dotnet-inspect

dotnet-inspect

Use dotnet-inspect when you need evidence instead of guesses about compiled .NET code. It inspects packages, platform libraries, local assemblies, restored projects, APIs, dependencies, metadata, source provenance, and implementation.

Run it with dnx:

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- <command>

-y accepts the tool package prompt; -- passes the remaining arguments to dotnet-inspect.

Basic UX

• Start with find Pattern when you do not know where an API lives.
• Discover package IDs with package query Foo or package query 'Foo.*'.
• Inspect roots with package Foo, library Foo, or library path/to.dll.
• Reuse the package, library, or platform scope reported by find with type Type --package Foo or member Type Member:1 --package Foo.
• Select -S Source on one exact Type or Member for authored-first source.
• Add --project path/to/project for restored project dependencies.
• Compare versions with diff --package Foo@old..new --breaking.
• Use -D to discover sections, -S to select them, and -Q to discover query facets and operators.
• Default output is Markdown; use --table, --tsv, --jsonl, or --json when another shape is more useful.
• Quote generic type names such as 'List<T>'.

Embedded guides

The tool ships version-matched guidance. Run skill for the router, skill list for the inventory, or skill <name> for one focused guide.

Skill	Use it for
query	Discovery, selection, projection, output formats, and limits
package-skills	Skills provided by restored NuGet packages
private-feeds	Custom feeds, credentials, caches, and offline use
compatibility	API and implementation changes between versions
correctness	Exceptions, error handling, and unsafe operations
signals	Provenance, compatibility, dependency, and safety signals
sourcelink	PDB mappings, source locations, and verified source
metadata	Raw ECMA-335 tables, heaps, handles, and rows
decompiler	Decompiled C#, annotated source, IL, and fidelity
performance	Library metrics, call-graph leverage, and allocation/performance triage
relationships	Dependencies, package call graphs, callers, implementors, and extensions

For non-trivial work, load the relevant embedded guide and prefer it whenever commands, sections, output shapes, or workflow guidance differ from this bootstrapper.