How do I decompile a NET EXE into readable C source code

Question

I wrote a C  application for a client a couple of years ago  but I no longer have the source code   All I have is the EXE that I deployed on the client s PC   Is there a way I can generate C  source code from the EXE

User · Answer

Reflector is no longer free in general  but they do offer it for free to open source developers   http   reflectorblog red-gate com 2013 07 open-source   But a few companies like DevExtras and JetBrains have created free alternatives   DevExtras CodeReflect  JetBrains DotPeek

User · Answer

Reflector and the File Disassembler add-in from Denis Bauer   It actually produces source projects from assemblies  where Reflector on its own only displays the disassembled source   ADDED  My latest favourite is JetBrains  dotPeek

User · Answer

I m surprised no one has mentioned Microsoft s ildasm  It may not be as pretty as ILSpy or Reflector  but it comes with Visual Studio so many developers already have it   To run it  assuming VS 2013  should be similar for other versions     Select Start   All Programs   Visual Studio 2013   Visual Studio Tools  Double-click on Developer Command Prompt for VS2013  Run  ildasm  from the resulting command prompt  In the tool  select File   Open and open your executable or DLL    Now you can navigate the DLL structure  Double-click on class members to see the IL  Use File   Dump to export IL to a file

User · Answer

You want reflector

User · Answer

I m surprised no one has mentioned dnSpy  dnSpy is a debugger and  NET assembly editor  You can use it to edit and debug assemblies even if you don t have any source code available  Main features   Debug  NET and Unity assemblies Edit  NET and Unity assemblies Light and dark themes  It is open source and one of most widely used reverse engineering tool for dot net

User · Answer

Reflector and its add-in FileDisassembler   Reflector will allow to see the source code  FileDisassembler will allow you to convert it into a VS solution

User · Answer

You want reflector

User · Answer

Reflector and the File Disassembler add-in from Denis Bauer   It actually produces source projects from assemblies  where Reflector on its own only displays the disassembled source   ADDED  My latest favourite is JetBrains  dotPeek

User · Answer

Reflector and the File Disassembler add-in from Denis Bauer   It actually produces source projects from assemblies  where Reflector on its own only displays the disassembled source   ADDED  My latest favourite is JetBrains  dotPeek

User · Answer

You want reflector

User · Answer

Telerik JustDecompile is free and has a feature to create projects from  NET assemblies

User · Answer

Reflector and its add-in FileDisassembler   Reflector will allow to see the source code  FileDisassembler will allow you to convert it into a VS solution

User · Answer

Reflector and its add-in FileDisassembler   Reflector will allow to see the source code  FileDisassembler will allow you to convert it into a VS solution

User · Answer

Reflector and its add-in FileDisassembler   Reflector will allow to see the source code  FileDisassembler will allow you to convert it into a VS solution

User · Answer

Reflector and the File Disassembler add-in from Denis Bauer   It actually produces source projects from assemblies  where Reflector on its own only displays the disassembled source   ADDED  My latest favourite is JetBrains  dotPeek

User · Answer

You want reflector

User · Answer

Telerik JustDecompile is free and has a feature to create projects from  NET assemblies

User · Answer

When Red Gate said there would no longer be a free version of  Net Reflector  I started using ILSpy and Telerik s JustDecompile  I have found ILSpy to decompile more accurately than JustDecompile  which is still in Beta   Red Gate has changed their decision and still have a free version of  Net Reflector  but now I like ILSpy   From the ILSpy website  https   github com icsharpcode ILSpy     ILSpy is the open-source  NET assembly browser and decompiler    ILSpy Features   Assembly browsing IL Disassembly Decompilation to C  Supports lambdas and  yield return  Shows XML documentation Saving of resources Search for types methods properties  substring  Hyperlink-based type method property navigation Base Derived types navigation Navigation history BAML to XAML decompiler Save Assembly as C  Project Find usage of field method Extensible via plugins  MEF    Update   April 15  2012  ILSpy 2 0 was released  New features compared with version 1 0    Assembly Lists Support for decompiling Expression trees Support for lifted operatores on nullables Decompile to Visual Basic Search for multiple strings separated by space  searching for  Assembly manager  in ILSpy exe would find AssemblyListManager  Clicking on a local variable will highlight all other occurrences of that variable Ctrl F can be used to search within the decompiled code view   Update    ILSpy 2 1 supports async await decompilation

User · Answer

Reflector is no longer free in general  but they do offer it for free to open source developers   http   reflectorblog red-gate com 2013 07 open-source   But a few companies like DevExtras and JetBrains have created free alternatives   DevExtras CodeReflect  JetBrains DotPeek

User · Answer

I m surprised no one has mentioned Microsoft s ildasm  It may not be as pretty as ILSpy or Reflector  but it comes with Visual Studio so many developers already have it   To run it  assuming VS 2013  should be similar for other versions     Select Start   All Programs   Visual Studio 2013   Visual Studio Tools  Double-click on Developer Command Prompt for VS2013  Run  ildasm  from the resulting command prompt  In the tool  select File   Open and open your executable or DLL    Now you can navigate the DLL structure  Double-click on class members to see the IL  Use File   Dump to export IL to a file

User · Answer

I m surprised no one has mentioned dnSpy  dnSpy is a debugger and  NET assembly editor  You can use it to edit and debug assemblies even if you don t have any source code available  Main features   Debug  NET and Unity assemblies Edit  NET and Unity assemblies Light and dark themes  It is open source and one of most widely used reverse engineering tool for dot net

User · Answer

When Red Gate said there would no longer be a free version of  Net Reflector  I started using ILSpy and Telerik s JustDecompile  I have found ILSpy to decompile more accurately than JustDecompile  which is still in Beta   Red Gate has changed their decision and still have a free version of  Net Reflector  but now I like ILSpy   From the ILSpy website  https   github com icsharpcode ILSpy     ILSpy is the open-source  NET assembly browser and decompiler    ILSpy Features   Assembly browsing IL Disassembly Decompilation to C  Supports lambdas and  yield return  Shows XML documentation Saving of resources Search for types methods properties  substring  Hyperlink-based type method property navigation Base Derived types navigation Navigation history BAML to XAML decompiler Save Assembly as C  Project Find usage of field method Extensible via plugins  MEF    Update   April 15  2012  ILSpy 2 0 was released  New features compared with version 1 0    Assembly Lists Support for decompiling Expression trees Support for lifted operatores on nullables Decompile to Visual Basic Search for multiple strings separated by space  searching for  Assembly manager  in ILSpy exe would find AssemblyListManager  Clicking on a local variable will highlight all other occurrences of that variable Ctrl F can be used to search within the decompiled code view   Update    ILSpy 2 1 supports async await decompilation

[c#] How do I decompile a .NET EXE into readable C# source code?

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