Extension Methods Reference

Dumpify provides extension methods that can be called on any object to display its contents in a formatted, readable way.

Table of Contents

Dump()

The primary extension method. Outputs to the configured default output (Console by default).

public static T? Dump<T>(
    this T? obj,
    string? label = null,
    int? maxDepth = null,
    IRenderer? renderer = null,
    bool? useDescriptors = null,
    ColorConfig? colors = null,
    IDumpOutput? output = null,
    MembersConfig? members = null,
    TypeNamingConfig? typeNames = null,
    TableConfig? tableConfig = null,
    OutputConfig? outputConfig = null,
    TypeRenderingConfig? typeRenderingConfig = null
)

Basic Usage 

// Simple dump
myObject.Dump();

// With label
myObject.Dump("My Object");

// With options
myObject.Dump(label: "Data", maxDepth: 3);

Unique Parameter

Parameter Type Description
output IDumpOutput? Custom output target. Defaults to DumpConfig.Default.Output

DumpConsole()

Always outputs to the console, regardless of global configuration.

public static T? DumpConsole<T>(
    this T? obj,
    string? label = null,
    int? maxDepth = null,
    IRenderer? renderer = null,
    bool? useDescriptors = null,
    ColorConfig? colors = null,
    MembersConfig? members = null,
    TypeNamingConfig? typeNames = null,
    TableConfig? tableConfig = null,
    OutputConfig? outputConfig = null,
    TypeRenderingConfig? typeRenderingConfig = null
)

Usage 

// Always goes to Console.WriteLine
myObject.DumpConsole();

// Even if global output is set to Debug
DumpConfig.Default.Output = Outputs.Debug;
myObject.DumpConsole();  // Still outputs to console

DumpDebug()

Outputs to System.Diagnostics.Debug. Useful for debugging in IDEs that capture debug output.

public static T? DumpDebug<T>(
    this T? obj,
    string? label = null,
    int? maxDepth = null,
    IRenderer? renderer = null,
    bool? useDescriptors = null,
    ColorConfig? colors = null,
    MembersConfig? members = null,
    TypeNamingConfig? typeNames = null,
    TableConfig? tableConfig = null,
    OutputConfig? outputConfig = null,
    TypeRenderingConfig? typeRenderingConfig = null
)

Usage 

// Output appears in Debug window (Visual Studio, Rider, etc.)
myObject.DumpDebug();

Default Behavior

  • OutputConfig.WidthOverride defaults to 250 (wider than console default)

DumpTrace()

Outputs to System.Diagnostics.Trace. Useful for trace listeners and logging frameworks.

public static T? DumpTrace<T>(
    this T? obj,
    string? label = null,
    int? maxDepth = null,
    IRenderer? renderer = null,
    bool? useDescriptors = null,
    ColorConfig? colors = null,
    MembersConfig? members = null,
    TypeNamingConfig? typeNames = null,
    TableConfig? tableConfig = null,
    OutputConfig? outputConfig = null,
    TypeRenderingConfig? typeRenderingConfig = null
)

Usage 

// Output goes to configured trace listeners
myObject.DumpTrace();

Default Behavior

  • OutputConfig.WidthOverride defaults to 250 (wider than console default)

DumpText()

Returns the formatted output as a string instead of writing to an output target.

public static string DumpText<T>(
    this T? obj,
    string? label = null,
    int? maxDepth = null,
    IRenderer? renderer = null,
    bool? useDescriptors = null,
    ColorConfig? colors = null,
    MembersConfig? members = null,
    TypeNamingConfig? typeNames = null,
    TableConfig? tableConfig = null,
    OutputConfig? outputConfig = null,
    TypeRenderingConfig? typeRenderingConfig = null
)

Usage 

// Get formatted string
string output = myObject.DumpText();

// Use in logging
logger.Info(myObject.DumpText());

// Write to file
File.WriteAllText("dump.txt", myObject.DumpText());

Default Behavior

  • ColorConfig defaults to ColorConfig.NoColors (no ANSI color codes)
  • OutputConfig.WidthOverride defaults to 1000
  • OutputConfig.HeightOverride defaults to 1000

Important

Unlike other Dump methods, DumpText() returns string (not the original object), so it cannot be chained in the same way.

Common Parameters

All extension methods share these parameters:

Parameter Type Default Description
label string? null Display label above the output
maxDepth int? 7 Maximum nesting depth to render
renderer IRenderer? Table renderer Rendering engine to use
useDescriptors bool? true Whether to use reflection descriptors
colors ColorConfig? Default colors Color scheme configuration
members MembersConfig? Default members Member filtering configuration
typeNames TypeNamingConfig? Default naming Type name display configuration
tableConfig TableConfig? Default table Table rendering configuration
outputConfig OutputConfig? Default output Output dimensions configuration
typeRenderingConfig TypeRenderingConfig? Default type rendering Custom type handlers

Parameter Details

label

Displays a header label above the output.

myObject.Dump("Customer Data");

Output:

┌───────────────┐
│ Customer Data │
├───────┬───────┤
│ Name  │ John  │
│ Age   │ 30    │
└───────┴───────┘

maxDepth

Controls how deep nested objects are rendered.

// Only render 2 levels deep
complexObject.Dump(maxDepth: 2);

Values less than 1 are ignored.

useDescriptors

When false, renders the object’s ToString() value instead of using reflection.

myObject.Dump(useDescriptors: false);  // Uses ToString()

colors

Override color settings for this call only.

var customColors = new ColorConfig();
customColors.NullValueColor = "#FF0000";
myObject.Dump(colors: customColors);

members

Filter which members are displayed.

var membersConfig = new MembersConfig 
{ 
    IncludeFields = true,
    IncludeNonPublicMembers = true 
};
myObject.Dump(members: membersConfig);

typeNames

Control how type names are displayed.

var typeConfig = new TypeNamingConfig 
{ 
    UseFullName = true 
};
myObject.Dump(typeNames: typeConfig);

tableConfig

Configure table appearance.

var tableConfig = new TableConfig 
{ 
    ShowTableHeaders = false 
};
myObject.Dump(tableConfig: tableConfig);

outputConfig

Configure output dimensions.

var outputConfig = new OutputConfig 
{ 
    WidthOverride = 200 
};
myObject.Dump(outputConfig: outputConfig);

Return Values

Dump(), DumpConsole(), DumpDebug(), DumpTrace()

All return the original object (T?), enabling method chaining:

var result = GetUsers()
    .Dump("Raw users")
    .Where(u => u.IsActive)
    .Dump("Active users")
    .ToList();

These methods use [return: NotNullIfNotNull(nameof(obj))] to preserve nullability information.

DumpText()

Returns string containing the formatted output. Cannot be chained in the same way as other methods.

Auto Labels

When DumpConfig.Default.UseAutoLabels is true and no explicit label is provided, Dumpify automatically uses the expression being dumped as the label:

DumpConfig.Default.UseAutoLabels = true;

myObject.Dump();  // Label will be "myObject"
GetUser().Dump(); // Label will be "GetUser()"

This feature uses [CallerArgumentExpression] to capture the calling expression.

See Also