Dotnet Inspect Query

dotnet-inspect: query and output system

The query system is like Go templates, without a DSL: inspection commands emit structured sections, with the broadest shared query surface on type, member, package, and library. project supports -D and -S but not general field/column projection. find supports -D discovery and field/column projection but not -S selection. diff supports -D and -S but not field/column projection. timeline supports section selection and projection but not -D discovery. workspace supports output formats, --count, and --rows, but not discovery, section selection, or field projection. Relationship commands render fixed output without -D or -S. Discover the shape first where available, then select and project.

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- <command>

Output formats

Default output is Markdown. Pick a machine or compact shape when you need one:

• --table — compact aligned rows.
• --tsv — stable snake_case headers, no embedded tabs/newlines.
• --jsonl — one JSON object per row.
• --json-array — one JSON array for projected rows (--urls, --paths, --value, --print).
• --json — structured documents.
• --bare — one undecorated payload or URL list.
• --count — a bare row count.
• --value / --urls / --paths — project one selected section to scalar, URL, or path payloads.
• --print — print one document behind a selected section row; use --row N|first|last when the section renders multiple rows.
• --tree — a standalone tree for graph sections that support tree lowering.
• --mermaid — a standalone diagram; combine it with --markdown to embed the diagram in a Markdown document.

On find, plain --json retains the typed result shape. Adding --columns or --fields requests projected JSON instead: the result is a JSON document containing the same selected rows and snake_case fields as the --tsv and --jsonl formats.

For member -S "Call Graph", default Markdown is an edge table. Choose the view for the task without changing the graph or its ordered edge rows:

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- member Type -m Method:1 -S "Call Graph"
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- member Type -m Method:1 -S "Call Graph" --tree
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- member Type -m Method:1 -S "Call Graph" --mermaid
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- member Type -m Method:1 -S "Call Graph" --markdown --mermaid
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- member Type -m Method:1 -S "Call Graph" --tsv

Use the Markdown table when edge evidence belongs in a document, --tree when call paths are the natural reading order, Mermaid for a diagram, and --tsv/--jsonl for one machine-readable edge row per relationship. from and to are always present; from_group, to_group, and label appear only when the whole graph uses them. A row window can therefore retain an optional field even when its selected values are empty. --tree and standalone --mermaid do not mix with another explicitly selected output format.

Discover and select sections

-D, -S, and -Q are the uppercase cross-command query namespace. Use -D to discover sections and fields, -S to select exact names, categories, compatible aliases, or wildcards, -Q to discover query facets and operators, and --columns/--fields to project values. Discover first instead of guessing names.

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- member JsonSerializer --platform System.Text.Json -D --tsv
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- member JsonSerializer --platform System.Text.Json -m Serialize -D "Member Index" --tsv
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- member JsonSerializer --platform System.Text.Json -m Serialize -S "Member Index" --columns "Selector;Stable;Canonical Signature" --tsv

Structural discovery describes authored membership without running producers; effective discovery probes for data. Package and library differ:

On library, -D --effective runs full probes and remains scoped to base evidence unless a category is named.

@Package groups Package Info, Signals, Statistics, Target Frameworks, Signature, Dependencies, Vulnerabilities, Manifest, Runtime Dependencies, and the unbounded Package files listing. @Files groups the curated nuspec, README, and skill-file sections. Other commands expose categories such as member @Source; Switches is a section. There are no user-facing @All, @Default, or @Hidden categories.

Library Unsafe Members is intentionally standalone rather than category owned. Select it directly with -S "Unsafe Members"; use -D "Unsafe Members" for its fields or -D --schema to find it in the complete static graph.

Bare -S returns high-value, fixed-length, network-free sections from the package or library base categories. Sections without evidence are omitted. -S --count returns the candidate count map, including zero rows. Explicit sections/categories override base scope and may authorize expensive work. Focused selection omits identity; include Package Info or Library Info when needed.

Some large families expose only their category door in the top-level catalog. Use library X -D @Performance or -D @Metadata; add --effective for populated members. Row formats require a concrete section or homogeneous family. Heterogeneous categories use Markdown/JSON; Performance:* flattens kinds and adds Kind when multiple kinds have rows.

Discover query capabilities

-Q (alias --query-help) is structural and does not acquire or inspect a target. It is available on library, type, member, package, and find. Use it before constructing filters; displayed columns do not imply support for --where, --order-by, or --top.

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library -Q
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- type -Q "Body Shapes"
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library -Q "Performance: Arrays" --json
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library -Q @Performance

Bare -Q lists query-capable sections. Named -Q lists exact facet keys, operators, comparisons, and values; -v:d adds examples. JSON retains typed arrays of operators and legal values. Named TSV/JSONL output requires one section. --columns, --fields, --rows, and --count shape the discovery rows, not inspected data.

Do not combine -Q with -S, -D, --where, --order-by, or --top. Each named description is a companion section called Query: <Section>; -S "Query: Body Shapes" selects it directly, but normal output and data wildcards omit companions. -D "Query: Body Shapes" describes one companion's columns; companion schema discovery requires one resolved section. A known section with no implemented query bindings says so; for example, find -Q Results does not advertise package facets as API-search predicates.

find -Q Packages exposes the facet equality selector and its product-issued Package Query IDs. Use it with patternless find --package-prefix:

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- find -Q Packages --json
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- find --package-prefix dotnet-inspect -S Packages \
  --where "facet=package.query.dotnet-tool" --candidates 5 --matches 5
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- find --package-prefix dotnet-inspect --package-content \
  --where "facet=package.query.dotnet-tool-v2" --candidates 5 --matches 5 --jsonl

--where repeats select product facets, not arbitrary package-field expressions. Independent facets are ANDed; compatible tool v1/v2 alternatives are ORed. Query rows represent individual packages, with exact versions and product-authored evidence. --candidates bounds work (default 200) and --matches bounds semantic matches (default 100), each at most 1,000. Package-content facets need --package-content and at most 20 candidates; the flag sets that conservative default. --rows and --count operate on matched package rows. Count rejects explicit --matches; reached budgets and failures remain visible. Package Query does not accept -t, API-search scopes, source overrides, or ranking. Query-execution flags cannot be combined with -Q.

library -Q Integrations describes the ecosystem facet for the whole Integration family. All integrations are enabled by default; use library MyLibrary.dll -S Integrations --where "ecosystem=ecosystem.aspire" to narrow the ordinary result. The initial supported value is ecosystem.aspire. Use a concrete section such as Integration: Aspire for TSV/JSONL. This predicate does not combine with Body Shapes or Performance Triage filters/rankings.

Correlate one member's Findings

Select Finding Census by its exact name for one body-backed method or accessor. It returns one indivisible envelope containing the census receipt, raw Facts, annotated-source document, and document-local fact-to-instance sidecar. The receipt scopes every instance key so display-identical Findings remain distinct.

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- member JsonSerializer \
  --package System.Text.Json Serialize:1 \
  -S "Finding Census" --json

The section is explicit-only: categories, broad wildcards, and non-exact selectors omit or reject it. Markdown and exact singleton JSON preserve the envelope. Table, TSV, JSONL, count, row-window, field, and column projections fail because they cannot preserve the correlation document.

Query rendered body shapes

At library scope, select exact rendered C# syntax occurrences with the stable IDs from the C# Body Kinds vocabulary. A Kind=... predicate auto-selects the explicit-only Body Shapes section when no -S selection is present:

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- vocabulary -S "C# Body Kinds"
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library MyLib.dll \
  --where "Kind=ObjectCreationExpression" --jsonl
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library MyLib.dll \
  --where "Kind=InvocationExpression" \
  --where "Finding=analysis.call-site" \
  --where "Shape=sync-call-in-async" \
  --where "Confidence>=medium" --jsonl
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- member Widget Render:1 --library MyLib.dll \
  --where "Kind=InvocationExpression" --jsonl
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- type Widget --library MyLib.dll \
  --where "Kind=InvocationExpression" --jsonl

At library scope, repeated Performance Triage predicates are ANDed before decompilation. The matching opportunities are mapped through their typed source owner identities and only those MethodDef bodies are searched for Kind. Body Shapes is the default occurrence section. Explicitly select -S "Body Shape Summary" for exact Kind/Match groups with a Count column; --columns "Match;Count" hides the already-known kind. Summary windows select groups without reducing their occurrence counts. --count counts the surviving rows in the selected view, and hiding columns never aggregates. Occurrence Member/Token and start/end coordinates locate matches in rendered C# method bodies, not original source files or IL.

Select a Performance section separately when the canonical candidate/evidence/IL rows are also needed. Performance --top and --order-by do not compose with Body Shapes; use --rows to limit rendered matches.

Type scope requires one exact type and searches only its MethodDef and accessor bodies. Member scope requires one exact member name or stable selector and decompiles only the selected MethodDef body. An unambiguous method or single-accessor member is auto-selected; overloaded names require Name:N or Name~digest. A property or event with multiple body accessors requires an accessor selector; use Name~digest:1/Name~digest:2 when the owner is overloaded. Every body query requires exactly one case-sensitive Kind=... predicate. Type and member scope do not yet compose it with Performance Triage predicates.

Filter and order performance rows

On type/member Performance Triage or one concrete library Performance: <Kind> section, use --where with a discovered field name and repeat it to combine predicates. Use --order-by "Field desc,Other asc" before applying output limits.

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library MyLib.dll -S "Performance: Arrays" \
  --where "Finding=analysis.allocation" --order-by "RootReach desc" --jsonl

Performance:* orders within each Kind group before flattening, while --rows caps the flattened sequence. Do not combine those flags expecting a global field-ranked prefix; use --top N for the curated global rank, or select one concrete kind when a specific field controls the order.

Limit output

Prefer built-in limits to shell pipes:

• -n N and numeric shorthand like -6 cap output lines on commands that have not adopted semantic rows, like head.
• --tail takes the same count from the end, like tail.
• --rows N takes the first N data rows per table on commands that retain the legacy row window, preserving headings and headers; add --tail for the last N. On package version lenses, use -n N instead.
• On commands retaining the legacy row window, --rows 2..10 is an absolute 1-based inclusive range (nine rows), 2+10 means ten rows starting at row 2, and 10.. runs from row 10 to the end. These legacy ranges reject --head/--tail, and all legacy --rows forms reject -n.
• --row is not a window. With --print, --value, --urls, or --paths, it selects one displayed row, not a compacted projection position. first/last mean rendered endpoints; missing payloads fail instead of sliding. -n N may still limit the result.
• --count counts rows in one selected table.

Command-specific caps: -t N for type/find rows and -m N for members. Package --versions and --versions-with-feed are zero-arity selectors; -n N selects complete version rows, while -n N --lines clips their rendered lines. --rows on those lenses accepts only A..B, A.., and ..B. -n and --rows compose as stages in argv order on those lenses; --head and --tail modify -n, not the range.