ApphostDetector

Namespace: Dotsider.Core.Analysis

Assembly: Dotsider.Core.dll

Detects .NET apphost executables and locates their companion managed assemblies.

public static class ApphostDetector

Inheritance

Object → ApphostDetector

Methods

FindBundledEntryAssembly(string)

If the file at exePath is a single-file bundle, extracts the entry assembly (the app’s own managed code) and returns its bytes and name. Uses dotted-name-safe basename matching to locate the entry assembly within the bundle manifest.

Parameters:

• exePath (String): Path to the executable file.

Returns: Nullable<Byte[], String>>

The entry assembly bytes and file name, or null if the file is not a single-file bundle or the entry assembly could not be identified.

public static (byte[] Bytes, string Name)? FindBundledEntryAssembly(string exePath)

FindCompanionDll(string)

If the binary at exePath is a .NET apphost (embeds both the companion DLL name and a hostfxr reference), returns the path to the companion .dll provided it has readable .NET metadata. Works with Windows .exe files and extensionless Linux/macOS executables.

Parameters:

• exePath (String): Path to the executable file.

Returns: String

The full path to the companion managed .dll, or null if the file is not an apphost, no companion exists, or the companion has no readable .NET metadata.

public static string? FindCompanionDll(string exePath)

Remarks

dotnet build produces both a managed .dll (the actual assembly with IL and metadata) and a native apphost launcher that bootstraps the runtime. On Windows the apphost is a .exe (PE format); on Linux and macOS it is an extensionless executable (ELF or Mach-O). The apphost has no CLR metadata, so most analysis tabs are empty. This detector verifies the file is an apphost by requiring two signals: the companion DLL name embedded in the binary AND a reference to hostfxr (the .NET host framework resolver). These signals are platform-invariant — the .NET SDK embeds them identically regardless of binary format.