Is dnSpy free to use? What license does it have?

dnSpy is open source under the GPL-3.0 license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.

Is dnSpy still maintained?

Actively maintained. The last commit to dnSpy was on Nov 1, 2026.

What can I use dnSpy for?

Inspecting or debugging a third-party .NET application without its source Reverse engineering and analyzing suspicious .NET malware Patching a compiled assembly or a Unity game's logic Debugging assemblies that decrypt themselves at runtime

How do I install dnSpy?

Download the latest stable release from the releases page Clone the repository with submodules: git clone --recursive https://github.com/dnSpyEx/dnSpy.git Build the project with the build script: ./build.ps1 -NoMsbuild

Where can I get dnSpy?

The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/dnSpyEx/dnSpy

dnSpyEx/dnSpy

Unofficial continuation of dnSpy, a debugger and editor for .NET and Unity assemblies that works without source code.

Open-source alternative to:dotPeek ILSpy

View on GitHub

Stars: 11,440
Forks: 790
Open issues: 148
Last commit: 6 days ago

What is it?

dnSpyEx is an unofficial continuation of the dnSpy project, a debugger and .NET assembly editor. It lets you inspect, debug and modify compiled assemblies even when no source code is available, covering both .NET Framework and .NET assemblies as well as Unity game assemblies.

The debugger supports breakpoints, tracepoints, conditional breakpoints, locals and watch windows, and breaking on thrown exceptions. The assembly editor allows editing metadata, methods and classes in C# or Visual Basic with IntelliSense, plus low-level IL and metadata table editing through a built-in hex editor. A BAML decompiler and disassembler is included, and a C# Interactive window can be used to script the tool.

The project ships with light, dark and blue themes and can be built from source with a PowerShell script or dotnet build.

Key features

01Debug .NET Framework, .NET and Unity assemblies without source code
02Edit metadata, methods and classes in C# or Visual Basic with IntelliSense
03Low-level IL editing and metadata table editing via a built-in hex editor
04Breakpoints, tracepoints, conditional breakpoints and break-on-exception
05BAML decompiler and disassembler
06Public API and C# Interactive window for scripting

Use cases

Inspecting or debugging a third-party .NET application without its source
Reverse engineering and analyzing suspicious .NET malware
Patching a compiled assembly or a Unity game's logic
Debugging assemblies that decrypt themselves at runtime

Quick start

1
Download the latest stable release from the releases page
2
Clone the repository with submodules
git clone --recursive https://github.com/dnSpyEx/dnSpy.git
3
Build the project with the build script
./build.ps1 -NoMsbuild

Things to know

Licensed under GPL-3.0, a copyleft license that requires derivative works to be released under the same terms.
Debugging Unity games also requires a separate repository (dnSpy-Unity-mono).
Dynamic methods cannot be debugged due to CLR limitations.

In collections

Reverse engineering tools Game development tools & engines

Topics

#dotnet #debugger #decompiler #reverse-engineering #unity #csharp #malware-analysis#baml#debug#decompile

FAQ

What is dnSpy?: Unofficial continuation of dnSpy, a debugger and editor for .NET and Unity assemblies that works without source code. dnSpyEx is an unofficial continuation of the dnSpy project, a debugger and .NET assembly editor. It lets you inspect, debug and modify compiled assemblies even when no source code is available, covering both .NET Framework and .NET assemblies as well as Unity game assemblies.
Is dnSpy free to use? What license does it have?: dnSpy is open source under the GPL-3.0 license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is dnSpy still maintained?: Actively maintained. The last commit to dnSpy was on Nov 1, 2026.
What can I use dnSpy for?: Inspecting or debugging a third-party .NET application without its source Reverse engineering and analyzing suspicious .NET malware Patching a compiled assembly or a Unity game's logic Debugging assemblies that decrypt themselves at runtime
How do I install dnSpy?: Download the latest stable release from the releases page Clone the repository with submodules: git clone --recursive https://github.com/dnSpyEx/dnSpy.git Build the project with the build script: ./build.ps1 -NoMsbuild
Where can I get dnSpy?: The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/dnSpyEx/dnSpy

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