Dotnet Sherlock MCP server

Sherlock MCP for .NET

Sherlock MCP for .NET is a comprehensive Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides deep introspection capabilities for .NET assemblies. It enables Language Learning Models (LLMs) to analyze and understand your .NET code with precision, delivering accurate and context-aware responses for complex development scenarios.

This tool is essential for developers who want to harness LLM capabilities for:

• Deep codebase analysis - Understanding complex .NET architectures and dependencies
• Precise type information - Getting detailed metadata about types, members, and their signatures
• Automated documentation - Extracting and utilizing XML documentation and attributes
• Custom tooling - Building sophisticated tools that interact with .NET assemblies
• Code generation - Creating accurate code based on existing type structures

Key Features

• Comprehensive MCP Server: Provides 36 specialized tools for .NET assembly analysis
• Advanced Assembly Introspection: Deep reflection-based analysis of types, members, and metadata
• Rich Member Analysis: Detailed inspection of methods, properties, fields, events, and constructors
• Smart Filtering & Pagination: Advanced filtering by name/attributes with efficient pagination for large datasets
• XML Documentation Integration: Automatic extraction of summary, parameters, returns, and remarks
• Performance Optimized: Caching, streaming, and memory-efficient processing
• Stable JSON API: Consistent envelopes with versioning and structured error codes
• .NET 9.0 Native: Built on the latest .NET platform with modern C# features
• Project Integration: Solution and project file analysis with dependency resolution
• Current MCP SDK: Built on ModelContextProtocol 2.1.0 (GA)
• Current MCP Specification: Speaks protocol revision 2026-07-28, and negotiates down automatically for clients on earlier revisions

What's New in 2.13.0

• MCP 2026-07-28: upgraded to ModelContextProtocol 2.1.0, so clients negotiate the current specification revision instead of falling back. The handshake-less request flow is supported, and clients on earlier revisions keep working unchanged.
• Tool annotations: all 36 tools now advertise a title plus accurate behavioural hints (readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, openWorldHint, idempotentHint), so clients can tell at a glance that 35 of them only read metadata.
• Cacheable tool list: tools/list advertises ttlMs and cacheScope and returns tools in a deterministic order, letting clients skip redundant re-fetches. See CHANGELOG.md for full details.

Installation

Install the global tool from NuGet (adds sherlock-mcp to your PATH):

dotnet tool install -g Sherlock.MCP.Server

Alternatively, during development you can run the server locally:

dotnet run --project src/server/Sherlock.MCP.Server.csproj

Configure Your MCP Client

Sherlock runs as a standard MCP server that communicates over stdio.

• Cursor: Settings → MCP / Custom tools → Add tool → Command: sherlock-mcp
• Claude Desktop / other MCP clients: Add a server entry pointing to the sherlock-mcp command. Example JSON entry (refer to your client’s docs for exact file location/format):

{
  "servers": {
    "sherlock": {
      "command": "sherlock-mcp"
    }
  }
}

No arguments are required. The server self-registers all tools when launched.

Auto-Configure for .NET Projects

You usually don't need to paste anything. Sherlock ships its usage guidance in the MCP instructions field returned at initialize, and most MCP clients (including Claude Code) surface that to the agent automatically — so the guidance stays correct and versioned with the package, with no copy-paste to maintain.

Shortened. The full README is on GitHub.