// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy did NDepend go to therapy? It had dependency issues.
 | This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. (June 2022) |
| NDepend | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | NDepend |
| Stable release | 2025.1
|
| Operating system | Windows |
| Type | Software quality |
| License | Commercial, Proprietary |
| Website | ndepend |
NDepend is a static analysis tool for C# and .NET code to manage code quality and security. The tool proposes a large number of features, from CI/CD Web Reporting to Quality Gate and Dependencies Visualization. For that reason, the community refers to it as the "Swiss Army Knife" for .NET Developers.
Features
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The main features of NDepend are:
- Interactive Web Reports about all Aspects of .NET Code Quality and Security Sample Reports Here. Reports can be built on any platform: Windows, Linux and MacOS
- [Roslyn Analyzers Issues Import https://www.ndepend.com/docs/reporting-roslyn-analyzers-issues]
- Quality Gates
- CI/CD Integration with Azure DevOps, GitHub Action, Bamboo, Jenkins, TeamCity, AppVeyor
- Dependency Visualization (using dependency graphs, and dependency matrix)
- Smart Technical Debt Estimation
- Declarative code rule over C# LINQ query (CQLinq).
- Software Metrics (NDepend currently supports more than 100 code metrics: Cyclomatic complexity; Afferent and Efferent Coupling; Relational Cohesion; Google page rank of .NET types; Percentage of code covered by tests, etc.)
- Code Coverage data import from Visual Studio coverage, dotCover, OpenCover, NCover, NCrunch.
- All results are compared against a baseline allowing the user to focus on newly identified issues.
- Integration with Visual Studio 2022, 2019, 2017, 2015, 2013, 2012, 2010, or can run as a standalone through VisualNDepend.exe, side by side with JetBrains Rider or Visual Studio Code.
Code rules through LINQ queries (CQLinq)
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Live code queries and code rules through LINQ queries is the backbone of NDepend, all features use it extensively. Here are some sample code queries:
- Base class should not use derivatives:
// <Name>Base class should not use derivatives</Name>
warnif count > 0
from baseClass in JustMyCodeTypes
where baseClass.IsClass && baseClass.NbChildren > 0 // <-- for optimization!
let derivedClassesUsed = baseClass.DerivedTypes.UsedBy(baseClass)
where derivedClassesUsed.Count() > 0
select new { baseClass, derivedClassesUsed }
- Avoid making complex methods even more complex (source code cyclomatic complexity):
// <Name>Avoid making complex methods even more complex (source code cyclomatic complexity)</Name>
warnif count > 0
from m in JustMyCodeMethods where
!m.IsAbstract &&
m.IsPresentInBothBuilds() &&
m.CodeWasChanged()
let oldCC = m.OlderVersion().CyclomaticComplexity
where oldCC > 6 && m.CyclomaticComplexity > oldCC
select new { m,
oldCC,
newCC = m.CyclomaticComplexity,
oldLoc = m.OlderVersion().NbLinesOfCode,
newLoc = m.NbLinesOfCode,
}
Additionally, the tool provides a live CQLinq query editor with code completion and embedded documentation.
See also
[edit]External links
[edit]NDepend reviewed by the .NET community
[edit]- Stack Overflow discussion: use of NDepend
- Johannes Rest on NDepend
- From Chaos to Clarity: Managing .NET Complexity with NDepend
- Benjamin Wolf on NDepend
- Exiting The Zone Of Pain: Static Analysis with NDepend.aspx (Scott Hanselman Program Manager, Microsoft) discusses NDepend
- Abhishek Sur on NDepend