Question

Basically I have a command which will copy the contents of a source directory (and sub-directories), and flatten the structure into a target directory, overwriting any duplicates.

This is the raw command that works from the command line

for /r 5.1.0.60 %f in (*) do @copy "%f" "deployment" /y

in this instance where

• “5.1.0.60” is the output directory of a prior TeamCity / MSBuild task
• “deployment” is the target directory for the flattened output of the step

However, when I run this command from inside of an MSBuild task (ultimately as part of a TeamCity build), I am getting the following error

f" deployment /y was unexpected at this time

I have the following basic msbuild script that exhibits the issue:

<Project DefaultTargets="flatten"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003"
        ToolsVersion="3.5">
<Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\MSBuildCommunityTasks\MSBuild.Community.Tasks.Targets" />

  <PropertyGroup>
    <SourceDir>5.1.0.60</SourceDir>
    <TargetDir>deployment</TargetDir>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <Target Name="flatten">
    <!-- create our deployment directory -->
    <MakeDir Directories="$(TargetDir)"/>

    <!-- Copy all files flattenend to the deployment directory-->
    <Message Text="##Command  [for /r $(SourceDir) %f in (*) do @copy &quot;%f&quot; $(TargetDir) /y]"/>
    <Exec Command="for /r $(SourceDir) %f in (*) do @copy &quot;%f&quot; $(TargetDir) /y" />

  </Target>    
</Project>

Ultimately, if a past the line

for /r 5.1.0.60 %f in (*) do @copy "%f" "deployment" /y

into a batch file and run the batch file on its own (outside of msbuild) I get the same error, so presumably it’s strictly a cmd issue rather than MSBuild, though since I imagine this is a common task in MSBuild / TeamCity I’ve tagged those as well.

Any help or pointers would be most appreciated.
(NB windows 7 pro, TeamCity 6.5)

Answer 1

FOR variables use a single percent (%f) when used on the command line, but two percents (%%f) are required when used in in a batch file.

I’m not sure if TeamCity executes your command in a command line context or from within a temporary batch file.