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When MSBuild builds a solution file, it first translates the file internally into a project file, and then builds that project file. The generated project file can import a before.<solutionname>.sln.targets file before it defines any targets, and import after.<solutionname>.sln.targets after it imports the targets.
The before and after targets files are installed to the $(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\SolutionFile\ImportBefore and $(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\SolutionFile\ImportAfter directories.
So, for example, you could define a new target to write a custom log message after MyCustomizedSolution.sln builds, by creating the following file named after.MyCustomizedSolution.sln.targets in the same directory.
<Project>
<Target Name="EmitCustomMessage" AfterTargets="Build">
<Message Importance="High" Text="The solution has completed the Build target" />
</Target>
</Project>
The solution build is separate from the project builds, so these settings don't affect the project builds.
Important
Customizing the solution builds this way applies only to command-line builds using MSBuild.exe or dotnet build, and doesn't apply to builds inside Visual Studio. Therefore, it's best not to put customization at the solution level. A better alternative for customizing all projects in a solution is to use Directory.Build.props and Directory.Build.targets files in the solution folder.
Writing to the $(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\SolutionFile folder usually requires elevated permissions. If you have many solution files to extend the same way, but you don't want to write to the SolutionFile folder, you can create the Directory.Solution.props and Directory.Solution.targets files and place them in the root path above the solution files you want to extend. Directory.Solution.props is imported at the beginning of the solution build, and Directory.Solution.targets is imported at the end of the solution build.
When you build a solution file, Directory.Build.props and Directory.Build.targets aren't imported, so you must use Directory.Solution.props and Directory.Solution.targets instead. The two types of files don't implicitly import each other.
When you have Directory.Solution.props or Directory.Solution.targets files in a root folder, but you don't want a solution under that folder to import those files, you can use the solution's before.<solutionname>.sln.targets file to set the properties ImportDirectorySolutionProps and ImportDirectorySolutionTargets to false.
Or, you can use the $(DirectorySolutionPropsPath) and $(DirectorySolutionTargetsPath) properties to specify a different ___location for those files. This approach can be helpful if subsets of your solutions require certain property values or targets in common.
Note
The solution build is supported with the .slnx solution file format in MSBuild 17.12 and later. Both before.<solutionname>.slnx.targets and before.<solutionname>.sln.targets, and the corresponding after files, work with MSBuild 17.14 and later.
For more information about build customization options, see Customize your build.