dotnet-inspect

name	dotnet-inspect
description	Inspect .NET assemblies and NuGet packages. Use when you need to understand package contents, view public API surfaces, compare APIs between versions, or audit assemblies for SourceLink/determinism. Essential for .NET development tasks involving package exploration or API discovery.

dotnet-inspect

A CLI tool for inspecting .NET assemblies and NuGet packages.

Requirements

• .NET 10+ SDK

Installation

Use dnx to run without global installation (like npx for Node):

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- <command>

Important:

• Always use -y to skip the interactive confirmation prompt (which breaks LLM tool use). New package versions also trigger this prompt.
• Always use -- to separate dnx options from tool arguments. Without it, --help shows dnx help, not dotnet-inspect help.

Getting Started

Run this command for complete usage instructions:

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- llmstxt

DO THIS FIRST. The llmstxt command provides comprehensive examples for all commands and workflows.

Quick Reference

Command	Purpose
package <name>	Inspect NuGet package metadata, files, versions, dependencies
assembly <path>	Inspect .NET assembly info, SourceLink/determinism audit
api <type>	View public API surface of a type
type <type>	Show type shape with hierarchy and members (tree view)
find <pattern>	Search for types across packages, assemblies, or frameworks
diff <type>	Compare API surfaces between package versions
llmstxt	Show complete usage examples

Example Usage

# Package exploration
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package System.Text.Json
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package System.CommandLine --files
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package System.Text.Json --versions

# View type APIs
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- api JsonSerializer --package System.Text.Json
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- api Command --package System.CommandLine -m SetAction

# Compare versions
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- diff JsonSerializer --package System.Text.Json@9.0.0..10.0.0

# Type hierarchy
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- type Command --package System.CommandLine

# Search for types
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- find "*Logger*" --framework runtime
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- find JsonSerializer --package System.Text.Json

When to Use This Skill

• Exploring what types/APIs a NuGet package provides
• Searching for types by pattern across packages or frameworks
• Understanding method signatures and overloads
• Comparing API changes between package versions
• Auditing assemblies for SourceLink and determinism
• Finding types matching a pattern (--filter "Progress*")
• Getting documentation from source (--docs)