Guide for optimizing MSBuild incremental builds. Only activate in MSBuild/.NET build context. USE FOR: builds slower than expected on subsequent runs, 'nothing changed but it rebuilds anyway', diagnosing why targets re-execute unnecessarily, fixing broken no-op builds.
Install
npx skills add dotnet/skills --skill incremental-buildnpx skills add dotnet/skills --skill incremental-build -a claude-code -gnpx skills add dotnet/skills --skill incremental-build -a codex -ggemini skills install https://github.com/dotnet/skills.git --path plugins/dotnet-msbuild/skills/incremental-buildgh skill install dotnet/skills incremental-buildgit clone --depth 1 https://github.com/dotnet/skills /tmp/dotnet__skills
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills ~/.agents/skills
cp -R /tmp/dotnet__skills/plugins/dotnet-msbuild/skills/incremental-build ~/.claude/skills/incremental-build # Claude Code
cp -R /tmp/dotnet__skills/plugins/dotnet-msbuild/skills/incremental-build ~/.agents/skills/incremental-build # Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Copilot, OpenCode