• Attempting to install a custom CPRIMA.WorkflowAnalyzerRules.nupkg in UiPath Studio fails
• Package appears in Manage Packages but displays:
  • ❌ “Package 'XYZ' cannot be installed because it depends on 'UiPath.Activities.Api'”

The .csproj contained:

<PackageReference Include="UiPath.Activities.Api" Version="24.10.1" />

As a result, dotnet pack added this dependency to the .nuspecfile inside the .nupkg, which Studio rejects.

UiPath Studio enforces rules that prevent certain internal packages like UiPath.Activities.Api from being installed via NuGet dependencies. Including UiPath.Activities.Api in a custom package’s dependency tree causes the Studio validation to reject the package.

Avoid any UiPath.Activities.Api dependency in the .nupkg. Instead, reference the required DLLs locally at compile time and exclude them from the final NuGet package.

Create a PowerShell script (prepare-api-dlls.ps1) that:

• Downloads specific UiPath.Activities.Api versions
• Extracts the required DLLs per TFM (net461, net6.0, net8.0)
• Outputs to: lib-deps/UiPath.Activities.Api/<TFM>

Replace <PackageReference> with direct <Reference> entries:

<ItemGroup Condition="'$(TargetFramework)' == 'net461'">
    <PackageReference Include="UiPath.Activities.Api" Version="23.10.3">
        <ExcludeAssets>runtime</ExcludeAssets>
        <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
    </PackageReference>
</ItemGroup>

<ItemGroup Condition="'$(TargetFramework)' == 'net6.0'">
    <PackageReference Include="UiPath.Activities.Api" Version="24.10.1">
        <ExcludeAssets>runtime</ExcludeAssets>
        <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
    </PackageReference>
</ItemGroup>

<ItemGroup Condition="'$(TargetFramework)' == 'net8.0'">
    <PackageReference Include="UiPath.Activities.Api" Version="24.10.1">
        <ExcludeAssets>runtime</ExcludeAssets>
        <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
    </PackageReference>
</ItemGroup>

Use a script in GitHub Actions or local pre-build to avoid checking UiPath DLLs into source control.

1. Build .nupkg using dotnet pack
2. Open with 7-Zip, extract .nuspec
3. Remove <dependencies> referencing UiPath.Activities.Api
4. Important: Leave empty <group> entries per TFM:

<dependencies>
  <group targetFramework=".NETFramework4.6.1" />
  <group targetFramework="net6.0" />
  <group targetFramework="net8.0" />
</dependencies>

5. Save .nuspec back into .nupkg

• ❌ "This package is not compatible with Windows projects"
• Caused by Studio using a cached .nupkg from previous builds

• Delete local NuGet cache: ~/.nuget/packages/<package-name>
• Replace .nupkg in the Studio feed directory

• NuGet Docs: ExcludeAssets / PrivateAssets