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https://github.com/0xced/chisel

Remove unwanted dependencies from your dotnet projects
https://github.com/0xced/chisel
dotnet nuget
Last synced: 3 days ago
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Remove unwanted dependencies from your dotnet projects
Host: GitHub
URL: https://github.com/0xced/chisel
Owner: 0xced
License: mit
Created: 2024-03-04T13:15:09.000Z (10 months ago)
Default Branch: main
Last Pushed: 2024-12-02T11:53:24.000Z (24 days ago)
Last Synced: 2024-12-09T04:22:17.041Z (17 days ago)
Topics: dotnet, nuget
Language: C#
Homepage:
Size: 291 KB
Stars: 297
Watchers: 3
Forks: 4
Open Issues: 3
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Changelog: CHANGELOG.md
- License: LICENSE
- Code of conduct: CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
Awesome Lists containing this project

README

        


  



**Chisel** provides a way to remove unwanted dependencies from your dotnet projects.

[![NuGet](https://img.shields.io/nuget/v/Chisel.svg?label=NuGet&logo=NuGet)](https://www.nuget.org/packages/Chisel/) [![Continuous Integration](https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/0xced/Chisel/continuous-integration.yml?branch=main&label=Continuous%20Integration&logo=GitHub)](https://github.com/0xced/Chisel/actions/workflows/continuous-integration.yml)

Chisel was born because some database drivers can't resist taking dependencies on cloud libraries. The [MongoDB driver](https://www.nuget.org/packages/MongoDB.Driver) (version 2.*) depends on the ASW SDK for authentication with Identity and Access Management (IAM) and [Microsoft's SQL Server driver](https://www.nuget.org/packages/Microsoft.Data.SqlClient) depends on the Azure SDK for authentication with the Microsoft identity platform (formerly Azure AD).

Users have asked for separate NuGet packages for both MongoDB ([issue #4635](https://jira.mongodb.org/browse/CSHARP-4635)) and SqlClient ([issue #1108](https://github.com/dotnet/SqlClient/issues/1108)) but as of `MongoDB.Driver` 2.* and `Microsoft.Data.SqlClient` 5.* the cloud dependencies are unavoidable, even if MongoDB or SQL Server is used on premises (where cloud authentication is obviously not needed).

> [!NOTE]  

> Chisel is no longer needed starting with version 3.0.0 of the `MongoDB.Driver` package since AWS authentication has been moved into a new optional [MongoDB.Driver.Authentication.AWS](https://www.nuget.org/packages/MongoDB.Driver.Authentication.AWS) package. See [Version 3.0 Breaking Changes](https://www.mongodb.com/docs/drivers/csharp/current/upgrade/v3/#version-3.0-breaking-changes) for more information.

Enter Chisel to remove those dependencies and save some precious megabytes.

## Getting started

Add the [Chisel](https://www.nuget.org/packages/Chisel/) NuGet package to your project using the NuGet Package Manager or run the following command:

```sh

dotnet add package Chisel

```

While Chisel's main purpose is removing unwanted dependencies from existing NuGet packages, it provides another great feature: a graph of your project's dependencies. After adding Chisel, a [Mermaid](https://mermaid.js.org) (or [Graphviz](https://graphviz.org)) graph is written in the intermediate output path (aka the `obj` directory).

For a project referencing `Hangfire.PostgreSql` and `Npgsql.EntityFrameworkCore.PostgreSQL` the graph would look like this.

```mermaid

graph LR

classDef root stroke-width:4px

classDef default fill:aquamarine,stroke:#009061,color:#333333

Hangfire.Core --> Newtonsoft.Json

Hangfire.PostgreSql{{Hangfire.PostgreSql}} --> Dapper

Hangfire.PostgreSql{{Hangfire.PostgreSql}} --> Hangfire.Core

Hangfire.PostgreSql{{Hangfire.PostgreSql}} --> Npgsql

Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore --> Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Abstractions

Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore --> Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Memory

Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore --> Microsoft.Extensions.Logging

Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Relational --> Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore

Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Relational --> Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Abstractions

Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Abstractions --> Microsoft.Extensions.Primitives

Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Memory --> Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Abstractions

Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Memory --> Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.Abstractions

Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Memory --> Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions

Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Memory --> Microsoft.Extensions.Options

Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Memory --> Microsoft.Extensions.Primitives

Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Abstractions --> Microsoft.Extensions.Primitives

Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection --> Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.Abstractions

Microsoft.Extensions.Logging --> Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection

Microsoft.Extensions.Logging --> Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions

Microsoft.Extensions.Logging --> Microsoft.Extensions.Options

Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions --> Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.Abstractions

Microsoft.Extensions.Options --> Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.Abstractions

Microsoft.Extensions.Options --> Microsoft.Extensions.Primitives

Npgsql --> Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions

Npgsql.EntityFrameworkCore.PostgreSQL{{Npgsql.EntityFrameworkCore.PostgreSQL}} --> Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore

Npgsql.EntityFrameworkCore.PostgreSQL{{Npgsql.EntityFrameworkCore.PostgreSQL}} --> Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Abstractions

Npgsql.EntityFrameworkCore.PostgreSQL{{Npgsql.EntityFrameworkCore.PostgreSQL}} --> Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Relational

Npgsql.EntityFrameworkCore.PostgreSQL{{Npgsql.EntityFrameworkCore.PostgreSQL}} --> Npgsql

class Hangfire.PostgreSql root

class Npgsql.EntityFrameworkCore.PostgreSQL root

```

Mermaid graphs can be used directly in [markdown files on GitHub](https://github.blog/2022-02-14-include-diagrams-markdown-files-mermaid/) and are rendered as graphs, just like the one just above. Or they can also be edited, previewed and shared with the [Mermaid live editor](https://mermaid.live/).

Graphviz (DOT) files can be written instead by setting the `ChiselGraphName` property to a name that ends with `.gv`:

```xml

  $(MSBuildProjectName).Chisel.gv

```

Graphviz files can be visualized and shared online with [Edotor](https://edotor.net) or locally with the excellent [Graphviz Interactive Preview](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=tintinweb.graphviz-interactive-preview) extension for Visual Studio Code.

> [!WARNING]  

> While this technique has been sucessfully tested with the MongDB driver and the SQL Server driver, removing dependencies from a package might lead to exceptions at runtime. Make sure to properly test your application.

## Removing the AWS SDK from `MongoDB.Driver` version 2.*

After adding the `Chisel` package to your project, tell it to remove the `AWSSDK.SecurityToken` dependency with the `ChiselPackage` property.

```xml

  AWSSDK.SecurityToken

```

Specifying the _direct_ dependencies is enough. Looking at the produced graph confirms that Chisel figured out the transitive dependencies by itself (there's only `AWSSDK.Core` in this scenario).

```mermaid

graph LR

classDef root stroke-width:4px

classDef default fill:aquamarine,stroke:#009061,color:#333333

classDef removed fill:lightcoral,stroke:#A42A2A

AWSSDK.SecurityToken/3.7.100.14 --> AWSSDK.Core/3.7.100.14

DnsClient/1.6.1 --> Microsoft.Win32.Registry/5.0.0

Microsoft.Win32.Registry/5.0.0 --> System.Security.AccessControl/5.0.0

Microsoft.Win32.Registry/5.0.0 --> System.Security.Principal.Windows/5.0.0

MongoDB.Bson/2.30.0 --> System.Runtime.CompilerServices.Unsafe/5.0.0

MongoDB.Driver/2.30.0{{MongoDB.Driver/2.30.0}} --> Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions/6.0.4

MongoDB.Driver/2.30.0{{MongoDB.Driver/2.30.0}} --> MongoDB.Bson/2.30.0

MongoDB.Driver/2.30.0{{MongoDB.Driver/2.30.0}} --> MongoDB.Driver.Core/2.30.0

MongoDB.Driver/2.30.0{{MongoDB.Driver/2.30.0}} --> MongoDB.Libmongocrypt/1.12.0

MongoDB.Driver.Core/2.30.0 --> AWSSDK.SecurityToken/3.7.100.14

MongoDB.Driver.Core/2.30.0 --> DnsClient/1.6.1

MongoDB.Driver.Core/2.30.0 --> Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions/6.0.4

MongoDB.Driver.Core/2.30.0 --> MongoDB.Bson/2.30.0

MongoDB.Driver.Core/2.30.0 --> MongoDB.Libmongocrypt/1.12.0

MongoDB.Driver.Core/2.30.0 --> SharpCompress/0.30.1

MongoDB.Driver.Core/2.30.0 --> Snappier/1.0.0

MongoDB.Driver.Core/2.30.0 --> ZstdSharp.Port/0.7.3

System.Security.AccessControl/5.0.0 --> System.Security.Principal.Windows/5.0.0

class AWSSDK.Core/3.7.100.14 removed

class AWSSDK.SecurityToken/3.7.100.14 removed

class DnsClient/1.6.1 default

class Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions/6.0.4 default

class Microsoft.Win32.Registry/5.0.0 default

class MongoDB.Bson/2.30.0 default

class MongoDB.Driver/2.30.0 root

class MongoDB.Driver/2.30.0 default

class MongoDB.Driver.Core/2.30.0 default

class MongoDB.Libmongocrypt/1.12.0 default

class SharpCompress/0.30.1 default

class Snappier/1.0.0 default

class System.Runtime.CompilerServices.Unsafe/5.0.0 default

class System.Security.AccessControl/5.0.0 default

class System.Security.Principal.Windows/5.0.0 default

class ZstdSharp.Port/0.7.3 default

```

Now, both `AWSSDK.Core.dll` and `AWSSDK.SecurityToken.dll` have disappeared from the build output.

As long as the [MONGODB-AWS authentication mechanism](https://www.mongodb.com/docs/drivers/csharp/current/fundamentals/authentication/#std-label-csharp-mongodb-aws) is not used everything will work fine. See the `MongoDbSample` project in the `samples` directory.

## Removing the Azure SDK from `Microsoft.Data.SqlClient`

Getting rid of the Azure/Microsoft Identity bits requires defining three packages to remove plus an additional trick. In the previous example, `` was used as an MSBuild property. Here, it's used as an MSBuild item (i.e. with the `Include` attribute) to specify multiple packages.

```xml

  

  

  

```

As with the MongoDB driver, specifying the three _direct_ dependencies is enough. We can see in the produced graph that the `Microsoft.Identity*` libraries have many transitive dependencies which are also removed (in red).

```mermaid

graph LR

classDef root stroke-width:4px

classDef default fill:aquamarine,stroke:#009061,color:#333333

classDef project fill:skyblue,stroke:#05587C

classDef removed fill:lightcoral,stroke:#A42A2A

Azure.Core --> Microsoft.Bcl.AsyncInterfaces

Azure.Core --> System.ClientModel

Azure.Core --> System.Diagnostics.DiagnosticSource

Azure.Core --> System.Memory.Data

Azure.Core --> System.Text.Encodings.Web

Azure.Core --> System.Text.Json

Azure.Identity --> Azure.Core

Azure.Identity --> Microsoft.Identity.Client

Azure.Identity --> Microsoft.Identity.Client.Extensions.Msal

Azure.Identity --> System.Security.Cryptography.ProtectedData

Azure.Identity --> System.Text.Json

Microsoft.Data.SqlClient{{Microsoft.Data.SqlClient}} --> Azure.Identity

Microsoft.Data.SqlClient{{Microsoft.Data.SqlClient}} --> Microsoft.Identity.Client

Microsoft.Data.SqlClient{{Microsoft.Data.SqlClient}} --> Microsoft.IdentityModel.JsonWebTokens

Microsoft.Data.SqlClient{{Microsoft.Data.SqlClient}} --> Microsoft.IdentityModel.Protocols.OpenIdConnect

Microsoft.Data.SqlClient{{Microsoft.Data.SqlClient}} --> Microsoft.SqlServer.Server

Microsoft.Data.SqlClient{{Microsoft.Data.SqlClient}} --> System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager

Microsoft.Data.SqlClient{{Microsoft.Data.SqlClient}} --> System.Runtime.Caching

Microsoft.Identity.Client{{Microsoft.Identity.Client}}

Microsoft.Identity.Client.Extensions.Msal --> Microsoft.Identity.Client

Microsoft.Identity.Client.Extensions.Msal --> System.Security.Cryptography.ProtectedData

Microsoft.IdentityModel.JsonWebTokens --> Microsoft.IdentityModel.Tokens

Microsoft.IdentityModel.JsonWebTokens --> System.Text.Encodings.Web

Microsoft.IdentityModel.JsonWebTokens --> System.Text.Json

Microsoft.IdentityModel.Logging --> Microsoft.IdentityModel.Abstractions

Microsoft.IdentityModel.Protocols --> Microsoft.IdentityModel.Logging

Microsoft.IdentityModel.Protocols --> Microsoft.IdentityModel.Tokens

Microsoft.IdentityModel.Protocols.OpenIdConnect --> Microsoft.IdentityModel.Protocols

Microsoft.IdentityModel.Protocols.OpenIdConnect --> System.IdentityModel.Tokens.Jwt

Microsoft.IdentityModel.Tokens --> Microsoft.IdentityModel.Logging

Microsoft.IdentityModel.Tokens --> System.Security.Cryptography.Cng

System.ClientModel --> System.Memory.Data

System.ClientModel --> System.Text.Json

System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager --> System.Diagnostics.EventLog

System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager --> System.Security.Cryptography.ProtectedData

System.Diagnostics.DiagnosticSource --> System.Runtime.CompilerServices.Unsafe

System.IdentityModel.Tokens.Jwt --> Microsoft.IdentityModel.JsonWebTokens

System.IdentityModel.Tokens.Jwt --> Microsoft.IdentityModel.Tokens

System.Memory.Data --> System.Text.Encodings.Web

System.Memory.Data --> System.Text.Json

System.Runtime.Caching --> System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager

class Azure.Core removed

class Azure.Identity removed

class Microsoft.Bcl.AsyncInterfaces removed

class Microsoft.Data.SqlClient root

class Microsoft.Data.SqlClient default

class Microsoft.Identity.Client root

class Microsoft.Identity.Client project

class Microsoft.Identity.Client.Extensions.Msal removed

class Microsoft.IdentityModel.Abstractions removed

class Microsoft.IdentityModel.JsonWebTokens removed

class Microsoft.IdentityModel.Logging removed

class Microsoft.IdentityModel.Protocols removed

class Microsoft.IdentityModel.Protocols.OpenIdConnect removed

class Microsoft.IdentityModel.Tokens removed

class Microsoft.SqlServer.Server default

class System.ClientModel removed

class System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager default

class System.Diagnostics.DiagnosticSource removed

class System.Diagnostics.EventLog default

class System.IdentityModel.Tokens.Jwt removed

class System.Memory.Data removed

class System.Runtime.Caching default

class System.Runtime.CompilerServices.Unsafe removed

class System.Security.Cryptography.Cng removed

class System.Security.Cryptography.ProtectedData default

class System.Text.Encodings.Web removed

class System.Text.Json removed

```

Notice how `Microsoft.Identity.Client` is in blue (meaning it's a project reference instead of a package reference). That's because the `Microsoft.Identity.Client` package can't be easily removed, else the following exception would be thrown at runtime when opening a connection.

```

System.TypeInitializationException: The type initializer for 'Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SqlAuthenticationProviderManager' threw an exception.

 ---> System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.Identity.Client, Version=4.56.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=0a613f4dd989e8ae'. The system cannot find the file specified.

```

But it's possible to workaround this problem! Since the `Microsoft.Identity.Client` dll is required, we can create one with the absolute minimum required for the `SqlAuthenticationProviderManager` class to be happy.

1. Create a project named `Microsoft.Identity.Client` with the following content (also available in the `samples` directory):

```xml

  

    netstandard2.0

    none

    4.56.0

    true

    $(BaseIntermediateOutputPath)MSAL.snk

  

  

    

  

```

2. Add a single C# file with the following content:

```csharp

namespace Microsoft.Identity.Client

{

    public class DeviceCodeResult

    {

    }

}

```

3. Add a reference in your project:

```xml

  

```

And that's enough for the dotnet build system to pick the **project** reference instead of the **package** reference of the same name, thus reducing the size of `Microsoft.Identity.Client.dll` from 1 MB to 5 KB.

On macOS, removing the Azure authentication libraries and its dependencies reduces the size of the dlls from 6 MB down to 2.8 MB. In other words, the Azure librarires are responsible fore more than 50% of the size of the `Microsoft.Data.SqlClient` package.

```mermaid

%%{ init: { 'theme': 'base', 'themeVariables': { 'pie1': 'lightcoral', 'pie2': 'aquamarine' } } }%%

pie title Microsoft.Data.SqlClient composition

  "Azure/authentication libraries" : 3.217

  "SqlClient core libraries" : 2.764

```

Have a look at the `SqlClientSample` project in the `samples` directory for a concrete example.

## Advanced configuration

Here are all the MSBuild properties and items supported by Chisel.

### `ChiselEnabled`

defaults to `true`

In order to completely disable Chisel, set the `ChiselEnabled` property to `false`. This can be useful for building on the command line with `dotnet build -p:ChiselEnabled=false` for example.

### `ChiselGraphName`

defaults to `$(MSBuildProjectName).Chisel.mermaid`

This is the name of the dependency graph file. A Mermaid file will be written if it ends with either `.mmd` or `.mermaid`, otherwise a Graphviz (DOT) file will be written. To completely disable the graph feature, use `none`.

```xml

  none

```

Note that the file name must not include a path separator.

### `ChiselGraphAlias`

no default value

Setting the `ChiselGraphAlias` property adds an alias (link) under the project. This is useful to see the graph directly into the IDE. A very good combination with the Rider [Mermaid plugin](https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/20146-mermaid). 

![Screenshot of the SqlClientSample project with the Mermaid graph](resources/ChiselGraphAlias.png)

```xml

  Chisel\SqlClientSample.mermaid

```

### `ChiselGraphDirection`

defaults to `LeftToRight`

This defines how the dependency graph is laid out. Possible values are `LeftToRight` and `TopToBottom`. Except for shallow graphs, left to right usually produces a more readable graph.

### `ChiselGraphIncludeVersions`

defaults to `false`

Controls whether the dependency graph nodes are named `{package}` or `{package}/{version}`.

Example with `ChiselGraphIncludeVersions` set to `false`

```mermaid

graph LR

Serilog.Sinks.File --> Serilog

```

Example with `ChiselGraphIncludeVersions` set to `true`

```mermaid

graph LR

Serilog.Sinks.File/5.0.0 --> Serilog/2.10.0

```

### `ChiselGraphIgnore`

On real projects, the dependency graph may become huge. Adding packages to `ChiselGraphIgnore` will remove them from the dependency graph, thus reducing the overall size and increasing readability in other areas.

```xml

  

  

  

```