SourceTree custom action: Open solution in Visual Studio

A quick guide demonstrating how to set up SourceTree custom actions to search a repository for a Visual Studio Solution File and then open it in Visual Studio.

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This blog post will show you how to set up a custom action in SourceTree that will search your repository for a Visual Studio Solution File and then immediately open that file in Visual Studio.

Here is a screenshot showing it in action:

The implementation is actually a very simple Powershell script that searches for solution files and launches the first one it finds:

param ([string] $repository)

if ($repository) {
  $solutionFile = Get-ChildItem -Path $repository -Recurse -Filter *.sln | Select-Object -first 1
  if ($solutionFile) {
    Start-Process $solutionFile.FullName
  }
}

It also helps to have a batch file to launch the Powershell script:

@echo off
powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "%~dp0sourcetree-open-repository.ps1" %1

Setting it up is easy:

1. Save the Powershell script as sourcetree-open-repository.ps1
2. Save the batch file as sourcetree-open-repository.cmd
3. Open SourceTree
4. Navigate to the Custom Actions menu (Tools -> Options -> Custom Actions)
5. Create a new action with the following properties (see screenshot below):
   • Menu caption: Open in Visual Studio
   • Script to run: The full path of your batch file, from step 2.
   • Parameters: $REPO

I hope you find this information useful.

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