richlander/dotnet-inspect

dotnet-inspect

Use dotnet-inspect when you need evidence instead of guesses for .NET packages, platform libraries, local assemblies, APIs, dependencies, SourceLink/symbol provenance, or version-to-version API changes.

Invoke with dnx:

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- <command>

Start with a command

| Goal | Start with | Drill in | | ---- | ---------- | -------- | | Find the right API | find Pattern | type Type --package Foo, then member Type --package Foo. | | Inspect a package | package Foo | Add -S Signals, -S Manifest, -S "Library Files", or --library to inspect the package DLL. | | Inspect a library or assembly | library Foo or library path/to.dll | Add --platform, --package, -S Signals when source matters, or -S Integrations when ecosystem support matters. | | Inspect a type | type Type --package Foo | Add --all for non-public, hidden, and extra members. | | Inspect members and overloads | member Type --package Foo -m Name --show-index | Use Name:N selectors for a specific overload. | | Compare API versions | diff --package [email protected] --breaking | Use --additive for new APIs or -t Type to narrow. | | Locate source or implementation | source Type --package Foo | For a selected overload use member Type Member:1 -S "Original Source" or -S IL. | | Explore relationships | depends Type, extensions Type, implements Interface | Add package, platform, or project scope as needed. |

Output modes

Default output is Markdown. Use Markdown for readable evidence with headings, section boundaries, tables, and code fences. Use --table for compact human scanning, --tsv for stable field splitting, --jsonl for one JSON object per table row, --json for structured object graphs, and --mermaid for graph-shaped output such as depends.

Markdown and JSON can represent multi-section documents. Table, TSV, and JSONL are single-table formats for commands or projections that produce one table. Mermaid is diagram output for commands that produce graph-shaped results.

Format promises:

• Markdown table cell values do not contain escaped pipes (\|); pipe characters in values are normalized.
• --tsv table headers are stable snake_case keys, and cells never contain embedded tabs or newlines.
• --jsonl emits one compact JSON object per table row with stable snake_case property names.
• --table renders the same projection as --tsv and --jsonl, with each column starting at a uniform position across rows.

Limits

Prefer built-in limiters to shell pipes. -n N and numeric shorthand like -6 work like head; --tail N works like tail; add --rows to make head counts cap Markdown table data rows instead of output lines. Use --count to count rows in one selected table section. Use command-specific limiters for command-specific result sets: -t N limits type/find results, -m N limits member results, and --versions N limits package version lists.

Query system

Use the query system when default views do not expose the detail you need. -D discovers available sections/columns; -S Section selects sections by name or wildcard; --columns and --fields project values. Discover first instead of guessing field names.

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- member JsonSerializer --package System.Text.Json -D --tsv
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- member JsonSerializer --package System.Text.Json -D "Method Groups" --tsv
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- member JsonSerializer --package System.Text.Json -m Serialize -D Methods --tsv
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- member JsonSerializer --package System.Text.Json -m Serialize -S Methods --columns "Name;Signature"
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library System.Text.Json -S "Async*" --count
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library System.Text.Json -S "Async*" --rows -n 10

@ represents a category or grouping of sections. Bare -S renders @Default, a curated high-density view; -S @All renders an exhaustive document with all sections. Categories such as @Integrations and @Switches expand to related sections. Sections marked opt-in must be selected explicitly with -S. Focused library/member -S Section output keeps a compact context row before the selected section.

General tips

• Built-in aliases and common BCL types such as string, int, and List<T> resolve without --package, --platform, or --library; start with type string or type 'List<T>'.
• After find, reuse the package/library it reports in follow-up commands. Use explicit --platform, --package, or --library when the source matters; for multi-library packages, include the --library value shown by find.
• Always quote generic type names in shell commands: type 'List<T>', member 'Dictionary<TKey,TValue>', or type 'INumber<TSelf>'. Use <T> rather than <> for generic type queries.
• Wildcards are supported for type names and section/schema selection; quote shell patterns, such as type 'Json*' --package System.Text.Json, -S "Async*", or -D "SourceLink*".
• type uses -t for type filters; member uses -m for member filters. Dotted member syntax works: -m JsonSerializer.Deserialize.
• Member Signature values are single-line C# declarations and may include high-signal attributes such as [Obsolete].
• Diff ranges use ..: --package [email protected]. Obsolete members are shown by default; use --all for non-public, hidden, and extra members.
• Unpinned packages use the latest stable by default; add --preview when prerelease APIs matter.

API lookup workflow

Use find when you do not know the package, library, or exact namespace.

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- find JsonSerializer
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- type JsonSerializer --package System.Text.Json
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- member JsonSerializer --package System.Text.Json -m Serialize --show-index
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- depends Stream
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- extensions HttpClient --reachable
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- implements IJsonTypeInfoResolver --package System.Text.Json

Default type output is a compact type shape with inheritance, interfaces, logical member groups, and overload counts. For single-type output, -v:n and -v:d grow the tree to show overload leaves; use --markdown -v:q for compact Markdown section output. Narrow member-name views render overload rows with full signatures and stable Name:N selectors. Relationship scopes include installed platform libraries by default, --package Foo, curated --aspnetcore/--extensions, and --project ./App.csproj. The extensions command reports extension methods and C# extension properties. Add --mermaid to depends when a diagram is more useful than a table.

Upgrade and compatibility workflow

Start with diff, then inspect the affected API.

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- diff --package [email protected] --breaking
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- diff --package [email protected] --additive
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- member JsonSerializer --package [email protected]

Use --breaking for migration work, --additive for release-note work, and -t TypeName to narrow noisy diffs. For .NET platform APIs, compare individual framework libraries:

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- diff --platform [email protected] --additive

Source and implementation workflow

Use source for SourceLink URLs, source text, or token/IL-offset mapping. Use member Type Member:N -S "Decompiled Source" when you need a selected member's lowered C# body, -S "Original Source" for SourceLink-backed source text, or -S IL / -S "IL (Annotated)" for IL.

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- source JsonSerializer --package System.Text.Json
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- member JsonSerializer --package System.Text.Json Serialize:1 -S "Decompiled Source"

A selected overload defaults to Signature; use bare -S for Signature plus Decompiled Source, or select Original Source, IL, or IL (Annotated) when you need specific implementation evidence.

To read a whole type instead of one member, use type Name -S "Decompiled Source": it renders the entire type as one C# listing — declaration, fields (including non-public, for context), and every member body. Add --raw to print only the bare listing (no headings or code fences), suitable for redirecting to a file:

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- type Stack --platform System.Collections -S "Decompiled Source" --raw > Stack.cs

Fidelity expectations: Original Source is the SourceLink-backed original source when available. Decompiled Source is lowered C#, a best-effort readable reconstruction from IL that helps explain intent; it uses PDB debug information such as local names when available, but is not guaranteed to match original syntax or compiler transformations. Raw IL and annotated IL are the highest-fidelity displays for exact opcodes, offsets, branches, tokens, and member calls; use them to confirm behavior when precision matters.

For crash/stack diagnostics that include a MethodDef token plus IL offset, source --il-offset 0x06000001+0x5 can map the offset to source. This is a niche deep-debugging path; do not start there for normal API lookup.

Package, library, integrations, and Signals workflow

Use package for NuGet package structure and registry-backed signals. Use library for assembly metadata, APIs, PDB/SourceLink evidence, and direct references.

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package System.Text.Json -S Signals
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package System.Text.Json -S "Library Files"
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package Aspire.Azure.AI.OpenAI --library -S @Integrations
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library System.Text.Json -S Signals
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library System.Text.Json -S Switches
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library System.Diagnostics.DiagnosticSource -S OpenTelemetry

Signals reports observations, not a safety or trust verdict. Library Signals include SourceLink presence, SourceLink availability, determinism, trim/AOT markers, async kind (Runtime, State machine, Mixed, or None), memory-safety metadata, unsafe/PInvoke observations, and direct references. Package Signals include TFMs, manifest, readme/license, dependencies, package signature, local provenance, vulnerabilities, package age, dependency vulnerability/deprecation counts, and dependency age.

Use package Foo --library to inspect the package's primary DLL when it is unambiguous; add a DLL name when a package contains multiple libraries. Use package Foo --all-libraries when a package contains multiple relevant DLLs or a tool package carries libraries under tools/; aggregate Markdown sections such as @Integrations include library provenance when needed. For row modes such as --tsv/--jsonl, select one concrete section such as Integrations or OpenTelemetry, not a category like @Integrations. Use -S Integrations for the ecosystem roll-up, -S @Integrations for roll-up plus focused sections, or a focused section such as OpenTelemetry. Integration sections cover AI, ASP.NET Core, Aspire resources, Authentication, Configuration, Dependency Injection, Logging, Options, Hosting, Health Checks, HTTP Client, OpenAPI, and OpenTelemetry. Focused sections list package-owned starter APIs, support types, and telemetry controls, not raw assembly references.

Use -S Switches when runtime feature switches or compatibility switches may affect behavior.

library X -S Signals resolves SourceLink by acquiring a missing PDB. Per-source-file reachability is opt-in: add -S "SourceLink Availability" and -S "SourceLink Missing Files" for HTTP HEAD checks, or -S "SourceLink Integrity" to download source files and compare checksums. For .NET tool packages, inspect the tool DLL through the package context, for example library dotnet-inspect.dll --package dotnet-inspect@<version> -S "SourceLink Integrity". Tool v2 pointer/RID packages resolve to their inspectable framework-dependent payload.

For BCL/runtime-pack assemblies that are misleading as standalone packages, prefer library --platform Lib --version <version> or a direct DLL path.