Ejafi.Introspect CLI

Generate Mermaid class diagrams from compiled .NET assemblies.

This CLI loads a .NET assembly, builds a structural model of its types and members, and prints a Mermaid classDiagram to standard output. You can pipe or redirect the output to a .mmd file and render it with Mermaid-compatible tools.

Requirements

• .NET SDK 9.0 or later installed
• A compiled .NET assembly to introspect (DLL or EXE)

Build

From the repository root:

# Restore and build
dotnet build

# (Optional) Publish a self-contained executable
# Replace win-x64 with your RID if needed
dotnet publish src/Ejafi.Introspect.Cli -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained false

Run

You can run the CLI without publishing using dotnet run:

# Basic usage (prints Mermaid to stdout)
dotnet run --project .\src\Ejafi.Introspect.Cli -- -a "/path/to/YourLibrary.dll"

Or run the published binary from the publish output folder.

Usage

Ejafi.Introspect.Cli.exe [options] -a|--assembly <PATH>

Options:

• -a, --assembly (required)
  • Path to the assembly file to introspect (DLL or EXE).
• -n, --namespace
  • Group types by namespace. (Default: false)
• -p, --properties
  • Include properties. (Default: true)
• -m, --methods
  • Include methods. (Default: true)
• -f, --fields
  • Include fields. (Default: false)
• --include-private
  • Include private members (where applicable). (Default: false)
• --include-internal
  • Include internal/protected-internal members (where applicable). (Default: false)
• --include-enums
  • Include enum members (literals). (Default: true)

Notes:

• Properties and methods are included by default; fields are opt-in.
• "Group by namespace" wraps classes within Mermaid namespace blocks.

Examples

• Basic diagram from an assembly:

  dotnet run --project .\src\Ejafi.Introspect.Cli -- -a "/path/to/MyLib.dll"

• Group by namespace and include fields:

  dotnet run --project .\src\Ejafi.Introspect.Cli -- -a "/path/to/MyLib.dll" -n -f

• Include private and internal members (where supported):

  dotnet run --project .\src\Ejafi.Introspect.Cli -- -a "/path/to/MyLib.dll" --include-private --include-internal

• Save to a Mermaid file for later rendering:

  dotnet run --project .\src\Ejafi.Introspect.Cli -- -a "/path/to/MyLib.dll" > diagram.mmd

Output

The CLI writes Mermaid class diagram syntax to stdout, beginning with classDiagram, followed by class/interface/enum blocks and relations (inheritance, implementation, association). Example snippet:

classDiagram
class Foo {
  + Bar Baz
  + Do(): void
}
Foo <|-- FooEx

Loading

Render the output using Mermaid tooling (e.g., Mermaid CLI, VS Code Mermaid preview, or online Mermaid live editor).

Troubleshooting

• "The file is not a valid .NET assembly": Ensure you point to a built .NET DLL/EXE targeting a compatible runtime.
• "Failed to load assembly": Make sure dependent assemblies are present next to the target assembly (or loadable from probing paths).
• Nothing printed: Verify the assembly actually contains types after any filters; also confirm stdout wasn’t redirected elsewhere.