dotnet-inspect

dotnet-inspect

CLI tool for inspecting .NET libraries and NuGet packages. It is for .NET what docker inspect and kubectl describe are for container land: view package metadata, API surfaces, dependencies, source provenance, and version-to-version changes.

Install or run

dotnet tool install -g dotnet-inspect
dotnet-inspect <command>

Run without installing:

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- <command>

What it inspects

Source	Examples	Notes
NuGet packages	package System.Text.Json, type --package Markout	Supports versions, custom sources, nuget.config, TFMs, package layout, dependencies, and vulnerabilities.
Platform libraries	library System.Private.CoreLib, library System.Text.Json --version 10.0.0, diff --platform [email protected]	Resolves installed SDK/runtime assemblies, including runtime-only implementation assemblies with no NuGet package.
Local assets	library ./bin/MyLib.dll, package ./pkg/MyLib.nupkg	Useful for auditing builds before publishing.

Bare names are routed automatically: platform-looking names (System.*, Microsoft.AspNetCore.*) resolve to installed platform libraries; other names resolve as NuGet packages. In API commands, common CoreLib aliases and simple type names such as string, int, DateTime, and Guid resolve to System.Private.CoreLib. Use explicit commands and --package, --platform, or --library when you need a specific source.

Capability inventory

Capability	Commands	Highlights
Package inventory	package	Metadata, versions, TFMs, file layout, dependency tree, metadata audit, vulnerability data, custom feeds, NuGet config support.
Library audit	library	Assembly identity, public key token, trim/AOT metadata, unsafe/interoperability signals, OpenTelemetry support, symbols/PDBs, SourceLink and determinism audit, references, resources, async method classification.
API discovery	type, member, find	Type search, member tables, docs, overload selection, generics, obsolete-member markers, direct calls and callers, source/decompiled/IL drill-in.
API compatibility	diff	Version ranges, package or platform diffs, breaking/additive/potentially-breaking classification, type filters.
Relationships	depends, extensions, implements	Type hierarchies, package dependencies, library reference graphs, extension methods/properties, implementors and subclasses.
Source mapping	source, member -S "Original Source"	SourceLink URLs, member line numbers, source fetching, URL verification, token+IL-offset to source-line resolution.
Agent-friendly output	global flags	Markdown by default, compact --table, normalized --tsv, --jsonl, --plaintext, --json, Mermaid diagrams, section/field projection, --count, table row limiting, built-in head/tail limiting.

Command inventory

Command	Purpose
package X	Inspect NuGet metadata, versions, dependencies, TFMs, layout, and vulnerabilities.
library X	Inspect assembly metadata, symbols, SourceLink, references, resources, and async methods.
type X	Discover types or render a single type shape.
member X	Inspect members, docs, overloads, decompiled/lowered C#, SourceLink-backed original source, and IL.
find X	Search for types across packages, frameworks, projects, and local assets.
diff X	Compare API surfaces between versions.
extensions X	Find extension methods and C# extension properties for a type.
implements X	Find concrete implementors or subclasses.
depends X	Walk type, package, or library dependency graphs; emits Mermaid diagrams.
source X	Resolve SourceLink URLs or map method token + IL offset to source.
cache	Inspect or clear dotnet-inspect caches.
skill	Print the embedded LLM skill definition.

Single-type type X output is tree-shaped by default. Use -v:n or -v:d to grow that tree to overload leaves; use --markdown -v:q when you want the compact Markdown section view instead. When an exact type is not found, type treats the query as a best-effort namespace/type prefix browse within the resolved package, library, or platform scope.

Signals

Signals is an evidence report, not a safety certification. Select it with -S Signals. For libraries, Signals reports metadata/provenance observations and acquires a missing PDB when selected to resolve SourceLink. For packages, Signals reports package metadata/assets, dependencies, signature provenance, and NuGet registry observations. The per-source-file reachability pass (SourceLink Availability, SourceLink Missing Files) is selected explicitly with -S because its cost scales with source-file count. The slow, exhaustive content check (SourceLink Integrity) is opt-in only.