diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Commands/PublishCommand.cs b/src/Aspire.Cli/Commands/PublishCommand.cs
index 6e03627cdf2..45bf36f6660 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Commands/PublishCommand.cs
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Commands/PublishCommand.cs
@@ -62,6 +62,14 @@ protected override async Task<int> ExecuteAsync(ParseResult parseResult, Cancell
             return ExitCodeConstants.FailedToDotnetRunAppHost;
         }
 
+        var buildExitCode = await AppHostHelper.BuildAppHostAsync(_runner, effectiveAppHostProjectFile, cancellationToken);
+
+        if (buildExitCode != 0)
+        {
+            AnsiConsole.MarkupLine($"[red bold]:thumbs_down: The project could not be built. For more information run with --debug switch.[/]");
+            return ExitCodeConstants.FailedToBuildArtifacts;
+        }
+
         var publisher = parseResult.GetValue<string>("--publisher");
         var outputPath = parseResult.GetValue<string>("--output-path");
         var fullyQualifiedOutputPath = Path.GetFullPath(outputPath ?? ".");
@@ -81,7 +89,7 @@ protected override async Task<int> ExecuteAsync(ParseResult parseResult, Cancell
                     var pendingInspectRun = _runner.RunAsync(
                         effectiveAppHostProjectFile,
                         false,
-                        false,
+                        true,
                         ["--operation", "inspect"],
                         null,
                         backchannelCompletionSource,
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Commands/RunCommand.cs b/src/Aspire.Cli/Commands/RunCommand.cs
index 69e4ffcb1f4..955a2dd8215 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Commands/RunCommand.cs
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Commands/RunCommand.cs
@@ -80,12 +80,13 @@ protected override async Task<int> ExecuteAsync(ParseResult parseResult, Cancell
 
         var watch = parseResult.GetValue<bool>("--watch");
 
-        await AnsiConsole.Status()
-            .Spinner(Spinner.Known.Dots3)
-            .SpinnerStyle(Style.Parse("purple"))
-            .StartAsync(":hammer_and_wrench:  Building app host...", async context => {
-                await _runner.BuildAsync(effectiveAppHostProjectFile, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
-            });
+        var buildExitCode = await AppHostHelper.BuildAppHostAsync(_runner, effectiveAppHostProjectFile, cancellationToken);
+
+        if (buildExitCode != 0)
+        {
+            AnsiConsole.MarkupLine($"[red bold]:thumbs_down: The project could not be built. For more information run with --debug switch.[/]");
+            return ExitCodeConstants.FailedToBuildArtifacts;
+        }
 
         var backchannelCompletitionSource = new TaskCompletionSource<AppHostBackchannel>();
 
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/DotNetCliRunner.cs b/src/Aspire.Cli/DotNetCliRunner.cs
index 0141e8214e3..7833fedf452 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/DotNetCliRunner.cs
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/DotNetCliRunner.cs
@@ -77,6 +77,49 @@ internal sealed class DotNetCliRunner(ILogger<DotNetCliRunner> logger, IServiceP
         }
     }
 
+    public async Task<(int ExitCode, JsonDocument? Output)> GetProjectItemsAndPropertiesAsync(FileInfo projectFile, string[] items, string[] properties, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
+    {
+        using var activity = _activitySource.StartActivity();
+        
+        string[] cliArgs = [
+            "msbuild",
+            $"-getProperty:{string.Join(",", properties)}",
+            $"-getItem:{string.Join(",", items)}",
+            projectFile.FullName
+            ];
+
+        string? stdout = null;
+        string? stderr = null;
+
+        var exitCode = await ExecuteAsync(
+            cliArgs,
+            null,
+            projectFile.Directory!,
+            null,
+            (_, output, error) => {
+                stdout = output.ReadToEnd();
+                stderr = error.ReadToEnd();
+            },
+            cancellationToken);
+
+        if (exitCode != 0)
+        {
+            logger.LogError(
+                "Failed to get items and properties from project. Exit code was: {ExitCode}. See debug logs for more details. Stderr: {Stderr}, Stdout: {Stdout}",
+                exitCode,
+                stderr,
+                stdout
+            );
+
+            return (exitCode, null);
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            var json = JsonDocument.Parse(stdout!);
+            return (exitCode, json);
+        }
+    }
+
     public async Task<int> RunAsync(FileInfo projectFile, bool watch, bool noBuild, string[] args, IDictionary<string, string>? env, TaskCompletionSource<AppHostBackchannel>? backchannelCompletionSource, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
     {
         using var activity = _activitySource.StartActivity();
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Utils/AppHostHelper.cs b/src/Aspire.Cli/Utils/AppHostHelper.cs
index 6f9e068fec1..c6824f09609 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Utils/AppHostHelper.cs
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Utils/AppHostHelper.cs
@@ -62,4 +62,14 @@ internal static class AppHostHelper
 
         return appHostInformationResult;
     }
+    
+    internal static async Task<int> BuildAppHostAsync(DotNetCliRunner runner, FileInfo projectFile, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
+    {
+        return await AnsiConsole.Status()
+            .Spinner(Spinner.Known.Dots3)
+            .SpinnerStyle(Style.Parse("purple"))
+            .StartAsync(":hammer_and_wrench:  Building app host...", async context => {
+                return await runner.BuildAsync(projectFile, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+            });
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file