richlander/dotnet-inspect/metadata

dotnet-inspect: Inspect .NET Assembly Metadata Tables and Heaps

Use this skill when API views are too high-level and you need the assembly's actual ECMA-335 tables, handles, flags, or heap values. The metadata lens inspects one assembly image and never loads the inspected assembly. Use explain "<question>" for unfamiliar metadata evidence, then follow the returned resource; use -D for the installed section and field names.

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- <command>

Discover before reading

Metadata tables are unbounded and explicit-only: no verbosity or base category renders them automatically. Structural discovery lists the authored metadata family without running its producers; add --effective to identify the tables and heaps that have data for this image:

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library MyLib.dll -D @Metadata
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library MyLib.dll -D @Metadata --effective
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library MyLib.dll -S @Metadata --count
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library MyLib.dll -D "Metadata: TypeDef" --effective

Metadata: Image reports image-level facts. Table sections such as Metadata: TypeDef, Metadata: MethodDef, and Metadata: MemberRef decode handles, ranges, heap values, and flags instead of dumping raw integers.

Query one table

The # column is the real metadata row id. --rows therefore addresses table rows by displayed, 1-based metadata position rather than by the current page. Ranges are inclusive, so 100..199 selects 100 rows:

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library MyLib.dll \
  -S "Metadata: MethodDef" --rows 100..199 --tsv
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library MyLib.dll \
  -S "Metadata: TypeRef" --columns "Name,Namespace,ResolutionScope" --jsonl

Table indices are accepted as input aliases when following a token:

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library MyLib.dll -S "Metadata: 0x02"

That is the TypeDef table. A full token such as 0x02000015 addresses a row, not a table, and is rejected by -S.

Inspect heaps

The heap sections are Metadata: #Strings, Metadata: #Blob, Metadata: #GUID, and Metadata: #US. Use library coordinate for one exact coordinate:

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library MyLib.dll \
  -S "Metadata: #Strings" --rows 20
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- library coordinate "#Strings:0x1a4" \
  --library MyLib.dll

Heap addresses are decimal unless prefixed with 0x. String and blob listings contain distinct values referenced by projected table rows, not a claim of complete heap enumeration; each listing reports its coverage.

Selecting @Metadata for a package that resolves to several assemblies is ambiguous and fails. Choose one DLL with library, or use package Foo --library only when the package has one unambiguous library.