Getting Started with Dumpify

This guide will help you get up and running with Dumpify in just a few minutes.

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Table of Contents

• Installation
• Basic Usage
• Dumping Different Types
• Adding Labels
• Controlling Depth
• Different Output Targets
• Next Steps

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Installation

Install Dumpify via NuGet:

# .NET CLI
dotnet add package Dumpify

# Package Manager Console
Install-Package Dumpify

After installation, add the using directive to your code:

using Dumpify;

That’s it! The .Dump() extension method is now available on all objects.

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Basic Usage

The simplest way to use Dumpify is to call .Dump() on any object:

using Dumpify;

// Dump a simple object
var person = new { Name = "John", Age = 30 };
person.Dump();

The .Dump() method returns the original object, so you can chain it in your code:

var result = GetData()
    .Dump()  // Inspect the data
    .Where(x => x.IsActive)
    .Dump()  // Inspect filtered data
    .ToList();

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Dumping Different Types

Classes and Records

public class Person
{
    public string FirstName { get; set; }
    public string LastName { get; set; }
    public int Age { get; set; }
}

var person = new Person 
{ 
    FirstName = "John", 
    LastName = "Doe", 
    Age = 30 
};
person.Dump();

Arrays

var numbers = new[] { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 };
numbers.Dump();

Multi-dimensional Arrays

var matrix = new int[,] { { 1, 2 }, { 3, 4 } };
matrix.Dump();

Dictionaries

var dict = new Dictionary<string, string>
{
    ["Key1"] = "Value1",
    ["Key2"] = "Value2"
};
dict.Dump();

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Adding Labels

You can add a label to identify your dumps:

// Manual label
person.Dump("My Person Object");

// Auto-labels (use variable name as label)
DumpConfig.Default.UseAutoLabels = true;
person.Dump(); // Label will be "person"

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Controlling Depth

For deeply nested objects, you can control the maximum depth:

// Limit to 2 levels of nesting
complexObject.Dump(maxDepth: 2);

// Or set globally
DumpConfig.Default.MaxDepth = 3;

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Different Output Targets

Dumpify supports multiple output targets:

// Console (default)
obj.Dump();
obj.DumpConsole();

// Visual Studio Debug output
obj.DumpDebug();

// Trace output
obj.DumpTrace();

// Get as plain text string
string text = obj.DumpText();

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Next Steps

Now that you know the basics, explore more:

• Configuration - Customize colors, table layout, and more
• Features - Learn about all Dumpify features
• Examples - See more code examples
• API Reference - Complete API documentation

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Quick Reference

Method	Description
.Dump()	Dump to configured output (Console by default)
.Dump("label")	Dump with a custom label
.Dump(maxDepth: n)	Dump with limited nesting depth
.DumpConsole()	Dump explicitly to Console
.DumpDebug()	Dump to Visual Studio Debug output
.DumpTrace()	Dump to Trace output
.DumpText()	Get dump as a plain text string