/dotnet-aot-compat

name: dotnet-aot-compat
description: >
  Make .NET projects compatible with Native AOT and trimming by systematically
  resolving IL trim/AOT analyzer warnings. USE FOR: making projects AOT-compatible,
  fixing trimming warnings, resolving IL warnings (IL2026, IL2070, IL2067, IL2072,
  IL3050), adding DynamicallyAccessedMembers annotations, enabling IsAotCompatible.
  DO NOT USE FOR: publishing native AOT binaries, optimizing binary size, replacing
  reflection-heavy libraries with alternatives.
  INVOKES: no tools — pure knowledge skill.
license: MIT

dotnet-aot-compat

Make .NET projects compatible with Native AOT and trimming by systematically resolving all IL trim/AOT analyzer warnings.

When to Use This Skill

• **"Make this project AOT-compatible"**
• **"Fix trimming warnings"** or **"fix IL warnings"**
• **"Resolve IL2070 / IL2067 / IL2072 / IL2026 / IL3050 warnings"**
• **"Add DynamicallyAccessedMembers annotations"**
• **"Enable IsAotCompatible in my .csproj"**
• **"My project has trim analyzer warnings after upgrading to net8.0"**
• **"Annotate reflection code for the trimmer"**

When Not to Use This Skill

Do not use this skill when the project exclusively targets .NET Framework (net4x), which does not support the trim/AOT analyzers.

Prerequisites

An existing .NET project targeting net8.0 or later (or multi-targeting with at least one net8.0+ TFM) and the corresponding .NET SDK installed.

Background: What AOT Compatibility Means

Native AOT and the IL trimmer perform static analysis to determine what code is reachable. Reflection can break this analysis because the trimmer can't see what types/members are accessed at runtime. The `IsAotCompatible` property enables analyzers that flag these issues as build warnings (ILXXXX codes).

Critical Rules

❌ Never suppress warnings incorrectly

• **NEVER** use `#pragma warning disable` for IL warnings. It hides warnings from the Roslyn analyzer at build time, but the IL linker and AOT compiler still see the issue. The code will fail at trim/publish time.
• **NEVER** use `[UnconditionalSuppressMessage]`. It tells both the analyzer AND the linker to ignore the warning, meaning the trimmer cannot verify safety. Raising an error at build time is always preferable to hiding the issue and having it silently break at runtime.

💡 Preferred approaches

• **Prefer** `[DynamicallyAccessedMembers]` annotations to flow type information through the call chain.
• **Prefer** refactoring to eliminate patterns that break annotation flow (e.g., boxing `Type` through `object[]`).
• **Use** `[RequiresUnreferencedCode]` / `[RequiresDynamicCode]` / `[RequiresAssemblyFiles]` to mark methods as fundamentally incompatible with trimming, propagating the requirement to callers. This surfaces the issue clearly rather than hiding it — callers must explicitly acknowledge the incompatibility.

Annotation flow is key

The trimmer tracks `[DynamicallyAccessedMembers]` annotations through assignments, parameter passing, and return values. If this flow is broken (e.g., by boxing a `Type` into `object`, storing in an untyped collection, or casting through interfaces), the trimmer loses track and warns. The fix is to preserve the flow, not suppress the warning.

Step-by-Step Procedure

> **Do not explore the codebase up-front.** The build warnings tell you exactly which files and lines need changes. Follow a tight loop: **build → pick a warning → open that file at that line → apply the fix recipe → rebuild**. Reading or analyzing source files beyond what a specific warning points you to is wasted effort and leads to timeouts. Let the compiler guide you. > > ❌ Do NOT run `find`, `ls`, or `grep` to understand the project structure before building. Do NOT read README, docs, or architecture files. Your first action should be Step 1 (enable AOT analysis), then build.

Step 1: Enable AOT analysis in the .csproj

Add `IsAotCompatible`. If the project doesn't exclusively target net8.0+, add a TFM condition (AOT analysis requires net8.0+):

<PropertyGroup>
  <IsAotCompatible Condition="$([MSBuild]::IsTargetFrameworkCompatible('$(TargetFramework)', 'net8.0'))">true</IsAotCompatible>
</PropertyGroup>

This automatically sets `EnableTrimAnalyzer=true` and `EnableAotAnalyzer=true` for compatible TFMs. For multi-targeting projects (e.g., `netstandard2.0;net8.0`), the condition ensures no `NETSDK1210` warnings on older TFMs.

Step 2: Build and collect warnings

dotnet build <project.csproj> -f <net8.0-or-later-tfm> --no-incremental 2>&1 | grep 'IL[0-9]\{4\}'

Sort and deduplicate. Common warning codes:

• **IL2070**: Reflection call on a `Type` parameter missing `[DynamicallyAccessedMembers]`
• **IL2067**: Passing an unannotated `Type` to a method expecting `[DynamicallyAccessedMembers]`
• **IL2072**: Return value or extracted value missing annotation (often from unboxing)
• **IL2057**: `Type.GetType(string)` with a non-constant argument
• **IL2026**: Calling a method marked `[RequiresUnreferencedCode]`
• **IL2050**: P/invoke method with COM marshalling parameters
• **IL2075**: Return value flows into reflection without annotation
• **IL2091**: Generic argument missing `[DynamicallyAccessedMembers]` required by constraint
• **IL3000**: `Assembly.Location` returns empty string in single-file/AOT apps
• **IL3050**: Calling a method marked `[RequiresDynamicCode]`

Step 3: Triage warnings by code (do NOT read every file)

Group the warnings from Step 2 by warning code and count them. **Do not open individual files yet.** Identify the top 1-2 patterns by count — these drive your fix strategy:

| Pattern | Typical fix | |---------|-------------| | Many IL2026 + IL3050 from `JsonSerializer` | **Go to Strategy C immediately** — create a `JsonSerializerContext`, then batch-update all call sites | | IL2070/IL2087 on `Type` parameters | Add `[DynamicallyAccessedMembers]` to the innermost method, then cascade outward | | IL