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:

Goal	package	library
Orient to a target	package X -D — effective base catalog.	library X -D — cheap target-aware base catalog.
Inspect a category	package X -D @Category — effective members.	library X -D @Category — structural members; add --effective for populated members.
Inspect section fields	package X -D Section — effective fields.	library X -D Section — structural fields; add --effective for rendered fields.
Read the static graph	package -D --schema	library -D --schema

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

Command	Base categories	Domain categories
package	@Package, @Files	@Dependencies, @Audit, @SourceLink
library	@Library, @Surface	@Audit, @Performance, @SourceLink, @Integrations, @Metadata, @Context

@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; this currently includes package-query facets not yet wired to the CLI.

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 remains the output section; 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, like head.
• --tail takes the same count from the end, like tail.
• --rows N takes the first N data rows per table, preserving headings and
  headers; add --tail for the last N.
• --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.
  Ranges reject --head/--tail; all --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, -m N for members, and
--versions N for package versions.