Decompiling .NET Assemblies with ILSpy and Visual Studio

Have you ever wondered how compiled .NET libraries work under the hood, or needed to debug a compiled assembly without having access to the original source code? Understanding how to read and analyze compiled .NET code is an invaluable skill for troubleshooting, security auditing, and learning advanced programming patterns. This text-based course guides you through the fundamentals of .NET decompilation, showing you how to navigate compiled assemblies and extract readable C# code. You will transition from treating compiled DLLs as black boxes to confidently inspecting their inner workings. What you will learn: Understand the compilation process from C# to Intermediate Language (IL); Navigate and analyze compiled assemblies using the ILSpy decompiler; Configure Visual Studio to debug external code using source links and symbol files; Extract and reconstruct C# source code from compiled binaries for analysis; Inspect modern .NET metadata, assembly structures, and NuGet package contents; Apply decompilation techniques to debug legacy systems and verify code security. The course begins with foundational concepts of the .NET runtime, assembly structures, and Intermediate Language. You will then progress through detailed written explanations and code comparisons, learning how to utilize ILSpy and integrate decompilation workflows directly within Visual Studio. This course is designed for C# developers and software enthusiasts who want to deepen their technical skills; no prior reverse-engineering experience is required. Start exploring the hidden layers of your .NET applications today.