Third-party platforms aren't always well-documented. Use .NET Reflector to look inside their assemblies, and see how they work and which APIs you can call.

Standard

per user

Basic decompilation

A standalone application to explore and navigate decompiled code

VSPro

per user

Debug 3rd party code

Dynamic decompilation inside Visual Studio

Includes the standalone application, and the Reflector Object Browser

.NET Reflector features

Standard edition features

Decompilation

Decompile, browse, and analyze any .NET assembly to C#, VB.NET, or IL.

Desktop application

Use the standalone application to explore and navigate decompiled code.

Search filtering

Get results as you type and find what you're looking for easily.

Debug and decompile inside Visual Studio (VSPro edition)

Use the Visual Studio debugger

Use your regular debugging techniques on any decompiled assemblies as if they were your own, using the Visual Studio debugger.

Debug third-party assemblies

Generate .pdb files for decompiled assemblies and save them so you only need to enable debugging once for each assembly.

Dynamic decompilation

Assemblies decompile seamlessly in Visual Studio so source code is always available for your libraries.

Use VS shortcuts

Use F12 to “Go To Definition”, F9 to “Set Breakpoints”, and F11 to “Step Into” any decompiled code.

C#6 decompilation

.NET Reflector supports C#6 and .NET 4.6.

Browse assemblies

.NET Reflector VSPro adds the Reflector Object Browser into Visual Studio. Use the tree view to navigate through code.

3 ways .NET Reflector will make your life easier

Debug third-party code fast

Using third-party technologies is a great way to get stuff done fast without re-inventing the wheel. But it's hard to debug libraries, components, and frameworks you didn't write.

.NET Reflector saves time and simplifies development by letting you see and debug into the source of all the .NET code you work with.

Follow bugs through your own code, third-party components, and any compiled .NET code you work with. You can see third-party code in Visual Studio, and debug into it just like your own.

See how people are using .NET Reflector to debug third-party code

Carlos Quintero: How to Debug Visual Studio assemblies with .NET Reflector

Cory Plotts: Debugging the .NET Framework Source Code

Adam Driscoll: Inside PowerShell 3.0 – Deep into the interpreter with .NET Reflector and Visual Studio 2012

Clive Tong: Debugging the debugging experience

Follow data

See how data flows through a library or component, and watch locals change as you debug.

Find bugs

Track down the exact location of bugs in your own code or third-party libraries.

Get insight

Find dependencies, diff assemblies, and understand how code works.

Work easily with any code

Languages and libraries aren't always well-documented. Legacy code isn't always well-commented. Understand how APIs, components, frameworks, and all the critical code you use really works by decompiling and seeing inside.

Having the source code available means you're no longer blocked by poor or missing documentation. You can see how code runs, avoid bugs, and develop easily with third-party technologies.

See how developers are solving their problems with .NET Reflector

Nick Harrison: Understanding Asynchronous Programming with .NET Reflector

Adam Driscoll: Inside PowerShell 3.0 – Deep into the interpreter with .NET Reflector and Visual Studio 2012

Example: Debugging SharePoint customizations with .NET Reflector

Better docs

Replace poor or missing documentation by seeing how the code works in context.

Discover methods

Find unexposed and undocumented functionality and get more out of the APIs and technologies you're using.

Learn tech

Drill into how .NET languages and frameworks are implemented, and learn how to use them.

Simplify SharePoint development

SharePoint APIs and libraries aren't always well-documented, or exposed in the way you need. But that doesn't have to be a problem.

With .NET Reflector you can look inside the SharePoint assemblies and understand exactly how they work.

How developers are solving their problems with .NET Reflector

Damon Armstrong: SharePoint development articles on SimpleTalk.com

Mark Arend: Using Reflector to see SharePoint's source code

Michael Blumenthal: Which views can be used when Creating an Alert?

Look inside

Create better controls, WebParts, and features by seeing how they work, and how the code runs.

Fix bugs

Track down the source of errors in your own code or the SharePoint libraries.

Get insight

Find out what methods to call and how they work, without relying on documentation.

.NET Reflector add-ins

NET Reflector has a comprehensive add-in model, with an API that lets you extend the tool to suit your exact needs.

The API also lets other tools take advantage of .NET Reflector's unparalleled decompilation and disassembly abilities to complement their own functionality. The best thing is, building your own add-in is painless.

Below are some great add-ins and tools which we recommend you try out.

We've done our best to find some of the best add-ins around, but you can still recommend other add-ins which you think we should feature. Or better still, why not write your own?

Our favorite add-ins

.NET Obfuscation Checker

In addition to the add-ins below, Redgate has come up with the .NET Obfuscation Checker, a tool designed to work with .NET Reflector.

Obfuscation Checker scans a directory and inspects the assemblies and .exe files inside. It shows you which DLLs and executables are there, the references for each, and information about their obfuscation state and security level.

Obfuscation Checker uses .NET Reflector to decompile the assemblies, so you can quickly see the code in a .dll or .exe file. This lets you see what's obfuscated, and what isn't. For example, you can see how readable type names are and how easy it is to understand control flow.

SmokeTest

Created by Wesley Steiner

SmokeTest lets you invoke any member of a class interactively. An indispensable tool for anyone involved in developing, testing, and managing Windows .NET projects.

Reflexil

Created by Sebastien Lebreton

Reflexil is an advanced assembly editor, able to manipulate IL code and save the modified assemblies to disk. Reflexil also supports 'on the fly' C# and VB.NET code injection.

Assembly Visualizer

Created by Denis Markelov

Assembly Visualizer is an open-source data visualization add-in, created for more convenient assembly investigation.

Snippy

Created by Jason Haley

Snippy is a lightweight snippet compiler originally created by Jon Skeet for his book C# in Depth: What you need to master C# 2 and 3, and later turned it into a Reflector add-in by Jason Haley.

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