Parcel command line reference

Use the Parcel command-line tool to package Avalonia applications for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Parcel can also sign applications and packages.

Prerequisites

Before you use Parcel, make sure that you have these items:

1. Parcel .NET tool - Follow the setup guide to install it.
2. Valid license key - Set the AVALONIA_TOOLS_LICENSE_KEY environment variable or use the --license-key option. Get a license key from the Avalonia Portal.

note

Parcel CLI is only available with an Avalonia Plus license.

Overview

parcel [command] [options]

Global Options

Option	Description
-?, -h, --help	Show help and usage information
--version	Show version information
--license-key	Set the Parcel license key. If you omit this option, Parcel uses AVALONIA_TOOLS_LICENSE_KEY and then an existing application session
--verbosity	Set the verbosity level (quiet, minimal, normal, detailed, diagnostic)

Commands

pack

Builds and packages a project with the specified settings and parameters.

parcel pack <project> [options]

Arguments:

• <project> - Parcel project file that contains the configuration

Options:

Option	Description	Default
-o, --output	Output directory	<project-dir>\bin\packages
-r, --runtimes	Runtime identifiers to package. You can specify this option more than once.	Current platform runtime
-p, --packages	Output formats: deb, dmg, msix, nsis, pkg, rpm, or zip. You can specify this option more than once.	Current platform package
--no-build	Do not rebuild the input project.	false

Example:

# Pack for current platform
parcel pack MyApp.parcel

# Pack for multiple platforms and formats
parcel pack MyApp.parcel -r osx-x64 -r linux-x64 -p dmg -p deb

step

Runs one packaging step. Use this command to debug or customize a packaging workflow.

parcel step [command] <input> <output> [options]

Available Step Commands:

Command	Description	Input	Output
publish	Publishes the .NET project for a target platform and runtime	No explicit input. Parcel reads the project from the .parcel file.	Published application directory
merge-mac	Merges architecture builds into a universal macOS application bundle	Directory with architecture-specific subdirectories (osx-x64, osx-arm64)	Universal application directory
bundle-mac	Packages a macOS application and its dependencies into one bundle	Application directory	Application bundle (.app)
sign-mac	Signs a macOS application bundle and its components with the credentials in the project settings	Application bundle or flat directory	Signed application bundle or directory
notary-mac	Submits an application for Apple notarization and staples the ticket if Apple accepts it	Zipped application bundle or DMG file	Notarized file
sign-win	Signs a Windows application executable with the provider in the project settings	Application directory with an executable that matches AssemblyName	Signed executable
create-zip	Creates a ZIP archive and preserves file permissions and symbolic links	Directory or file that contains application files	ZIP archive (.zip)
create-dmg	Creates DMG disk image for macOS	App bundle (.app)	Unsigned DMG image file
create-pkg	Creates a macOS installer package with the settings in the Parcel project	Application bundle (.app)	PKG installer (.pkg)
create-deb	Creates Debian package for Linux	Application directory	Debian package (.deb)
create-rpm	Creates an RPM package for Linux	Application directory	RPM package (.rpm)
create-nsis	Creates Windows NSIS installer	Application directory	Unsigned NSIS installer (.exe)
create-msix	Creates a Windows MSIX package. Parcel generates the manifest or patches a project template.	Application directory	MSIX package (.msix)

Example:

The step commands are independent and do not have a required order. The following examples show a typical order for each platform.

You can replace a step with your own script to customize the workflow.

Windows

# `parcel step publish ./publish -r win-x64 -p project.parcel` can be used instead
dotnet publish -r win-x64 -o ./publish

# signing, with parameters populated from .parcel config file
parcel step sign-win ./publish ./signed -p project.parcel

# installer
parcel step create-nsis ./signed ./installer.exe -p project.parcel

# or ZIP archive
parcel step create-zip ./signed ./archive.zip -p project.parcel

macOS

mkdir ./publish

# for universal packages, need to publish both archs
dotnet publish -r osx-x64 -o ./publish/osx-x64
dotnet publish -r osx-arm64 -o ./publish/osx-arm64

# merge two archs into a universal one
parcel step merge-mac ./publish ./merged -p project.parcel

# create app bundle
parcel step bundle-mac ./merged ./bundle.app -p project.parcel

# signing, with parameters populated from .parcel config file
parcel step sign-mac ./bundle.app ./signed.app -p project.parcel

# DMG package
parcel step create-dmg ./signed.app ./package.dmg -p project.parcel

# or ZIP archive
parcel step create-zip ./signed.app ./archive.zip -p project.parcel

# notarization (can be applied on either ZIP, DMG or PKG input)
parcel step notary-mac ./archive.zip ./notarized.app -p project.parcel

note

Use a universal package to get native performance on both Intel and Apple silicon processors. A universal executable can be up to twice the size of a single-architecture executable.

If you do not need a universal package, omit the merge-mac step.

Linux

# `parcel step publish ./ ./publish -r linux-x64 -p project.parcel` can be used instead
dotnet publish -r linux-x64 -o ./publish 

# installer
parcel step create-deb ./publish ./installer.deb -p project.parcel

# or ZIP archive
parcel step create-zip ./publish ./archive.zip -p project.parcel

Common Options:

• -p, --project - Parcel project file that contains the configuration
• -w, --overwrite - Overwrite existing output files
• -r, --runtime - Runtime identifier (for publish command)

install-tools

Downloads or updates tool dependencies required for the packaging configuration.

parcel install-tools [options]

Options:

Option	Description
-r, --runtimes	Runtime identifiers (can specify multiple)
-p, --packages	Package formats: deb, dmg, msix, nsis, pkg, rpm, zip (can specify multiple)

Example:

# Install dependencies for specific platforms and package formats
parcel install-tools -r win-x64 -r osx-x64 -p nsis -p dmg

This command downloads the NSIS and DMG tools before Parcel needs them.

mcp

Runs a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. The server lets an AI assistant run Parcel commands.

parcel mcp

For setup and usage information, see Parcel MCP.

Environment Variables

Parcel and console behavior

Variable	Description
AVALONIA_TOOLS_LICENSE_KEY	License key used when --license-key is not provided.
AVALONIA_TOOLS_LOG_LEVEL	Sets the Parcel application and MCP log level, such as Debug or Information.

Tool discovery

Variable	Description
PARCEL_JAVA_EXE	Sets the path to the Java executable for cross-platform Windows signing. Parcel also reads JAVA_HOME.
PARCEL_SIGNTOOL_EXE	Sets the path to SignTool on Windows.
PARCEL_WSL_DISTRIBUTION	WSL2 distribution used by packaging steps that require WSL on Windows.
PARCEL_WSL_USER	Sets the user account for the selected WSL2 distribution.

Cloud signing

Variable	Description
AZURE_TENANT_ID	Microsoft Entra tenant used by Azure Artifact Signing or Key Vault.
AZURE_CLIENT_ID	Azure service principal client ID.
AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET	Azure service principal secret.
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID	AWS access key used by AWS KMS signing.
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY	AWS secret key used by AWS KMS signing.
AWS_SESSION_TOKEN	Optional AWS temporary-session token.

You can override supported scalar settings with automatic PARCEL_<SECTION>_<SETTING> environment variables. See the Parcel configuration reference for the exact name of each setting.

Notes

• Define all packaging options, signing credentials, and visual settings in the Parcel project file (.parcel).
• When you use --no-build, make sure that the publish settings match your Parcel configuration. These settings include trimming, AOT, and single-file publishing.

See also

• Parcel setup
• Parcel configuration reference
• Packaging for macOS
• Packaging for Windows
• Packaging for Linux