Enable 'dotnet sdk check' command in AOT native binary

[NikolaMilosavljevic]

Summary

Enables the dotnet sdk check command to run in the AOT-compiled native CLI binary, improving cold-start performance for this command.

Changes

• Parser.cs: Register sdk check command in the #if CLI_AOT section with SdkCheckCommand.Run action
• dotnet-aot.csproj: Add compile items (CommandBase, PrintableTable, 6 sdk-check files), embedded resources (CliStrings.resx, CliCommandStrings.resx), and Microsoft.Deployment.DotNet.Releases package reference
• NativeEntryPoint.cs: Extract ExecuteCore method so the entire [UnmanagedCallersOnly] entry point body is wrapped in a top-level try/catch — no managed exception can cross the unmanaged boundary. Also sets Program.DotnetRoot and adds inner exception handling for AOT invoke path.
• Program.cs: Add Program.DotnetRoot static property (AOT-only) to thread host-provided dotnet root to commands; add try/catch in Main
• CommandBase.cs: Guard ParseResultExtensions import and ShowHelpOrErrorIfAppropriate call with #if !CLI_AOT (these depend on types not available in AOT build)
• SdkCheckCommand.cs: Conditional extern alias, conditional EnvironmentProvider using, thread Program.DotnetRoot in AOT path

Design Decisions

• sdk check was chosen as the first new AOT command because it has zero MSBuild/NuGet dependencies and does all work in-process (HTTP fetch + JSON parsing + table formatting)
• Microsoft.Deployment.DotNet.Releases uses JsonDocument DOM API (no reflection) — verified AOT-safe
• Full CliStrings.resx and CliCommandStrings.resx are embedded (size tradeoff for simplicity over splitting ~20 needed strings)
• NativeEntryPoint.Execute wraps the entire method body in try/catch since [UnmanagedCallersOnly] methods must never let managed exceptions escape

Known Compromises

• dotnet sdk (bare) shows minimal System.CommandLine error vs full help in non-AOT
• Localization may be English-only in AOT binary (satellite assembly availability depends on publish layout)
• No AOT-specific smoke tests added yet (no existing test infra for AOT binary)

Testing

• Full repo build: 0 warnings, 0 compilation errors
• All test failures verified as pre-existing on clean main (MSBuildSdkResolver Microsoft.DotNet.MSBuildSdkResolver.Tests fail locally and in CI #52408, etc.)

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This PR enables the dotnet sdk check command to run via the NativeAOT-compiled CLI fast-path, threading the host-provided DOTNET_ROOT into the command and hardening the unmanaged entry point so managed exceptions cannot escape across the boundary.

Changes:

• Registers sdk check in the AOT-only parser and wires it to SdkCheckCommand.Run.
• Extends the dotnet-aot project to compile/link the sdk check implementation and embed required .resx resources plus the Microsoft.Deployment.DotNet.Releases dependency.
• Refactors the AOT native entry point to wrap the full [UnmanagedCallersOnly] method body in a top-level try/catch, and introduces Program.DotnetRoot (AOT-only) for passing the dotnet root into commands.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 6 out of 6 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
src/Cli/dotnet/Program.cs	Adds AOT-only DotnetRoot and wraps AOT Main in error handling.
src/Cli/dotnet/Parser.cs	Registers sdk check under the AOT parser.
src/Cli/dotnet/Commands/Sdk/Check/SdkCheckCommand.cs	Adds AOT conditional wiring to pass Program.DotnetRoot and adjusts aliasing for AOT builds.
src/Cli/dotnet/CommandBase.cs	Guards help/error extension usage for AOT builds.
src/Cli/dotnet-aot/NativeEntryPoint.cs	Extracts ExecuteCore and wraps the unmanaged entry point body with a top-level try/catch; sets Program.DotnetRoot for the AOT fast-path.
src/Cli/dotnet-aot/dotnet-aot.csproj	Includes sdk check sources/resources and adds Microsoft.Deployment.DotNet.Releases package reference.

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (1)

src/Cli/dotnet/Parser.cs:37

• This error message is hard-coded even though a localized resource exists (CliStrings.RequiredCommandNotPassed). Please use the resource string here to keep messages consistent and localizable (and since CliStrings.resx is embedded for AOT in this PR).

        sdkCommand.SetAction(parseResult =>
        {
            parseResult.InvocationConfiguration.Error.WriteLine("Required command was not provided.");
            return 1;

[NikolaMilosavljevic]

@JeremyKuhne @baronfel this is now passing all checks and is ready for review. I think I'll need to adjust the implementation if we merge #54653 first.

[NikolaMilosavljevic]

Updated the changes to account for Parser PR that was merged yesterday: #54653

[NikolaMilosavljevic]

All checks are passing with new changes to address Parser code to align with changes made by @baronfel

This is now ready for review - @marcpopMSFT @JeremyKuhne @baronfel

[baronfel]

I have a question about the bare dotnet SDK command, but the rest looks great 👍

[baronfel]

Is this still true? The entire command tree should be usable from AOT now so we may not need this special case anymore.

[NikolaMilosavljevic]

Let me check - thanks.

[baronfel]

I think bare 'dotnet sdk' should be served from the AOT side too - there's no reason to startup a coreclr just to display help IMO.

[NikolaMilosavljevic]

Looking into this - thanks.

[JeremyKuhne]

Nothing to add over @baronfel

[NikolaMilosavljevic]

@baronfel good catch, thanks! You're right — since #54653 the full command tree and help render from AOT, so falling back to coreclr just to print the missing-command error + usage was wasteful. I verified empirically that bare dotnet sdk now renders its error + help entirely from AOT (HandleMissingCommand -> ShowHelp), matching the managed CLI.

I applied the same reasoning to bare dotnet sln, which had the identical fallback pattern — it now also renders from AOT. Only sln add still falls back, since it genuinely requires MSBuild. Added test coverage for both (InvokeBareSdk_RendersHelpFromAot, InvokeBareSln_RendersHelpFromAot).

Pushed in a4378b3.

[baronfel]

🚢