MSBuild 16.5+ also has opt-in support for the packages. config format.

Do I need packages config?

You need one packages. config per project file because the version information in it must exactly match the MSBuild rules inside the project file. You can use NuGet. config to centralize the actual packages directory to avoid lots of copies of the target NuGets within a multi-project solution.

Does MSBuild restore NuGet packages?

1 Answer. msbuild -t:Restore will restore nuget packages for projects with PackageReference nuget management format. And your situation looks like packages. config nuget management format which you have used it.