The items I’ve listed — dnSpy, .NET Reflector, and ILSpy — are .NET decompilation tools. They’re commonly referred to as NuGet package viewers or .NET assembly browsers, and here’s what each one does:
🔍 Purpose
They allow you to view the internal code (IL/C#) of .NET assemblies — including those from NuGet packages — even if the source code is not available.
🧰 Tool Overviews
1. dnSpy/dnSpyEx
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An advanced .NET debugger and assembly editor.
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You can decompile, edit, and debug assemblies (EXE/DLL).
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Helpful for reverse engineering, modding, or understanding third-party code.
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Can even debug apps without PDBs (debug symbols).
✅ Best for: Debugging obfuscated or protected code.
🔗 GitHub: dnSpyEx
2. .NET Reflector
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One of the oldest commercial .NET decompilers (by Red Gate).
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Decompiles .NET assemblies to C#, VB.NET, etc.
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Has a Visual Studio plugin.
✅ Best for: Professional use in enterprise environments.
🔗 Website: Red Gate Reflector
3. ILSpy
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An open-source .NET decompiler by the SharpDevelop team.
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Very lightweight and reliable.
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Supports browsing NuGet packages, PDB loading, etc.
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Can also export projects from assemblies.
✅ Best for: Free and fast decompilation.
🔗 GitHub: ILSpy
🧠 Common Use Cases
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Inspecting NuGet package internals (when source is unavailable).
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Learning how libraries work.
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Debugging third-party code.
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Analyzing malware or reverse engineering (in security research).
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Recovering lost source code.