Object Dumper for Visual Studio Code

Object Dumper is a Visual Studio Code extension for exporting live .NET objects during debugging into reusable C#, Visual Basic, JSON, XML, or YAML representations.

Instead of manually expanding a complex object graph and copying debugger values one by one, select an expression in the editor while paused at a breakpoint, choose Dump As, and Object Dumper opens the generated representation in a separate editor document.

The extension also works in GitHub Codespaces.

Object Dumper is also available for Visual Studio and JetBrains Rider.

Inspired by ObjectExporter.

Presentation

Features

Dump objects in multiple formats

C# object initialization code
Visual Basic object initialization code
JSON
XML
YAML

Generate reusable code from runtime objects

C# and Visual Basic output is powered by VarDump. See the VarDump documentation for supported formatting and traversal options.

Typical use cases include:

creating unit-test fixtures from real runtime objects
capturing DTOs and domain objects for bug reproduction
turning debugger state into C# or Visual Basic initialization code
copying runtime objects as JSON or YAML for API testing
inspecting large object graphs without manually expanding every debugger node

Dump behavior and available formats can be configured by opening Settings and searching for Object Dumper.

Installation

Install Object Dumper from the Visual Studio Marketplace, or install it from VS Code:

Open Extensions
Search for Object Dumper
Select the extension published by YevhenCherkes
Click Install

Usage

Object Dumper commands are available while debugging a C# or F# project.

Start a debugging session.
Stop at a breakpoint.
Select or place the cursor on the expression you want to export.
Right-click in the editor.
Open Dump As.
Choose the desired format.
The generated output opens in a separate editor document.

Keyboard shortcuts

Format	Windows / Linux	macOS
C#	`Ctrl+K D`	`Cmd+K D`
JSON	`Ctrl+K J`	`Cmd+K J`
Visual Basic	`Ctrl+K V`	`Cmd+K V`
XML	`Ctrl+K X`	`Cmd+K X`
YAML	`Ctrl+K Y`	`Cmd+K Y`

The commands are only enabled during a supported debugging session.

Configuration

Configure dump behavior by opening Settings and searching for:

Object Dumper

or edit your settings.json directly.

Common settings

{
  "objectDumper.common.maxDepth": 25
}

C# and Visual Basic settings use the objectDumper.csharp.* and objectDumper.vb.* namespaces. VS Code Settings shows their defaults and accepted values; refer to the VarDump documentation for serializer behavior.

Changelog

See the project changelog for release details and migration guidance.

Requirements and known restrictions

Visual Studio Code 1.73.0 or later
C# and F# source projects are currently supported
local debugging only
.NET Standard 2.0+ and .NET Core 2.0+ debugging scenarios are supported
.NET Framework debugging is not currently supported

Object Dumper commands are exposed from the editor context menu, not from the Variables/Watch context menu.

GitHub Codespaces

Object Dumper can be used in GitHub Codespaces as long as the active debugging scenario satisfies the extension's supported .NET requirements.

Privacy

Object Dumper does not collect personal data.

Debugger interaction and serialization happen as part of your local or Codespaces debugging session.

Powered by

Library	Purpose	License
VarDump	C# and Visual Basic serialization	Apache-2.0
Json.NET	JSON and XML serialization	MIT
YamlDotNet	YAML serialization	MIT
ILRepack	Serializer assembly merging	Apache-2.0

Contributing

Contributions, bug reports, and feature requests are welcome.

Support the project

If Object Dumper saves you time, you can support its continued development through:

License

Object Dumper is licensed under the MIT License.

Object Dumper

Yevhen Cherkes