dotnet-inspect: Inspect NuGet Packages from Private and Local Feeds

Use this skill when package evidence lives outside NuGet.org. Run dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- <command>. Start with a credential-free configuration and a NuGet credential provider; keep tokens out of repositories, URLs and command lines.

Select and pin the source

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package MyCompany.Widget@1.2.3 \
  --nugetconfig ./NuGet.Config
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package MyCompany.Widget --versions-with-feed \
  --nugetconfig ./NuGet.Config
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package MyCompany.Widget --versions -n 1 \
  --source ./feed
dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- package MyCompany.Widget@1.2.3 \
  --source ./feed --path @readme --content --raw

--nugetconfig selects exactly that configuration. Repeatable --source replaces configured sources; --add-source augments them for one invocation. Folder feeds accept a path or file:// URI. Source order is not version precedence: discovery chooses among eligible observations. Pin Id@version when the exact coordinate matters; Id@latest --versions requests a fresh latest-version check, and --preview opts into prereleases.

find --packages is NuGet.org-only and rejects source overrides. For API/history inspection, carry the same --source/--nugetconfig and TFM through every probe. Load skill compatibility for ranges, checkpoints and --major-versions; do not reuse ordinals from an unlisted-inclusive version listing in a listed-only history vector.

For detailed command admission use --help; for unfamiliar inspection/query depth use explain "<question>" and follow its returned binding.

Source mapping

Use normal <packageSources> plus <packageSourceMapping> in NuGet.Config. Every requested package, including dependencies and tool redirects, needs an eligible source. Exact-ID mapping wins over prefixes; otherwise the longest prefix wins.

<packageSourceMapping>
  <packageSource key="private">
    <package pattern="MyCompany.*" />
  </packageSource>
  <packageSource key="nuget.org">
    <package pattern="*" />
  </packageSource>
</packageSourceMapping>

An override does not disable mapping. Its endpoint must match a configured source to retain that source's mapped name. Do not recover mapping failures by silently switching to another authority.

Authenticate noninteractively

Install Microsoft's Azure Artifacts provider:

dotnet tool install --global Microsoft.Artifacts.CredentialProvider.NuGet.Tool

dotnet-inspect discovers NUGET_NETCORE_PLUGIN_PATHS, NUGET_PLUGIN_PATHS, the normal ~/.nuget/plugins/netcore/ directory, and nuget-plugin-* tools on PATH. Providers run after a 401 and are requested noninteractively: cached and environment-supplied credentials work, but no sign-in prompt opens. az login alone does not supply a NuGet credential.

In Azure Pipelines, run NuGetAuthenticate@1 before inspection. Outside it, use the provider's documented unattended input such as ARTIFACTS_CREDENTIALPROVIDER_EXTERNAL_FEED_ENDPOINTS, without printing its expanded secret value. For build identities, the provider also accepts ARTIFACTS_CREDENTIALPROVIDER_URI_PREFIXES and ARTIFACTS_CREDENTIALPROVIDER_ACCESSTOKEN; certificate inputs use ARTIFACTS_CREDENTIALPROVIDER_FEED_ENDPOINTS.

If no provider serves the feed, a private config outside the repository can supply both Username and ClearTextPassword under the matching packageSourceCredentials key. Do not rely on %VAR% expansion, encrypted Password, NuGetPackageSourceCredentials_*, or URL credentials: dotnet-inspect does not consume those forms.

Share a credential-free declaration

dnx dotnet-inspect -y -- workspace \
  --package Private.Package@1.2.3 --tfm net10.0 \
  --nuget-source-auth-required \
    https://nuget.pkg.github.com/example/index.json --share url

Inspect Web prompts per authentication-required endpoint. Credentials stay in page-session memory, not the packet, URL, browser storage or telemetry. Reloading prompts again. The declaration carries source requirements, not credentials or proof that acquisition succeeded.

Diagnose failures without changing authority

A 401 means unreadable source, not absent package. Check provider discovery, endpoint matching, token scope and expiry before changing the ID. Missing folders and malformed archives are source failures too. A healthy peer does not make incomplete automatic version discovery complete.

Payload caches do not authorize a new source or introduce version candidates. Retain source provenance and warnings; a warm cache must not become an unqualified cross-feed answer. --no-nuget-cache excludes the NuGet global package-cache layer where supported.

--offline prohibits network and credential plugins; successful inspection requires already authorized local content. It is not a metadata-only online version query. An offline cache miss is not evidence that the package does not exist.