dotnet-inspect

dotnet-inspect

Query .NET library APIs — types, members, diffs, extensions, implementations, dependencies, and source links.

ℹ️ [Obsolete] Detection — Status as of v0.7.8

Closed gap (good news): As of richlander/dotnet-inspect v0.7.8 (2026-05-04), the tool now surfaces [Obsolete] members in listings (PR #318, closes issue #316). The historical blind spot — where overloads of AddFanInBarrierEdge appeared identical even when one was deprecated — is fixed in this version.

dotnet-inspect and cs0618-hunter are now complementary, not workaround-vs-truth:

Use…	When…
dotnet-inspect (this skill)	Pre-build static inspection — "what is deprecated in [email protected]?" without compiling. Fast, scriptable, works against any NuGet package.
cs0618-hunter skill	Compiler ground-truth — "what is my code actually triggering today?" Catches transitive obsoletions, overload-resolution surprises, and project-specific [Obsolete] definitions that aren't in NuGet.

Both keep value. Earlier versions (≤ v0.7.7) required cs0618-hunter as the only reliable path; v0.7.8 makes static inspection a viable pre-build option.

Pin to v0.7.8 or later. Versions ≤ v0.7.7 will miss [Obsolete] annotations and silently mislead.

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When to Use This Skill (and When NOT to)

Use dotnet-inspect when…	Use cs0618-hunter instead when…
Checking if a type exists in a package	You need the compiler's view of CS0618 warnings in your project
Listing members of a type (incl. [Obsolete] as of v0.7.8)	You suspect transitive or overload-resolution-dependent obsoletions
Diffing breaking changes between versions	A project-local [Obsolete] attribute (not in NuGet) is in play
Finding extension methods	—
Looking up method signatures	—
Pre-build "would this break if I upgraded?" check	Build verification after edits

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Quick Decision Tree

• Code broken after upgrade? → diff --package [email protected] first, then member
• What types exist in a package? → type --package Foo
• What members does a type have? → member Type --package Foo (now flags [Obsolete])
• What changed between versions? → diff --package [email protected]
• What does this type depend on? → depends (try --mermaid for diagrams — v0.7.5+)
• Where is the source code? → source Type --package Foo
• What does my project actually trigger? → cs0618-hunter (compiler ground-truth)

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Installation and Invocation

# Install (once, global)
dotnet tool install -g dnx

# Standard pattern — BOTH --source flags are required for NuGet packages
dnx [email protected] -y --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json -- <command> \
  --package <PackageName>@<version> --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

The --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json flag must appear on both the dnx invocation and the inner command.

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Key Commands for MAF Migrations

Diff breaking changes between MAF versions

dnx [email protected] -y --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json -- diff \
  --package [email protected] --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

dnx [email protected] -y --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json -- diff \
  --package [email protected] --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

List types in a MAF package

dnx [email protected] -y --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json -- type \
  --package [email protected] --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

Inspect members of a specific type

dnx [email protected] -y --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json -- member ChatClientAgent \
  --package [email protected] --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

dnx [email protected] -y --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json -- member WorkflowBuilder \
  --package [email protected] --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

Inspect a specific method (single overload detail view — DOES show custom attributes)

# Use --params to select a specific overload, --index for full detail including custom attributes
dnx [email protected] -y --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json -- member WorkflowBuilder \
  --package [email protected] --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json \
  -m AddFanInBarrierEdge --params "ExecutorBinding,IEnumerable<ExecutorBinding>" --index

The single-overload --index view has always shown [Obsolete] in the Custom Attributes section. As of v0.7.8 the multi-overload listing also surfaces [Obsolete], so you no longer need to know which overload to suspect in advance.

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General Usage Patterns

# List members of a type
dnx [email protected] -y --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json -- member JsonSerializer \
  --package System.Text.Json --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

# What changed between versions
dnx [email protected] -y --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json -- diff \
  --package [email protected] --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

# Check latest version
dnx [email protected] -y --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json -- \
  Microsoft.Agents.AI --latest-version --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

Key Syntax Rules

• Generic types need quotes: 'Option<T>', 'IEnumerable<T>'
• Diff ranges use ..: --package [email protected]
• -m filters by member name: -m AddFanInBarrierEdge
• --params selects a specific overload by parameter types
• --index shows full detail including custom attributes (but only for single-overload view)
• Do NOT pipe output through head/tail — use --head N / --tail N built-in flags

Command Quick Reference

Command	Purpose
type	Discover types in a package
member	Inspect members of a type
diff	Compare API surfaces between versions
find	Search for types by glob/fuzzy match
extensions	Find extension methods for a type
implements	Find types implementing an interface
depends	Walk dependency graphs
source	SourceLink URLs, fetch source content
package	Package metadata and versions