richlander dotnet-inspect: private NuGet feeds
Use this skill when package evidence lives outside NuGet.org. Start with a credential-free source configuration and a NuGet credential provider; keep tokens out of repositories and command lines.
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- <command>
Select the feed
--nugetconfig uses exactly the named configuration. --source replaces the
configured source set and can repeat; --add-source augments it for one run.
Use a source-only config when a credential provider supplies authentication:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
<packageSources>
<clear />
<add key="private" value="https://example.com/nuget/v3/index.json" />
</packageSources>
</configuration>
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package MyCompany.Widget --nugetconfig ./NuGet.Config
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package search Widget --nugetconfig ./NuGet.Config
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package MyCompany.Widget --versions-with-feed \
--nugetconfig ./NuGet.Config
Version discovery combines all eligible sources and chooses the highest
semantic version; source order is not precedence. Pin Package@Version when
the exact coordinate matters.
Query versions from a folder feed
Online version queries support NuGet V2/V3 folder feeds, specified as a
path, a file:// URI, or a mapped source in NuGet.Config:
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package MyCompany.Widget --versions --source ./feed
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package MyCompany.Widget --versions -n 5 --preview \
--source ./feed --jsonl
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package MyCompany.Widget --latest-version --source ./feed
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package MyCompany.Widget@1.2.3 --version --source ./feed
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package MyCompany.Widget@1.0.0..2.0.0 --versions \
--source ./feed --include-unlisted
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package MyCompany.Widget --versions-with-feed \
--source ./feed --add-source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json
Local and HTTP versions are combined and sorted before the result limit.
Missing folders or invalid archives are source failures, not package absence;
usable peer results carry an explicit partial warning on stderr. Local reads
use bounded enumeration rather than treating filenames as version evidence.
Latest, single-version discovery, and range selection require complete
evidence: an unreadable peer makes them fail instead of choosing from a
healthy subset. A pinned verification may report a coordinate observed on a
readable feed, with peer failures disclosed. --include-unlisted and
--versions-with-feed retain their listing and feed columns; local versions
use the non-Gallery listed convention.
These version queries are metadata-only and do not use --offline.
Inspect a package from a folder feed
Pin one coordinate to inspect its payload through the configured folder source:
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package MyCompany.Widget@1.2.3 --source ./feed
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package MyCompany.Widget@1.2.3 --source ./feed \
--path @readme --content --bare
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package MyCompany.Widget --source ./feed
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package 'MyCompany.Widget@1.*' --source ./feed \
--path @readme --content --bare
Online single-package inspection also supports latest, --preview, and
wildcard payload selection. It freshly queries every eligible source and
requires complete evidence before choosing a version; a failed peer blocks
automatic selection even when another source has a warm payload cache.
Only sources that reported the selected version may supply its payload.
Wildcards use a case-insensitive version prefix and may match prereleases.
Caller-pinned acquisition tries local sources before HTTP sources.
Declaration order is not precedence within a tier. One eligible source can
supply the exact package even when an earlier peer fails; --verbose retains
those diagnostics. Tool-wrapper redirects independently reapply mapping.
Local payload caches are scoped to the canonical configured folder, not just
package ID/version or producer identity. HTTP payloads currently use temporary
authority-scoped materialization and do not reuse persistent payload caches.
Automatic selection does not reuse legacy candidate caches. Multi-package
inspection, range-addressed payload commands, package-scoped API and dependency
commands, and offline extraction have not migrated yet. package --versions
can enumerate a range, but ordinary package payload inspection does not
accept a range or --at.
Restrict package ids to feeds
dotnet-inspect honors <packageSourceMapping> from the selected NuGet
configuration:
<packageSourceMapping>
<packageSource key="private">
<package pattern="MyCompany.*" />
</packageSource>
<packageSource key="nuget.org">
<package pattern="*" />
</packageSource>
</packageSourceMapping>
An exact package id wins over prefixes; otherwise the longest matching prefix
wins. Mapping is applied independently to top-level packages, dependencies,
RID companions, platform packs, tool redirects, searches, and routing probes.
Every package id must match an active named source. --source and
--add-source do not disable mapping; an override must match the configured
endpoint to retain its mapped source name.
Azure Artifacts credential provider
Install Microsoft's provider as a global tool. dotnet-inspect discovers
NUGET_NETCORE_PLUGIN_PATHS, then NUGET_PLUGIN_PATHS, then
~/.nuget/plugins/netcore/ and nuget-plugin-* executables on PATH.
dotnet tool install --global Microsoft.Artifacts.CredentialProvider.NuGet.Tool
Credential plugins run only after a feed answers 401. dotnet-inspect requests
credentials noninteractively: cached and environment-supplied credentials work,
but it never opens a sign-in prompt. az login alone does not supply a NuGet
credential.
In Azure Pipelines, authenticate before restore or inspection:
- task: NuGetAuthenticate@1
- script: dotnet restore
- script: dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package MyCompany.Widget
Outside Azure Pipelines, provide the provider's documented unattended credential input. Do not print the expanded value:
export ARTIFACTS_CREDENTIALPROVIDER_EXTERNAL_FEED_ENDPOINTS='{"endpointCredentials":[{"endpoint":"https://example.com/nuget/v3/index.json","username":"unused","password":"'"$TOKEN"'"}]}'
For an Azure Pipelines-compatible build identity, the provider also accepts
ARTIFACTS_CREDENTIALPROVIDER_URI_PREFIXES with
ARTIFACTS_CREDENTIALPROVIDER_ACCESSTOKEN. Service-principal certificate
configuration uses ARTIFACTS_CREDENTIALPROVIDER_FEED_ENDPOINTS.
Explicit credentials
When no provider serves the feed, dotnet-inspect accepts both Username and
ClearTextPassword under a matching packageSourceCredentials key. Keep that
config outside the repository and select it with --nugetconfig.
Do not rely on %VAR% expansion, encrypted <Password>,
NuGetPackageSourceCredentials_*, or credentials embedded in a source URL;
dotnet-inspect does not use those forms.
Diagnose failures and caches
A reported 401 Unauthorized means the source was unreadable, not that the
package is absent. Check provider discovery, URI matching, token scope, and
expiration before changing the package id.
dotnet-inspect's package payload and candidate caches retain source provenance.
The NuGet global folder is payload-only: it can fulfill an exact resolved
coordinate only when .nupkg.metadata.source names an authorized producer.
Missing or mismatched provenance is a cache miss, and installed payloads do not
introduce version candidates. Use --no-nuget-cache to exclude that layer.
--offline forbids network access and does not start credential plugins, so it
succeeds only from producer-authorized caches. Online version queries bypass
these legacy caches. Online single-package extraction uses authority-scoped
payload storage instead: old producer-keyed entries cannot authorize it, and HTTP
global-packages entries are not reused. A local global-packages entry must
name the same canonical configured folder in .nupkg.metadata.source.
Other unmigrated paths still skip configured folder feeds; --verbose
reports the skip. Passing a local .nupkg file remains supported separately.
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package MyCompany.Widget@1.2.3 \
--source https://example.com/nuget/v3/index.json --no-nuget-cache
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package MyCompany.Widget@1.2.3 \
--nugetconfig ./NuGet.Config --offline