Command Line Reference – Preemptive Support Center

To learn more about using the command line see the Command Line Interface page.

Install Location

Dotfuscator's command line can be found at the following paths, based on the installation package you used:

Installation Package	Directory
Windows Installer	`%DOTFUSCATOR_HOME%\dotfuscator.exe`
NuGet Package	`{install dir}/tools/programdir/dotfuscator.dll`

where {install dir} is the Dotfuscator installation directory you noted when installing the NuGet package.

The Windows Installer version of the CLI is a .NET Framework 4.7.2 app. You can run it like any Windows console tool:

%DOTFUSCATOR_HOME%\dotfuscator.exe

Note: The Windows installer will attempt to add %DOTFUSCATOR_HOME% to the PATH. This means you can usually run the CLI with just dotfuscator.

The NuGet Package version of the CLI is a framework-dependent .NET 6 app. You must have the .NET 6 runtime or higher installed before running the CLI:

dotnet {install dir}/tools/programdir/netcore/dotfuscator.dll

{install dir}/tools/programdir/netcore/dotfuscator

Command Line Option Summary

Command line options may begin with the '/' or the '-' characters.

Command Line Options:

Usage: dotfuscator [options] [config_file]

Standard Options

The following is a summary of the standard command line options.

Standard Options	Description
`-i`	Investigate only	Dry run only. Does not write any output assemblies. Results if the simulated build will be found in the map file.
`-p=<property list>`	Specifies values for user defined properties in the config file	Comma separated list of name-value pairs (e.g. -p=outdir=c:/temp,name=MyApp.exe).
`-q`	Quiet output	This overrides the verbose mode
`-v`	Verbose output	Print extra information about its progress during its execution
`-nologo`	Suppresses the output of the Dotfuscator Copyright and License information
`-?`	Print help
`-??`	Print extended options
`[config_file]`	Path to a Dotfuscator config file

The <property list> is a list of comma-separated name-value pairs. For example, property declaration and assignment in conjunction with the -p option, might look like:

-p=outdir=c:/temp,name=MyApp

Properties may be quoted if they contain spaces as illustrated below:

-p=MyProperty="value has spaces"

Note: Property names are case sensitive.

Extended Options

Extended options are designed to allow for basic obfuscation from the command line, without requiring you to first create a config file. If you use a config file with an extended command line option, the command line option supplements or overrides the commands in the config file. See Supplementing or Overriding a Config File from the Command Line for more information.

Extended options are recognized by the first four characters.

The following is a summary of the extended command line options. An asterisk denotes the default setting if an option is missing and no config file is specified.

Extended Options	Description
`-in [+\|-]<file>[,[+\|-]<file>]`	Specify inputs. Any combination of assemblies, package files or directory file masks can be specified. Use a prefix to obfuscate input as library mode (+) or private (-) assembly. The default is governed by assembly file extension (EXEs are private; .DLLs are run in library mode).
`-out:<directory>`	Specify output directory. Default is ./Dotfuscated.
`-honor:[on\|off*]`	Toggle honoring obfuscation attribute directives found in all input assemblies.
`-strip:[on\|off*]`	Toggle stripping obfuscation attributes from all input assemblies.
`-makeconfig:<file>`	Deprecated, use genconfig. Saves most runtime options (from command line and config file if present) to <file>. Allows build to proceed.
`-genconfig:<file>`	Save all runtime options (from command line and config file if present) to <file>. Does not run a build.
`-debug:[on\|off*\|auto]`	Emit debugging symbols with output assemblies. Using this option with the `on` setting is deprecated; please use the `auto` setting instead.
`-license:<license-string>`	Specifies a Dotfuscator license string to activate and use for this run of Dotfuscator. Typically this option should be used for a Floating License. The value of this option will be used even if another license is specified by an environment variable or in the license file.
`-suppress:[on\|off*]`	Add the `SuppressIldasmAttribute` to supported output assemblies.
`-disable`	Disable all transforms regardless of other options
`-mono-compatible:[on\|off*]`	Use only Mono-compatible transforms.
`-rename:[on\|off*]`	Enable/disable renaming.
`-mapout:<file>`	Specify output mapping file. Default is ./Dotfuscated/map.xml.
`-mapin:<file>`	Specify input mapping file.
`-clobbermap:[on\|off*]`	Specify map file overwrite mode.
`-keep:[namespace\|hierarchy\|none*]`	Specify type renaming scheme.
`-prefix:[on:off*]`	Append a prefix to all renamed types.
`-enhancedOI:[on\|off*]`	Use Enhanced Overload Induction.
`-refsrename:[on*\|off]`	Rename referenced metadata defined only in input map file.
`-naming:<naming option>`	Specify identifier renaming scheme, where `<naming option>` is one of: `loweralpha`, `upperalpha`, `numeric`, or `unprintable`.
`-controlflow:[high*\|medium\|low\|off]`	Set control flow obfuscation level.
`-encrypt:[on*\|off]`	Enable/disable string encryption.
`-prune:[on*\|off\|const]`	Enable/disable removal, or enable constant-only removal.
`-rmout:<file>`	Specify removal report file. By default no report is written.
`-rmclobber:[on\|off*]`	Enable/disable overwriting the removal report without backing up an existing copy.
`-link:[[+][,[+]],]out=`	Specify assemblies to link into named output assembly. A '+' prefix indicates a primeassembly. Omit the list to link all inputs, using first input as the prime assembly. You can specify multiple link options on the command line.
`-link:off`	Disables linking. Linking is off by default unless you pass a config file with linking options. This option is useful for that scenario.
`-premark:[on\|off*\|only]`	Enable/disable watermarking. "Only" option disables all other transforms.
`-watermark:`	Specify the watermark string. Quotes are optional. By default, all input assemblies will be watermarked with this string.
`-passphrase:`	Optionally specify a passphrase to use for encrypting thewatermark string.
`-charmap:`	Specify a character map to use to encode the watermark string. The name must be one of the supported character maps. See Character Maps.
`-smart:[on\|off]`	Enables/disables Smart Obfuscation. See SmartObfuscation.
`-soreport:[all\|warn\|none]`	Sets the verbosity level of the reporting output of the Smart Obfuscation functionality. See SmartObfuscation.
`-soout:<file>`	Specify smart obfuscation report file. By default no report is written.
`-soclobber:[on\|off*]`	Enable/disable overwriting the smart obfuscation report without backing up an existing copy.

Supplementing or Overriding a Config File from the Command Line

Dotfuscator has the unique ability to accept a complete or partial config file, yet allow you to supplement or override its options from the command line. This allows you to quickly adjust and tweak settings using a standard config file as a template.

Command Line Option	Config File Option	Notes
`-in [+\|-][,[+\|-]]`	input section	adds
`-out: <directory>`	output section	overrides
`-honor:[on\|off* ]`	inputassembly section	overrides
`-strip:[on\|off*]`	inputassembly	overrides
`-debug:[on\|off*\|auto]`	`debugauto`, `debug`, `debugimpl`, `debugopt`, and `pdb` options	overrides
`-suppress:[on\|off*]`	Sets (or unsets) the `suppressildasm` global option	overrides
`-disable`	Sets "disable" option in renaming, controlflow, stringencrypt, and removal sections	overrides
`-rename:[on:off]`	Sets (or unsets) "disable" option in "renaming" section.	overrides
`-mapout:<file>`	"mapoutput" section	overrides
`-mapin:<file>`	"mapinput" section	overrides
`-clobbermap:[on\|off]`	"overwrite" attribute in "mapoutput" section	overrides
`-keep:[namespace\|hierarchy\|none]`	Sets (or unsets) renaming options: "keepnamespace","keephierarchy"	overrides
`-enhancedOI:[on\|off]`	Sets (or unsets) "enhancedOI" renaming option	overrides
`-refsrename:[on\|off]`	"obfuscatereferences" attribute in "mapinput" element.	overrides
`-naming:<naming option>`	Sets the "scheme" attribute in the renaming section, where `<naming option>` is one of: `loweralpha`, `upperalpha`, `numeric`, or `unprintable`.	overrides
`-controlflow:[high\|medium\|low\|off]`	Sets the "level" attribute in the controlflow" section. The off flag sets the "disable" option.	overrides
`-encrypt:[on\|off]`	Sets (or unsets) the "disable" option in the stringencrypt* section.	overrides
`-prune:[on\|off]`	Sets (or unsets) the "disable" option in the removal section.	overrides
`-rmout:<file>`	Sets the "removalreport" option in the removal section	overrides
`-soout:<file>`	Sets the "file" attribute on the "smartobfuscationreport" option in the smartobfuscation section	overrides
`-link:[[+]<name>[,[+]<name>],]out=<name>`	Sets sub-elements of the element	overrides
`-link:off`	Sets the "disable" option in the linking section.	overrides
`-premark: [on\|off*\|only]`	Sets (or unsets) the "disable" option in the premark section. The "only" setting is not saved to the config file.	overrides
`-watermark`	Sets the element.	overrides
`-passphrase`	Sets the element and sets the usepassphrase option.	overrides
`-charmap`	Sets the "encoding" attribute in the premark section.	overrides

For more information on renaming schemes and their limitations, click here

Examples

Example 1:

dotfuscator -in:my.dll

Obfuscates my.dll as a library (visible symbols preserved and unpruned) with renaming, control flow, removal, and string encryption turned on. The output assembly is written to a directory called ./Dotfuscated, and the map file is written to ./Dotfuscated/map.xml since no output directories were specified.

Example 2:

dotfuscator -in:-myapp.exe,-private.dll

Obfuscates myapp.exe and private.dll together as a standalone application. Even visible symbols inside the DLL are obfuscated. Removal is enabled based on the entry point method contained in myapp.exe.

Example 3:

dotfuscator -in:myapp.exe -mapo:MyName.xml

This command obfuscates myapp.exe as a standalone application. An output renaming map is specified.