JustAssembly is a free, lightweight .NET assembly diff and analysis tool created by Telerik (a Progress Software brand). It allows software developers to decompile two different versions of a .NET binary assembly (.dll or .exe) and perform a meticulous, line-by-line comparison of their contents. Core Purpose & Use Cases
Developers primarily use JustAssembly to prevent and troubleshoot software shipping issues:
Catching Breaking Changes: It lets you review the modifications made to a new library version before updating it in your application, highlighting any public API changes that might break your existing code.
Pre-Shipping Audits: Developers can examine all compiler outputs right before deployment to ensure no unauthorized code or unexpected artifacts were introduced by an automated build pipeline or a hidden build step.
Reversing and Analysis: Because it features a built-in decompiler, you can compare compiled files directly into high-level C# even if you do not possess the original source code. Key Features
Deep Code Comparison: Unlike basic diff utilities that only compare public method signatures, JustAssembly performs deep decompilation using the open-source JustDecompile Engine. It evaluates changes in the internal method logic and the underlying Intermediate Language (IL).
Visual Color-Coding: The graphical user interface utilizes intuitive color schemes to call out code that has been modified, entirely removed, or newly added.
Command-Line Interface (CLI): JustAssembly includes a CommandLineTool.exe. This can take paths to two separate assemblies and output a structured XML file containing all differences.
CI/CD Integration: The CLI XML output can be easily parsed by automated build systems (like Jenkins or GitHub Actions) to instantly pass or fail a build if an unapproved public API break is detected. Current Status
Progress Telerik officially retired JustAssembly. It is no longer supported or offered for new downloads on the official Telerik website. However, because the project was released under the Apache 2.0 open-source license, its source code and historical files can still be accessed and self-compiled via the Telerik JustAssembly GitHub Repository.
Are you looking to integrate an assembly diff tool into your CI/CD pipeline, or are you trying to troubleshoot a specific breaking change in a .NET project? Let me know, and I can provide tailored alternatives or implementation guidance. Telerik JustAssembly is Retired
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