XCopy WPF deployment

Question

If I wanted to just xcopy my WPF app, what are the minimum necessary files from the Release folder to copy?

In my Release folder, I have various dlls that my project references, a vshost.exe, a vshost.exe.manifest, .pdb files, etc. Is it necessary to copy all of those files to each machine I want to install my app to?

Answer 1

For an xcopy deployment, I take the...

executable

any dll's in the folder

the app.config, if there is one

I leave behind the manifest and anything with .vshost. in the name, and the pdb files.

NOTE: There is a most excellent blog entry by John Robbins on PDB files and why sometimes it's a good idea to deploy them along side. It's worth a close read PDB Files

Answer 2

The minimum files you need are *.bin *.exe and app.config if you have one.