Dotfuscator Community Edition - Protect your .NET applications from reverse engineering

Dotfuscator Community Edition by PreEmptive is a free code obfuscation tool that hardens your .NET assemblies against decompilation, tampering, and unauthorized debugging. Obfuscate your DLLs and EXEs with a single command — no configuration required.

The Dotfuscator Community Edition CLI is bundled directly into the extension, so there's nothing extra to install beyond a .NET runtime. Just select your assembly, pick an output folder, and your protected build is ready.

Features

• One-command obfuscation — select a .NET assembly and get a protected output in seconds
• Configuration generation — create Dotfuscator XML config files for repeatable, customizable builds
• Cross-platform — runs on Windows, macOS (including x64/ARM64), and Linux
• Full terminal output — all obfuscation activity is visible in the VS Code integrated terminal

Protection Capabilities

Dotfuscator Community Edition includes professional-grade obfuscation transforms:

• Renaming — cross-assembly renaming with multiple schemes, randomized renaming, enhanced overload induction, and prefix support
• Debugging Check — detects and responds to debugger attachment at runtime
• Tamper Check — detects and responds to assembly modification at runtime
• Root Check Check — detects and responds to rooted device detection at runtime
• Shelf Life Check — detects and responds to unauthorized use of your application based on the current date

For the full feature comparison between Dotfuscator Community Edition and Dotfuscator Professional, see the edition comparison.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio Code 1.116.0 or later
• Latest .NET runtime installed on your system download - If you don't have the required version of .NET runtime, the extension will install it on your behalf.

Obfuscate a .NET Assembly using Command Palette

1. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P on Mac)
2. Type Dotfuscator: Obfuscate and press Enter
3. Select the input: DLL, EXE, or Dotfuscator Config XML file
4. Select an output folder — the extension automatically appends an obfuscated subdirectory
5. Watch the obfuscation progress in the integrated terminal

The extension remembers the last selected directory for an input file for convenience.

Obfuscate a .NET Assembly using Dotnet SDK integration

1. Right-click on any .csproj file (either inside the .csproj content, using the tab, or left panel)
2. Select from the context menu Dotfuscator -> Add Build Integration
3. The program will automatically add the default integration for .NET SDK
4. Using Visual Studio Code terminal, you can execute a build command in Release mode: dotnet build -c Release
   • Before executing the command, please restart the terminal. You may see a warning notification in the terminal asking you to do so.
5. Watch the obfuscation progress in the integrated terminal

Note: This integration uses an environment variable set only in the Visual Studio Code terminal. This is the main reason why the terminal has to be restarted. In case you try to build the application using any other terminal, you will get an error because the environment variable is not set at the user/system level. You will have to manually set that environment variable or update the .csproj configuration to point to the correct Dotfuscator CLI location.

Generate a Configuration File

For repeatable builds or to customize protection settings, generate a Dotfuscator XML configuration file:

1. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P on Mac)
2. Type Dotfuscator: Generate Config and press Enter
3. Select the input DLL or EXE file
4. Choose a location and filename for the output XML configuration file
5. The config file is generated in the integrated terminal

If the XML file doesn't exist, it will be created. If it already exists, it will be overwritten.

Platform Support

• Windows
• macOS (x64 / ARM64)
• Linux

Upgrade to Dotfuscator Professional

Dotfuscator Community Edition provides robust baseline protection for personal use. For enterprise teams and commercial applications, Dotfuscator Professional includes everything in Community Edition, plus:

• Commercial use licensing
• Advanced runtime checks with custom actions, reporting, and probabilistic triggers
• Control Flow obfuscation restructures method logic to resist decompilation
• String encryption encrypts string literals to prevent static analysis of sensitive values
• Incremental obfuscation for faster CI/CD builds
• Watermarking for tracking unauthorized copies
• Assembly linking, unused code removal, and deployment optimizations
• Stack trace translation and PDB round-tripping for production debugging
• Standalone UI for visual configuration
• Azure DevOps and App Center build integrations
• Premium support from PreEmptive's engineering team

Compare editions | Start Your Free Dotfuscator Professional Trial

Documentation

For detailed documentation on Dotfuscator's capabilities, configuration options, and best practices, visit the Dotfuscator documentation.

Support

If you encounter issues or have questions:

• Contact our support team: PreEmptive Support
• General inquiries: Contact PreEmptive

License

Dotfuscator Community Edition is free for personal use. By using the product, you agree to the Terms and Conditions. See the PreEmptive Software Subscription Agreement for full license terms.