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:

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 exact v0.9.1. Versions ≤ v0.7.7 miss [Obsolete] annotations, and v0.7.8 is affected by the Linux redirected-output corruption seen in the release watcher.

When to Use This Skill (and When NOT to)

Quick Decision Tree

• Code broken after upgrade? → diff --package Foo@old..new 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 Foo@1.2.0..1.3.0
• 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)

Installation and Invocation

# Install the exact repository-supported release (once, global)
dotnet tool install --global dotnet-inspect --version 0.9.1

# Standard pattern for NuGet packages
dotnet-inspect <command> \
  --package <PackageName>@<version> --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

The explicit --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json keeps package resolution deterministic in workspaces with custom feeds.

Key Commands for MAF Migrations

Diff breaking changes between MAF versions

dotnet-inspect diff \
  --package Microsoft.Agents.AI@1.2.0..1.3.0 --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

dotnet-inspect diff \
  --package Microsoft.Agents.AI.Workflows@1.2.0..1.3.0 --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

List types in a MAF package

dotnet-inspect type \
  --package Microsoft.Agents.AI.Workflows@1.3.0 --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

Inspect members of a specific type

dotnet-inspect member ChatClientAgent \
  --package Microsoft.Agents.AI@1.3.0 --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

dotnet-inspect member WorkflowBuilder \
  --package Microsoft.Agents.AI.Workflows@1.3.0 --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
dotnet-inspect member WorkflowBuilder \
  --package Microsoft.Agents.AI.Workflows@1.3.0 --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.

General Usage Patterns

# List members of a type
dotnet-inspect member JsonSerializer \
  --package System.Text.Json --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

# What changed between versions
dotnet-inspect diff \
  --package System.CommandLine@2.0.0-beta4.22272.1..2.0.3 --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

# Check latest version
dotnet-inspect 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 Foo@1.2.0..1.3.0
• -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