Roslyn Analyzers

Overview

Roslyn analyzers are components that plug into the C# and VB.NET compilers to perform custom static analysis during compilation. They report diagnostics (errors, warnings, info messages) and can optionally provide code fix providers that offer automated refactorings through the IDE lightbulb menu. Analyzers are distributed as NuGet packages and run in both the IDE (real-time) and during dotnet build (batch).

The Roslyn analyzer API provides access to the syntax tree (textual structure), semantic model (type information and symbol resolution), and control/data flow analysis. Analyzers register callbacks for specific syntax nodes, symbols, operations, or compilation events.

Project Setup

Analyzer projects target netstandard2.0 and reference the Roslyn compiler APIs.

xml

<!-- MyAnalyzers.csproj -->
<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFramework>netstandard2.0</TargetFramework>
    <LangVersion>latest</LangVersion>
    <EnforceExtendedAnalyzerRules>true</EnforceExtendedAnalyzerRules>
    <IsRoslynComponent>true</IsRoslynComponent>
    <GeneratePackageOnBuild>true</GeneratePackageOnBuild>
    <IncludeBuildOutput>false</IncludeBuildOutput>
    <DevelopmentDependency>true</DevelopmentDependency>
    <NoPackageAnalysis>true</NoPackageAnalysis>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Analyzers" Version="3.3.4"
                      PrivateAssets="all" />
    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp" Version="4.8.0"
                      PrivateAssets="all" />
  </ItemGroup>

  <!-- Pack analyzer DLL into the analyzers/dotnet/cs folder -->
  <ItemGroup>
    <None Include="$(OutputPath)\$(AssemblyName).dll"
          Pack="true"
          PackagePath="analyzers/dotnet/cs"
          Visible="false" />
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>

Writing a Diagnostic Analyzer

Analyzers inherit from DiagnosticAnalyzer and register analysis callbacks.

csharp

using System.Collections.Immutable;
using Microsoft.CodeAnalysis;
using Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp;
using Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp.Syntax;
using Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Diagnostics;

namespace MyAnalyzers;

[DiagnosticAnalyzer(LanguageNames.CSharp)]
public sealed class AsyncMethodNamingAnalyzer : DiagnosticAnalyzer
{
    public const string DiagnosticId = "MA001";

    private static readonly DiagnosticDescriptor Rule = new(
        id: DiagnosticId,
        title: "Async method should end with 'Async'",
        messageFormat: "Method '{0}' returns Task but does not end with 'Async'",
        category: "Naming",
        defaultSeverity: DiagnosticSeverity.Warning,
        isEnabledByDefault: true,
        helpLinkUri: "https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/fundamentals/code-analysis/style-rules/ide1006");

    public override ImmutableArray<DiagnosticDescriptor> SupportedDiagnostics =>
        ImmutableArray.Create(Rule);

    public override void Initialize(AnalysisContext context)
    {
        context.ConfigureGeneratedCodeAnalysis(
            GeneratedCodeAnalysisFlags.None);
        context.EnableConcurrentExecution();

        context.RegisterSymbolAction(AnalyzeMethod, SymbolKind.Method);
    }

    private static void AnalyzeMethod(SymbolAnalysisContext context)
    {
        var method = (IMethodSymbol)context.Symbol;

        // Skip if already ends with Async
        if (method.Name.EndsWith("Async"))
            return;

        // Skip special methods
        if (method.IsOverride || method.IsImplicitlyDeclared ||
            method.MethodKind != MethodKind.Ordinary)
            return;

        // Check if return type is Task or Task<T>
        INamedTypeSymbol? returnType = method.ReturnType as INamedTypeSymbol;
        if (returnType is null)
            return;

        string returnTypeName = returnType.ContainingNamespace?.ToDisplayString() + "." +
                                returnType.MetadataName;

        bool isTaskLike = returnTypeName is "System.Threading.Tasks.Task" or
                          "System.Threading.Tasks.Task`1" or
                          "System.Threading.Tasks.ValueTask" or
                          "System.Threading.Tasks.ValueTask`1";

        if (isTaskLike)
        {
            var diagnostic = Diagnostic.Create(Rule, method.Locations[0], method.Name);
            context.ReportDiagnostic(diagnostic);
        }
    }
}

Writing a Code Fix Provider

Code fix providers offer automated fixes for diagnostics reported by analyzers.

csharp

using System.Collections.Immutable;
using System.Composition;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using Microsoft.CodeAnalysis;
using Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CodeActions;
using Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CodeFixes;
using Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp;
using Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp.Syntax;
using Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Rename;

namespace MyAnalyzers;

[ExportCodeFixProvider(LanguageNames.CSharp, Name = nameof(AsyncMethodNamingCodeFix))]
[Shared]
public sealed class AsyncMethodNamingCodeFix : CodeFixProvider
{
    public override ImmutableArray<string> FixableDiagnosticIds =>
        ImmutableArray.Create(AsyncMethodNamingAnalyzer.DiagnosticId);

    public override FixAllProvider GetFixAllProvider() =>
        WellKnownFixAllProviders.BatchFixer;

    public override async Task RegisterCodeFixesAsync(CodeFixContext context)
    {
        var root = await context.Document.GetSyntaxRootAsync(context.CancellationToken);
        if (root is null) return;

        var diagnostic = context.Diagnostics[0];
        var diagnosticSpan = diagnostic.Location.SourceSpan;

        var declaration = root.FindToken(diagnosticSpan.Start)
            .Parent?
            .AncestorsAndSelf()
            .OfType<MethodDeclarationSyntax>()
            .First();

        if (declaration is null) return;

        string newName = declaration.Identifier.Text + "Async";

        context.RegisterCodeFix(
            CodeAction.Create(
                title: $"Rename to '{newName}'",
                createChangedSolution: ct => RenameMethodAsync(
                    context.Document, declaration, newName, ct),
                equivalenceKey: DiagnosticId),
            diagnostic);
    }

    private static async Task<Solution> RenameMethodAsync(
        Document document,
        MethodDeclarationSyntax declaration,
        string newName,
        CancellationToken cancellationToken)
    {
        var semanticModel = await document.GetSemanticModelAsync(cancellationToken);
        if (semanticModel is null) return document.Project.Solution;

        var symbol = semanticModel.GetDeclaredSymbol(declaration, cancellationToken);
        if (symbol is null) return document.Project.Solution;

        return await Renamer.RenameSymbolAsync(
            document.Project.Solution,
            symbol,
            new SymbolRenameOptions(),
            newName,
            cancellationToken);
    }

    private const string DiagnosticId = AsyncMethodNamingAnalyzer.DiagnosticId;
}

Syntax-Based Analyzer

Analyzers can also register for specific syntax node types for pattern detection.

csharp

using System.Collections.Immutable;
using Microsoft.CodeAnalysis;
using Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp;
using Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp.Syntax;
using Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Diagnostics;

namespace MyAnalyzers;

[DiagnosticAnalyzer(LanguageNames.CSharp)]
public sealed class EmptyCatchBlockAnalyzer : DiagnosticAnalyzer
{
    public const string DiagnosticId = "MA002";

    private static readonly DiagnosticDescriptor Rule = new(
        id: DiagnosticId,
        title: "Empty catch block swallows exceptions",
        messageFormat: "Catch block is empty; exceptions will be silently swallowed",
        category: "Reliability",
        defaultSeverity: DiagnosticSeverity.Warning,
        isEnabledByDefault: true);

    public override ImmutableArray<DiagnosticDescriptor> SupportedDiagnostics =>
        ImmutableArray.Create(Rule);

    public override void Initialize(AnalysisContext context)
    {
        context.ConfigureGeneratedCodeAnalysis(GeneratedCodeAnalysisFlags.None);
        context.EnableConcurrentExecution();
        context.RegisterSyntaxNodeAction(AnalyzeCatchClause, SyntaxKind.CatchClause);
    }

    private static void AnalyzeCatchClause(SyntaxNodeAnalysisContext context)
    {
        var catchClause = (CatchClauseSyntax)context.Node;

        // Check if catch block has no statements and no comments
        if (catchClause.Block.Statements.Count == 0 &&
            !catchClause.Block.DescendantTrivia()
                .Any(t => t.IsKind(SyntaxKind.SingleLineCommentTrivia) ||
                          t.IsKind(SyntaxKind.MultiLineCommentTrivia)))
        {
            context.ReportDiagnostic(
                Diagnostic.Create(Rule, catchClause.CatchKeyword.GetLocation()));
        }
    }
}

Registration Method Comparison

Registration Method	Scope	Use Case
`RegisterSymbolAction`	Named symbols	Naming conventions, accessibility checks
`RegisterSyntaxNodeAction`	Specific syntax node kinds	Pattern detection, anti-patterns
`RegisterOperationAction`	IOperation (semantic ops)	Data flow, assignment analysis
`RegisterCompilationStartAction`	Full compilation scope	Cross-file analysis, type collection
`RegisterSyntaxTreeAction`	Per syntax tree	File-level checks (line count, etc.)
`RegisterCodeBlockAction`	Method/property bodies	Control flow within a single member
`RegisterAdditionalFileAction`	Non-C# files in project	Configuration file validation

Unit Testing Analyzers

csharp

using System.Threading.Tasks;
using Microsoft.CodeAnalysis;
using Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Testing;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting;
using VerifyCS = Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp.Testing.CSharpAnalyzerVerifier<
    MyAnalyzers.AsyncMethodNamingAnalyzer,
    Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Testing.DefaultVerifier>;

namespace MyAnalyzers.Tests;

[TestClass]
public class AsyncMethodNamingAnalyzerTests
{
    [TestMethod]
    public async Task Method_ReturningTask_WithoutAsyncSuffix_ReportsDiagnostic()
    {
        string source = """
            using System.Threading.Tasks;

            public class MyClass
            {
                public Task {|#0:GetData|}()
                {
                    return Task.CompletedTask;
                }
            }
            """;

        var expected = VerifyCS.Diagnostic(AsyncMethodNamingAnalyzer.DiagnosticId)
            .WithLocation(0)
            .WithArguments("GetData");

        await VerifyCS.VerifyAnalyzerAsync(source, expected);
    }

    [TestMethod]
    public async Task Method_ReturningTask_WithAsyncSuffix_NoDiagnostic()
    {
        string source = """
            using System.Threading.Tasks;

            public class MyClass
            {
                public Task GetDataAsync()
                {
                    return Task.CompletedTask;
                }
            }
            """;

        await VerifyCS.VerifyAnalyzerAsync(source);
    }
}

Best Practices

•
Always call context.EnableConcurrentExecution() and context.ConfigureGeneratedCodeAnalysis(GeneratedCodeAnalysisFlags.None) in Initialize to allow the compiler to run your analyzer in parallel and skip generated code, both of which are required for good IDE performance.
•
Define diagnostic IDs with a consistent prefix (e.g., MA001) and maintain a public constants class so that consumers can reference diagnostic IDs in .editorconfig severity overrides and SuppressMessage attributes.
•
Provide a helpLinkUri in every DiagnosticDescriptor that points to documentation explaining why the diagnostic is reported and how to fix it, so developers can understand the rule without reading analyzer source code.
•
Use RegisterSymbolAction for naming and accessibility rules, RegisterSyntaxNodeAction for pattern detection, and RegisterOperationAction for semantic analysis to match the right level of abstraction to the analysis task.
•
Implement GetFixAllProvider() returning WellKnownFixAllProviders.BatchFixer in code fix providers so that users can fix all instances of a diagnostic across a document, project, or solution in a single action.
•
Target netstandard2.0 and set EnforceExtendedAnalyzerRules to true because the compiler loads analyzers in a restricted context; this setting surfaces violations of analyzer design rules at build time.
•
Pack the analyzer DLL into analyzers/dotnet/cs in the NuGet package using the None item with PackagePath so that consuming projects automatically load the analyzer without explicit project references.
•
Use the Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Testing framework for unit tests with the VerifyAnalyzerAsync pattern which handles compilation setup, reference resolution, and diagnostic location matching automatically.
•
Skip compiler-generated symbols by checking IsImplicitlyDeclared and filter out MethodKind.PropertyGet, MethodKind.PropertySet, etc. to avoid reporting diagnostics on auto-generated backing methods that developers cannot fix.
•
Test both positive cases (diagnostic reported) and negative cases (no diagnostic) for every rule to prevent false positives, which erode developer trust and lead to teams disabling the analyzer entirely.