windows

Runner type:

• Hosted
• Self-hosted

Repro steps:
It happens intermittently, but it has happened to me at least 10 times with more frequency recently, so I'm not sure of the exact reproduction steps other than try installing new versions and run a build with that new version.

Expected behavior:
I expected the specified .NET version to be fully installed with all dependencies as expected by the team that ships the .NET versions.

Actual behavior:
Dependent .dlls and target files are sometimes just completely missing, but enough of the files are there for the system to recognize that it is installed and not attempt to install it again.

[justin-newman]

Here is what 8.0.416 looks like after an install (just the sections that I know are missing items.

[justin-newman]

Here is what it looks like in the same folder of the previous version that installed properly

[justin-newman]

here is the error that I'm getting when using that improperly installed version

Restore attempt 1 of 3
Build started 12/8/2025 11:46:18 AM.
     1>Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" on node 1 (Restore target(s)).
     1>ValidateSolutionConfiguration:
         Building solution configuration "Debug|Any CPU".
     1>Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (1) is building "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.Data\MissionControl.Data.csproj" (2) on node 1 (Restore target(s)).
     2>C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.Data\MissionControl.Data.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
     2>Done Building Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.Data\MissionControl.Data.csproj" (Restore target(s)) -- FAILED.
     0>C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl\MissionControl.csproj : error : Could not resolve SDK "Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Web". Exactly one of the probing messages below indicates why we could not resolve the SDK. Investigate and resolve that message to correctly specify the SDK.
C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl\MissionControl.csproj : error :   SDK resolver "Microsoft.DotNet.MSBuildWorkloadSdkResolver" returned null.
C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl\MissionControl.csproj : error :   The NuGetSdkResolver did not resolve this SDK because there was no version specified in the project or global.json.
     1>Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (1) is building "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Data.Tests\MissionControl.Data.Tests.csproj" (3) on node 10 (Restore target(s)).
     3>C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Data.Tests\MissionControl.Data.Tests.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
     3>Done Building Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Data.Tests\MissionControl.Data.Tests.csproj" (Restore target(s)) -- FAILED.
     1>Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (1) is building "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.Services\MissionControl.Services.csproj" (4) on node 8 (Restore target(s)).
     4>C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.Services\MissionControl.Services.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
     4>Done Building Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.Services\MissionControl.Services.csproj" (Restore target(s)) -- FAILED.
     1>Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (1) is building "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Tests\MissionControl.Tests.csproj" (5) on node 6 (Restore target(s)).
     5>C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Tests\MissionControl.Tests.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
     5>Done Building Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Tests\MissionControl.Tests.csproj" (Restore target(s)) -- FAILED.
     1>Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (1) is building "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.Functions\MissionControl.Functions.csproj" (6) on node 12 (Restore target(s)).
     6>C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.Functions\MissionControl.Functions.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
     6>Done Building Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.Functions\MissionControl.Functions.csproj" (Restore target(s)) -- FAILED.
     1>Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (1) is building "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Functions.Tests\MissionControl.Functions.Tests.csproj" (7) on node 4 (Restore target(s)).
     7>C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Functions.Tests\MissionControl.Functions.Tests.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
     7>Done Building Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Functions.Tests\MissionControl.Functions.Tests.csproj" (Restore target(s)) -- FAILED.
     1>Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (1) is building "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.SearchIndexer\MissionControl.SearchIndexer.csproj" (8) on node 11 (Restore target(s)).
     8>C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.SearchIndexer\MissionControl.SearchIndexer.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
     8>Done Building Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.SearchIndexer\MissionControl.SearchIndexer.csproj" (Restore target(s)) -- FAILED.
     1>Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (1) is building "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl\MissionControl.csproj" (9) on node 3 (Restore target(s)).
     9>C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl\MissionControl.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
     9>Done Building Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl\MissionControl.csproj" (Restore target(s)) -- FAILED.
     1>Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (1) is building "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Services.Tests\MissionControl.Services.Tests.csproj" (10) on node 5 (Restore target(s)).
    10>C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Services.Tests\MissionControl.Services.Tests.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
    10>Done Building Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Services.Tests\MissionControl.Services.Tests.csproj" (Restore target(s)) -- FAILED.
     1>Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (1) is building "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.ApplicationCore.Tests\MissionControl.ApplicationCore.Tests.csproj" (12) on node 9 (Restore target(s)).
    12>C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.ApplicationCore.Tests\MissionControl.ApplicationCore.Tests.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
     1>Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (1) is building "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.SearchIndexer.Tests\MissionControl.SearchIndexer.Tests.csproj" (13) on node 7 (Restore target(s)).
    13>C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.SearchIndexer.Tests\MissionControl.SearchIndexer.Tests.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
    12>Done Building Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.ApplicationCore.Tests\MissionControl.ApplicationCore.Tests.csproj" (Restore target(s)) -- FAILED.
    13>Done Building Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.SearchIndexer.Tests\MissionControl.SearchIndexer.Tests.csproj" (Restore target(s)) -- FAILED.
     1>Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (1) is building "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.ApplicationCore\MissionControl.ApplicationCore.csproj" (11) on node 2 (Restore target(s)).
    11>C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.ApplicationCore\MissionControl.ApplicationCore.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
    11>Done Building Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.ApplicationCore\MissionControl.ApplicationCore.csproj" (Restore target(s)) -- FAILED.
     1>Done Building Project "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (Restore target(s)) -- FAILED.
Build FAILED.
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (Restore target) (1) ->
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.Data\MissionControl.Data.csproj" (Restore target) (2) ->
         C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.Data\MissionControl.Data.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
         C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl\MissionControl.csproj : error : Could not resolve SDK "Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Web". Exactly one of the probing messages below indicates why we could not resolve the SDK. Investigate and resolve that message to correctly specify the SDK.
       C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl\MissionControl.csproj : error :   SDK resolver "Microsoft.DotNet.MSBuildWorkloadSdkResolver" returned null.
       C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl\MissionControl.csproj : error :   The NuGetSdkResolver did not resolve this SDK because there was no version specified in the project or global.json.
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (Restore target) (1) ->
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Data.Tests\MissionControl.Data.Tests.csproj" (Restore target) (3) ->
         C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Data.Tests\MissionControl.Data.Tests.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (Restore target) (1) ->
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.Services\MissionControl.Services.csproj" (Restore target) (4) ->
         C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.Services\MissionControl.Services.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (Restore target) (1) ->
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Tests\MissionControl.Tests.csproj" (Restore target) (5) ->
         C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Tests\MissionControl.Tests.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (Restore target) (1) ->
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.Functions\MissionControl.Functions.csproj" (Restore target) (6) ->
         C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.Functions\MissionControl.Functions.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (Restore target) (1) ->
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Functions.Tests\MissionControl.Functions.Tests.csproj" (Restore target) (7) ->
         C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Functions.Tests\MissionControl.Functions.Tests.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (Restore target) (1) ->
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.SearchIndexer\MissionControl.SearchIndexer.csproj" (Restore target) (8) ->
         C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.SearchIndexer\MissionControl.SearchIndexer.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (Restore target) (1) ->
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl\MissionControl.csproj" (Restore target) (9) ->
         C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl\MissionControl.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (Restore target) (1) ->
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Services.Tests\MissionControl.Services.Tests.csproj" (Restore target) (10) ->
         C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.Services.Tests\MissionControl.Services.Tests.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (Restore target) (1) ->
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.ApplicationCore.Tests\MissionControl.ApplicationCore.Tests.csproj" (Restore target) (12) ->
         C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.ApplicationCore.Tests\MissionControl.ApplicationCore.Tests.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (Restore target) (1) ->
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.SearchIndexer.Tests\MissionControl.SearchIndexer.Tests.csproj" (Restore target) (13) ->
         C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\tests\MissionControl.SearchIndexer.Tests\MissionControl.SearchIndexer.Tests.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\MissionControl.sln" (Restore target) (1) ->
       "C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.ApplicationCore\MissionControl.ApplicationCore.csproj" (Restore target) (11) ->
         C:\GitHub Runners\actions-runner-4\_work\Mission-Control\Mission-Control\src\MissionControl.ApplicationCore\MissionControl.ApplicationCore.csproj : error MSB4057: The target "Restore" does not exist in the project.
    0 Warning(s)
    13 Error(s)
Time Elapsed 00:00:01.86```

[justin-newman]

I'm also seeing a difference in the amount if files from a previous (broken) install vs. a new (working) install:

Broken:

Working:

[priya-kinthali]

Hello @justin-newman👋,
Thank you for reporting this issue. We will investigate it and get back to you as soon as we have some feedback.

[aparnajyothi-y]

Hi @justin-newman, thanks for the detailed report and for outlining the behavior you’re seeing across versions and environments.

We were able to reproduce the underlying failure mode on a Windows self-hosted runner by interrupting the runner while setup-dotnet was downloading or extracting the SDK. In this scenario, the SDK directory still exists but contains only a small subset of files, which indicates a partial installation. On subsequent runs, setup-dotnet detects the directory and assumes the SDK is already installed, so it does not attempt to reinstall it. When running dotnet restore, the CLI then fails because dependent DLLs, SDK targets, and resolver files are missing. The attached screenshots show the incomplete SDK directory and the resulting restore failure.

Given this behavior, the request for an explicit clean install or repair option can be considered a feature request. Having a way to force reinstallation or to validate and repair an existing SDK would help address these scenarios more reliably.

As a workaround, we recommend cleaning up the affected SDK directory before rerunning setup-dotnet, or ensuring the runner is not stopped or restarted while the SDK is being installed. Running dotnet --list-sdks after installation can also help detect a broken install early. You can add the following step to your workflow to clean up a potentially corrupted SDK before installation:

• name: Clean potentially broken .NET SDK
  shell: powershell
  run: |
  $sdk = ""C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk\8.0.416""
  if (Test-Path $sdk) {
  Write-Host ""Removing existing SDK directory""
  Remove-Item $sdk -Recurse -Force
  }

Please let us know if you observe this behavior in cases where the installation was not interrupted, as that would help guide further investigation.