Starting in .NET 11 Preview 4 and Visual Studio 18.8, VSTest, the platform that powers dotnet test and Test Explorer, will no longer depend on Newtonsoft.Json. The platform will now use System.Text.Json on .NET and JSONite on .NET Framework. <\/p>\n
This is a servicing and security change. Most projects require no action. A small number of projects will see an obvious build or test failure and can resolve it with a one line PackageReference. <\/p>\n
VSTest has shipped Newtonsoft.Json as part of the .NET SDK and Visual Studio for years. All versions of Newtonsoft.Json below 13.0.0 are now marked vulnerable on NuGet.org, and carrying the dependency exposes the test platform to future advisories in a component it no longer needs. Removing it is part of the broader effort to remove Newtonsoft.Json from the .NET SDK.<\/a><\/p>\n Most test projects fall into this bucket:<\/p>\n Every failure below is non-silent, is reported in the test run, and flows into TRX and the Azure DevOps \/ GitHub test views.<\/p>\n If a test project uses Newtonsoft.Json types (for example JObject, JsonConvert) without referencing the package, it previously compiled only because Newtonsoft.Json leaked through VSTest. After the update it will not.<\/p>\n Fix:<\/strong> add the package.<\/p>\n Projects that reference Newtonsoft.Json but exclude the runtime asset \u2014 for example:<\/p>\n relied on VSTest\u2019s copy being present at test time. After the update the test run will fail with:<\/p>\n Fix:<\/strong> remove Adapters and data collectors that used Newtonsoft.Json without declaring it as a dependency will fail at load time with a message such as:<\/p>\n The message names the exact extension that needs to be updated, however we are not aware of any shipping adapter or collector that hits this today. Extension authors should add Newtonsoft.Json (or migrate off it) in their own package; consumers can add Newtonsoft.Json to the test project, or disable the affected extension until it is updated.<\/p>\n VSTest exposed Newtonsoft.Json.Linq.JToken in one spot of its communication API. That type is being removed from the public surface. It was only meaningful to code participating in the VSTest protocol and is unlikely to have real world consumers, but extension authors should be aware. <\/p>\nWhat is not changing?<\/h2>\n
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Who is not affected?<\/h2>\n
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Who is affected, and how to fix it<\/h2>\n
Build error: missing Newtonsoft.Json reference<\/h3>\n
<PackageReference Include=\"Newtonsoft.Json\" Version=\"13.0.3\" \/><\/code><\/pre>\nRuntime error: FileNotFoundException for Newtonsoft.Json<\/h3>\n
<PackageReference Include=\"Newtonsoft.Json\" Version=\"13.0.3\">\n <ExcludeAssets>runtime<\/ExcludeAssets>\n<\/PackageReference><\/code><\/pre>\nSystem.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not load file or assembly 'Newtonsoft.Json, Version=13.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=30ad4fe6b2a6aeed'.<\/code><\/pre>\n<ExcludeAssets>runtime<\/ExcludeAssets><\/code>, or install Newtonsoft.Json without excluding runtime assets.<\/p>\nExtension load error in a test adapter or data collector<\/h3>\n
Data collector 'SampleDataCollector' threw an exception during type loading, construction, or initialization: System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not load file or assembly 'Newtonsoft.Json, Version=13.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=30ad4fe6b2a6aeed'.<\/code><\/pre>\nPublic API change<\/h3>\n
When you will see this<\/h3>\n