dotnet-techne-inspect

.NET NuGet Package Inspector

Inspect public APIs of .NET NuGet packages without writing throwaway C# code. Lists types (classes, interfaces, enums) and decompiles full type definitions with method signatures, properties, and attributes.

Requirements

One of these .NET global tools must be installed:

• dotnet-inspect (preferred) — .NET 10+ SDK required

  dotnet tool install -g dotnet-inspect
  

• ilspycmd (fallback) — .NET 8+ SDK required

  dotnet tool install -g ilspycmd
  

The NuGet package you want to inspect must be restored locally (present in ~/.nuget/packages/). If not, run dotnet restore in a project that references it.

When to use this skill

Use when the user asks to:

• Inspect a NuGet package's public API
• List types/interfaces/classes in a .NET package
• View method signatures or properties of a NuGet type
• Understand what a .NET client library provides
• "What does IFooApi look like?" for a referenced NuGet

Workflow

Step 0: Detect available tool

Always run this first to determine which backend to use.

Bash (Linux/macOS):

./scripts/detect-tool.sh

PowerShell (Windows):

.\scripts\detect-tool.ps1

Output: dotnet-inspect or ilspycmd. If neither is found, the script prints install instructions and exits with error.

Step 1: List public types in a package

Bash:

./scripts/list-types.sh <package-name> <version> [tfm]
# Example:
./scripts/list-types.sh PrimeLabs.Service.Assets.Client 1.1.1
./scripts/list-types.sh Refit 8.0.0 net8.0

PowerShell:

.\scripts\list-types.ps1 -PackageName <name> -Version <ver> [-Tfm <tfm>]
# Example:
.\scripts\list-types.ps1 -PackageName PrimeLabs.Service.Assets.Client -Version 1.1.1

The tfm parameter (target framework moniker) defaults to auto-detection (picks the highest available). Specify it explicitly if the package supports multiple frameworks (e.g., net8.0, net6.0, netstandard2.0).