ProjGraph CLI

Command-line tool for visualizing .NET project dependencies, generating Entity Relationship Diagrams, visualizing class hierarchies, and computing key solution metrics.

Installation

dotnet tool install -g ProjGraph.Cli

Commands

visualize - Project Dependencies

Visualize solution/project dependencies as ASCII tree or Mermaid diagram.

# ASCII tree (default)
projgraph visualize ./MySolution.sln

# Mermaid diagram (redirecting stdout)
projgraph visualize ./MySolution.slnx --format mermaid > graph.mmd

# Mermaid diagram (using output flag)
projgraph visualize ./MySolution.slnx --format mermaid --output graph.mmd

# Save as fenced Markdown
projgraph visualize ./MySolution.slnx --format mermaid --output docs/diagram.md

# Mermaid diagram without title header
projgraph visualize ./MySolution.slnx --format mermaid --show-title false

Settings:

• [path]: Path to .sln, .slnx, or .csproj file.
• -f|--format: Output format (flat, tree, mermaid). Default: mermaid.
• -o|--output <file>: Write diagram directly to file. Auto-creates directories.
• --show-title <true|false>: Include diagram title. Default: true.

Supports: .sln, .slnx, .csproj

Example output:

graph TD
    MyApp.Web --> MyApp.Core
    MyApp.Infrastructure --> MyApp.Core

erd - Entity Relationship Diagrams

Generate Mermaid ERD from EF Core DbContext or ModelSnapshot files.

# Generate ERD from DbContext
projgraph erd ./Data/MyDbContext.cs

# Generate ERD from ModelSnapshot (useful if migrations already exist)
projgraph erd ./Migrations/MyDbContextModelSnapshot.cs

# Save to file (stdout)
projgraph erd ./Data/MyDbContext.cs > database-schema.md

# Save to file (flag)
projgraph erd ./Data/MyDbContext.cs --output ./docs/database-schema.md

# Generate without title header
projgraph erd ./Data/MyDbContext.cs --show-title false

Settings:

• [path]: Optional path to .cs file. Searches current directory if not specified.
• -c|--context <NAME>: Optional context/snapshot name.
• -o|--output <file>: Write diagram directly to file. Auto-creates directories.
• --show-title <true|false>: Include diagram title. Default: true.

Features:

• Detects entities, properties, and relationships from source or snapshots
• Shows primary keys, foreign keys, and constraints
• Supports inheritance and base classes
• Extracts MaxLength, Required, and other data annotations
• Detects Fluent API configurations
• Handles many-to-many relationships with join tables

Example output:

erDiagram
    Publisher {
        int Id PK
        string Name "required, max:200"
        string Country "max:100"
    }
    Book {
        int Id PK
        string Title "required, max:300"
        int PublisherId FK "required"
    }

    Publisher ||--o{ Book : "Books"

classdiagram - Class Hierarchies

Generate Mermaid Class Diagram for a specific class or an entire directory and its hierarchy.

# Generate class diagram for a specific file
projgraph classdiagram ./Models/Person.cs

# Include base classes/interfaces and dependencies
projgraph classdiagram ./Models/Person.cs --inheritance --dependencies

# Limit discovery depth
projgraph classdiagram ./Models/Person.cs --depth 2

# Hide properties and functions
projgraph classdiagram ./Models/Person.cs --properties false --functions false

# Save to file (stdout)
projgraph classdiagram ./Models/Person.cs > person-hierarchy.md

# Save to file (flag)
projgraph classdiagram ./Models/Person.cs --output docs/person.mmd

Settings:

• [path]: Required path to the .cs file or directory to analyze.
• -i|--inheritance: Search workspace for base classes and interfaces. Default: false.
• -d|--dependencies: Search and include other classes used as properties/fields. Default: false.
• -o|--output <file>: Write diagram directly to file. Auto-creates directories.
• --properties <true|false>: Display properties and fields in diagram. Default: true.
• --functions <true|false>: Display functions/methods in diagram. Default: true.
• --depth <INTEGER>: How many levels of relationships to follow. Default: 1.
• --show-title <true|false>: Include diagram title. Default: true.

Features:

• Detects properties, fields, and inheritance (<|--)
• Discovers dependencies via property types (*-- or --)
• Simple heuristic workspace-wide discovery of missing types (scans for .sln, .slnx, or .csproj)
• Support for generic types (sanitized for Mermaid as ~T~)

stats - Solution Metrics

Compute and display key architectural metrics for a .NET solution or project.

# Display metrics for a solution
projgraph stats ./MySolution.sln

# Show top 10 most-referenced projects instead of the default 5
projgraph stats ./MySolution.slnx --top 10

# Analyse a single project
projgraph stats ./src/MyApp/MyApp.csproj

Settings:

• [path]: Required path to .sln, .slnx, or .csproj file.
• --top <n>: Number of most-referenced (hotspot) projects to show. Default: 5.

Supports: .sln, .slnx, .csproj

Example output:

────────────── MySolution ──────────────
 Total projects                      12
   Libraries                          7
   Executables                        2
   Test projects                      3
   Other                              0
 Average depth                      2.5
 Min depth                            1
 Max depth                            4
 Cycles detected                     No
 Analysis time                     42 ms

 Most-referenced projects:
   1. MyApp.Core                   ← 8
   2. MyApp.Shared                 ← 5
   3. MyApp.Infrastructure         ← 4

Troubleshooting

• No output: Ensure the provided path exists and is a valid C# file.
• Missing dependencies: For visualize, ensure project references are present in the .sln or .slnx file.
• Empty ERD: For erd, ensure your DbContext class is public and uses Entity Framework Core naming conventions ( ends with DbContext).
• Parsing errors: If using new C# features (e.g., primary constructors), ensure you have the latest .NET SDK installed.
• Zero projects in stats: Ensure the solution file is not empty and that all referenced .csproj files exist on disk.

License

Licensed under the terms specified in the repository.