Tools Overview

mcilspy exposes 16 tools through the Model Context Protocol, powered by two complementary engines. Seven metadata tools parse PE headers directly via dnfile and work immediately with no .NET SDK. Nine decompilation tools use ilspycmd for full source recovery, diagrams, and project generation. Two diagnostics tools help you get set up.

Feature Matrix

Tool	Purpose	Engine	Category
decompile_assembly	Full C# or IL source recovery with PDB support	ilspycmd	Decompilation
decompile_method	Extract a single method from a type	ilspycmd	Decompilation
list_types	Enumerate classes, interfaces, structs, enums, delegates	ilspycmd	Decompilation
search_types	Find types by name pattern (regex supported)	ilspycmd	Decompilation
search_strings	Find hardcoded strings in the UserString heap	dnfile	Decompilation
generate_diagrammer	Interactive HTML type relationship diagram	ilspycmd	Decompilation
dump_package	Extract assemblies from NuGet packages	ilspycmd	Decompilation
get_assembly_info	Version, framework, signing, and debug info	ilspycmd	Decompilation
search_methods	Find methods by name or pattern across all types	dnfile	Metadata
search_fields	Find fields, constants, and their default values	dnfile	Metadata
search_properties	Find properties by name pattern	dnfile	Metadata
list_events	List all event definitions in an assembly	dnfile	Metadata
list_resources	Find embedded files, images, and resource streams	dnfile	Metadata
get_metadata_summary	Assembly statistics, references, and framework info	dnfile	Metadata
check_ilspy_installation	Diagnose dotnet CLI and ilspycmd setup	built-in	Diagnostics
install_ilspy	Auto-install .NET SDK and ilspycmd for your platform	built-in	Diagnostics

Tools by Category

Decompilation Tools

Eight tools that use ilspycmd for deep analysis, plus search_strings which reads the UserString heap directly via dnfile. These cover full source recovery, type enumeration, diagram generation, and NuGet package extraction.

decompile_assembly Full C# source recovery with PDB, IL code, and project generation options.

decompile_method Extract a single method by name from a decompiled type.

list_types Enumerate types filtered by kind -- classes, interfaces, structs, delegates, enums.

search_types Find types by name pattern with regex support.

Metadata Tools

Six tools that parse PE metadata tables directly. No .NET SDK required — these work on any machine with Python installed.

search_methods Find methods by name or pattern across all types.

search_fields Find fields, constants, and their default values.

get_metadata_summary Assembly statistics, type counts, and referenced assemblies.

Diagnostics Tools

Two tools for setup and troubleshooting. These detect your platform and package manager automatically.

check_ilspy_installation Verify dotnet CLI and ilspycmd are installed and working.

install_ilspy Auto-install .NET SDK and ilspycmd for your platform.

Recommended Workflow

When approaching an unknown assembly, start broad and narrow down. The Quick Start guide walks through this sequence in detail:

1. Reconnaissance — get_metadata_summary for type counts, references, and framework target
2. Discovery — list_types or search_types to find what exists
3. Search — search_methods, search_fields, search_strings to find specific patterns
4. Deep dive — decompile_assembly or decompile_method for full source code
5. Visualization — generate_diagrammer for type relationship diagrams
6. Resources — list_resources to check for embedded files

Tip

Steps 1-3 use metadata tools and work without ilspycmd. You can always start with metadata exploration and install ilspycmd later when you need deeper analysis.