PackageAnalyzer

PackageAnalyzer is a powerful .NET tool for dissecting solution dependencies, generating comprehensive package reports, and facilitating legacy-to-monolith migrations.

📖 The Story Behind PackageAnalyzer

At Roamler, we faced a common yet daunting challenge: modernizing our legacy microservices into a unified monolith. The obstacle? A maze of package dependencies and version conflicts across our .NET Framework projects. PackageAnalyzer was born in my weekend spare time from this need – a tool to map our dependency landscape, highlight version discrepancies, and guide our migration journey. What started as an in-house solution is now open-source, aiming to help others navigate similar modernization quests.

🚀 Features

• Solution Analysis: Scan and analyze packages.config files across all projects in a solution.
• Dependency Mapping: Identify and map both direct and transitive package dependencies.
• Report Generation: Create detailed reports on package usage and project dependencies.
• Anomaly Detection: Identify potential issues in package versioning and usage.

🛠️ How It Works

PackageAnalyzer leverages the power of the NuGet API to fetch comprehensive package information directly from NuGet servers. Here's what you need to know:

• Dependency Graph The tool generates a detailed dependency graph of your solution, including both direct and transitive dependencies

• Caching Mechanism To optimize performance and reduce unnecessary API calls, PackageAnalyzer caches project information in an "AnalysisResult" directory located in the same folder as the executable.

• Fresh Data

  If you need to ensure you're working with the most up-to-date information, simply remove the cache by deleting the "AnalysisResult" directory before running the analysis.

This approach allows PackageAnalyzer to provide fast, accurate results while minimizing network usage and API requests.

📊 Report Types

1. Packages by Project

   • Lists each project in your solution
   • For each project, shows all packages used and their versions
   • Helps you understand the dependency structure of individual projects
   • Useful for identifying which projects might need updating or consolidation

2. Project by Packages Report

   • Lists each package used across your solution
   • For each package, shows every project using it and the version used
   • Highlights version discrepancies as anomalies
   • Helps identify inconsistencies in package versions across projects
   • Useful for planning version alignment and identifying potential conflicts

3. Anomalies Report

   • Focuses on package version inconsistencies across projects
   • Lists project names and package versions that differ from the majority
   • Helps quickly identify areas that need attention for successful integration
   • Crucial for planning your monolith migration strategy