Proposal

Adopt MSBuild's Central Package Management (CPM) by creating Directory.Packages.props to manage all 60+ NuGet package versions across 18 projects from a single location.

Current State

• Each .csproj file contains its own <PackageReference> elements with explicit version attributes
• Package versions are duplicated across multiple projects
• Version inconsistencies exist (e.g., Azure.Monitor.Query uses both 1.4.0 and 1.3.1)
• Guard.Net casing is inconsistent across projects

Proposed Solution

1. Create src/Directory.Packages.props with ManagePackageVersionsCentrally enabled
2. Define all package versions centrally using <PackageVersion> elements
3. Remove Version attributes from all <PackageReference> elements in project files
4. Standardize Azure.Monitor.Query to version 1.4.0
5. Standardize Guard.Net casing to Guard.NET
6. Keep security-pinned packages (System.Drawing.Common, System.Security.Cryptography.*) centralized with comments explaining security requirements

Benefits

✅ Single source of truth for package versions
✅ Easier version updates via Renovate
✅ Prevents version conflicts across projects
✅ Simplified maintenance for the solution
✅ Better dependency visibility for contributors
✅ Consistent versions across all 18 projects

Implementation Notes

• All 18 projects need to be updated
• Security-pinned packages will remain centrally managed with explanatory comments
• Renovate bot already supports Directory.Packages.props by default
• Microsoft recommends this approach for multi-project solutions

References

• Microsoft Docs: Central Package Management