dotnet-inspect

dotnet-inspect

Query .NET library APIs — the same commands work across NuGet packages, platform libraries (System., Microsoft.AspNetCore.), and local .dll/.nupkg files.

Quick Decision Tree

• Code broken? → diff --package [email protected] first, then member --oneline
• Need API surface? → member Type --package Foo --oneline (token-efficient)
• Need signatures? → member Type --package Foo -m Method (default shows full signatures + docs)
• Need source/IL? → member Type --package Foo -m Method -v:d (adds Source, Lowered C#, IL)
• Need constructors? → member 'Type<T>' --package Foo -m .ctor (use <T> not <>)
• Need all overloads? → member Type --package Foo --select (shows Name:N indices)

When to Use This Skill

• "What types are in this package?" — type discovers types (terse), find searches by pattern
• "What's the API surface?" — type for discovery, member for detailed inspection (docs on)
• "What changed between versions?" — diff classifies breaking/additive changes
• "This code uses an old API — fix it" — diff the old..new version, then member --oneline to see the new API
• "What extends this type?" — extensions finds extension methods/properties
• "What implements this interface?" — implements finds concrete types
• "What does this type depend on?" — depends walks the type hierarchy upward
• "What version/metadata does this have?" — package and library inspect metadata
• "Show me something cool" — demo runs curated showcase queries

Key Patterns

Use --oneline as the default for scanning — it works on type, member, find, diff, and implements:

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- member JsonSerializer --package System.Text.Json --oneline  # scan members
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- type --package System.Text.Json --oneline                   # scan types
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- diff --package [email protected] --oneline  # triage changes