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Viewing Generated Code

Source generators produce code at compile time. This guide explains how to view and debug generated files in different development environments.

Before You Start​

  • .NET 8.0+ (or .NET 9/10 for latest features)
  • A project using Excalibur.Dispatch source generators: 
    dotnet add package Excalibur.Dispatch.SourceGenerators.Analyzers
  • Familiarity with source generators

MSBuild Configuration​

Add these properties to your .csproj to persist generated files to disk:

<PropertyGroup>
    <!-- Emit generated files to disk -->
    <EmitCompilerGeneratedFiles>true</EmitCompilerGeneratedFiles>

    <!-- Location for generated files (defaults to obj/Generated) -->
    <CompilerGeneratedFilesOutputPath>$(BaseIntermediateOutputPath)\GeneratedFiles</CompilerGeneratedFilesOutputPath>
</PropertyGroup>

After building, generated files appear in:

obj/
└── Debug/
    └── net8.0/
        └── GeneratedFiles/
            └── Excalibur.Dispatch.SourceGenerators/
                ├── PrecompiledHandlerRegistry.g.cs
                ├── SourceGeneratedHandlerActivator.g.cs
                ├── SourceGeneratedHandlerInvoker.g.cs
                └── ...

Visual Studio​

  1. Expand your project in Solution Explorer
  2. Expand Dependencies → Analyzers → Excalibur.Dispatch.SourceGenerators
  3. Generated files appear as children of the generator

The generated files appear under the Analyzers node in Solution Explorer.

Method 2: Generated Files on Disk​

  1. Add MSBuild configuration above
  2. Build the project
  3. Navigate to obj/Debug/net8.0/GeneratedFiles/
  4. Open files directly

Method 3: Go to Definition​

  1. Right-click on a generated type (e.g., PrecompiledHandlerRegistry)
  2. Select Go to Definition (F12)
  3. Visual Studio opens the generated source

Debugging Generated Code​

  1. Set EmitCompilerGeneratedFiles to true
  2. Open the generated .g.cs file
  3. Set breakpoints normally
  4. Run with debugging (F5)
tip

Generated code supports full debugging including step-through, watch expressions, and conditional breakpoints.

JetBrains Rider​

Method 1: Generated Files Node​

  1. In Solution Explorer, expand your project
  2. Find the Generated folder under the project
  3. Expand Excalibur.Dispatch.SourceGenerators
  4. Browse generated files

Method 2: Navigate to Sources​

  1. Place cursor on a generated type
  2. Press Ctrl+Click or Ctrl+B
  3. Rider navigates to the generated source

Method 3: Find Usages​

  1. Right-click on a generated type
  2. Select Find Usages (Alt+F7)
  3. See all references to generated code

Rider Settings​

For better source generator experience:

  1. File → Settings → Build, Execution, Deployment → Toolset and Build
  2. Enable Use RoslynAnalyzers
  3. Enable Include source generators in code analysis

VS Code with C# Dev Kit​

Method 1: Explorer View​

  1. Install C# Dev Kit extension
  2. Open project folder
  3. After build, navigate to obj/GeneratedFiles/ in Explorer

Method 2: OmniSharp Configuration​

Create or edit .omnisharp.json in your solution root:

{
    "RoslynExtensionsOptions": {
        "EnableAnalyzersSupport": true,
        "EnableImportCompletion": true
    },
    "FormattingOptions": {
        "EnableEditorConfigSupport": true
    }
}

Method 3: Go to Definition​

  1. Hover over a generated type
  2. Ctrl+Click to navigate
  3. VS Code shows generated source in read-only mode
  • C# Dev Kit - Full C# language support
  • C# - OmniSharp-based language support
  • Solution Explorer - Visual Studio-like project tree

File Naming Conventions​

Dispatch generators use consistent naming:

GeneratorOutput FileDescription
HandlerRegistrySourceGeneratorPrecompiledHandlerRegistry.g.csHandler registrations
HandlerActivationGeneratorSourceGeneratedHandlerActivator.g.csHandler activation
HandlerInvocationGeneratorSourceGeneratedHandlerInvoker.g.csHandler invocation
MessageTypeSourceGeneratorPrecompiledHandlerMetadata.g.csHandler metadata
StaticPipelineGeneratorStaticPipelines.g.csStatic pipelines
DispatchInterceptorGeneratorDispatchInterceptors.g.csC# 12 interceptors
MiddlewareDecompositionAnalyzerMiddlewareDecomposition.g.csMiddleware analysis
CachePolicySourceGeneratorCacheInfoRegistry.g.csCache policies
ServiceRegistrationSourceGeneratorGeneratedServiceCollectionExtensions.g.csDI registrations

When Files Regenerate​

Generated files are recreated when:

  • Project is built (full or incremental)
  • Source files change that affect generator input
  • Generator package version changes
  • Clean/rebuild is performed
Incremental Generators

Dispatch uses incremental generators that only regenerate when relevant source changes. This ensures fast build times even with many generators.

Troubleshooting​

Files Not Appearing​

  1. Check package reference:

    <PackageReference Include="Excalibur.Dispatch.SourceGenerators" Version="..." OutputItemType="Analyzer" ReferenceOutputAssembly="false" />

  2. Clean and rebuild:

    dotnet clean
    dotnet build

  3. Check build output:

    dotnet build -v:detailed 2>&1 | grep -i generator

Files Are Empty​

  1. Ensure handler interfaces are from Excalibur.Dispatch.Abstractions
  2. Verify classes are public and non-abstract
  3. Check for compilation errors that block generator execution

IDE Not Showing Generated Files​

  1. Restart IDE after adding MSBuild configuration
  2. Ensure project builds successfully
  3. Check IDE-specific settings (see sections above)

Stale Generated Code​

If generated code seems outdated:

  1. Clean solution: dotnet clean
  2. Delete obj/ and bin/ folders
  3. Rebuild: dotnet build
  4. Restart IDE

Comparing Generated Output​

To compare generated output across builds:

# Save current state
cp -r obj/Debug/net8.0/GeneratedFiles ./generated-before

# Make changes and rebuild
dotnet build

# Compare
diff -r ./generated-before obj/Debug/net8.0/GeneratedFiles

CI/CD Considerations​

For build verification:

# GitHub Actions example
- name: Build and verify generators
  run: |
    dotnet build -p:EmitCompilerGeneratedFiles=true
    ls -la obj/Debug/net8.0/GeneratedFiles/Excalibur.Dispatch.SourceGenerators/

Generated files should NOT be committed to source control - they're build artifacts.

See Also​