dotnet-helpers

claude-dotnet-helpers

.NET build, test, and cleanup tools for Claude Code.

Build projects, run tests, kill orphaned compiler processes, and get structured error reports — all from Claude Code without leaving your conversation.

Requirements

• Linux or macOS
• Bun — the MCP server runs on Bun
• .NET 8+ SDK — dotnet --version should show 8.x or later
• jq — used by the error analysis script

Install jq (Debian/Ubuntu):

sudo apt install -y jq

Install jq (macOS):

brew install jq

Quick Start

1. Install the plugin.

Add the GitHub repo as a marketplace, then install:

claude plugin marketplace add https://github.com/Nige-l/claude-dotnet-helpers
claude plugin install dotnet-helpers

2. Use the tools. Ask Claude to build your project, run tests, or clean up orphaned compiler processes.

Alternative: local install from a clone

git clone https://github.com/Nige-l/claude-dotnet-helpers.git
claude --plugin-dir ./claude-dotnet-helpers

This loads the plugin for a single session without installing it globally.

Tools

Tool	Description	Parameters
build	Build a .NET project or solution	project (optional path), configuration (optional Debug/Release)
test	Run .NET tests	project (required path), filter (optional expression), configuration (optional Debug/Release)
cleanup	Kill orphaned dotnet/MSBuild/VBCSCompiler processes	—
analyze_errors	Parse raw build output into structured error report	build_output (required string)

Output Examples

build

{
  "success": true,
  "errors": 0,
  "warnings": 2,
  "output": "Build succeeded.\n    2 Warning(s)\n    0 Error(s)"
}

test

{
  "passed": 42,
  "failed": 1,
  "skipped": 0,
  "failures": [
    {
      "test": "MyNamespace.MyTest.ShouldReturnTrue",
      "message": "Assert.Equal() Failure\nExpected: True\nActual:   False"
    }
  ]
}

cleanup

{
  "killed": ["VBCSCompiler (pid 12345)", "dotnet (pid 67890)"],
  "message": "Killed 2 orphaned dotnet processes."
}

analyze_errors

{
  "errors": [
    {
      "file": "src/Game/MySystem.cs",
      "line": 42,
      "code": "CS0103",
      "message": "The name 'foo' does not exist in the current context",
      "hint": "Check for a missing using directive or misspelled variable name."
    }
  ],
  "warnings": 1,
  "error_count": 1
}

Skills

Skill	Description
/dotnet-helpers:setup	Check and install .NET 8+, jq, and bun dependencies
/dotnet-helpers:build	Build a .NET project and get structured error analysis with fix-order recommendations
/dotnet-helpers:test	Run .NET tests and get structured pass/fail results
/dotnet-helpers:cleanup	Kill orphaned VBCSCompiler and MSBuild processes to reclaim memory

Error Categories

The analyze_errors tool recognises common error codes and adds a hint field:

Code	Category	Common Cause
CS0103	Undefined name	Missing using directive or typo
CS0246	Type not found	Missing reference or using directive
CS8177	ref in async	ref local used in an async method (not allowed)
CS8175	ref in lambda	ref local captured in a lambda (not allowed)
CS0161	Missing return	Not all code paths return a value
CS1061	Member not found	Wrong method name or missing extension

License

MIT