mjtrainor / snoopwpf

Snoop - The WPF Spy Utility

Snoop

Snoop is an open source WPF spying utility originally created by Pete Blois and is currently maintained by Bastian Schmidt.

It allows you to spy/browse the visual, logical and automation tree of any running WPF application (without the need for a debugger).
You can change property values, view triggers, set breakpoints on property changes and many more things.

Contact

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Where can i download Snoop?/How can i install Snoop?

• chocolatey for stable and some preview versions
• github releases for stable versions
• appveyor for the latest preview versions (built on every code change)
• You need at least .NET Framework 4.0 to run Snoop

Versions

You can read the changelog for details on what changed in which version.

[4.0.0]

Highlights:

• Support for .NET 6.0
• Support for ARM/ARM64
• New "Diagnostics" view
• Settings for highlighting
• Artifacts are digitally signed thanks to SignPath.io (MSI, Chocolatey NUPKG and zip)

Breaking:

• Dropped support for all .NET versions prior to .NET 4.5.1

3.0.0

Highlights:

• Support for .NET Core (3.0, 3.1 and 5.0) (including self contained and single file applications)
• Rewritten injector code
• You no longer have to have installed any Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable(s)
• Snooping disabled controls when holding CTRL + SHIFT works now
• Snoop now filters uncommon properties by default
• Snoop is now able to show MergedDictionaries from ResourceDictionary
• Snoop now has two tracking modes.
  • Holding CTRL tries to skip template parts => this is changed to CTRL + ALT in newer versions
  • Holding CTRL + SHIFT does not skip template parts
• Drastically improved performance of AppChooser.Refresh() (thanks @mikel785)
• Usability improvements for process dropdown (thanks @mikel785)
• Support for displaying the logical tree and the tree of WPF automation peers
• Ability to inspect Popup without opening it
• Snoop.exe and the injector launcher now support commandline args
• Global hotkey support (just start snoop, focus a WPF application and hit CTRL + WIN + ALT + F12)

Known issues:

• Trying to snoop a trimmed single file application might not work as trimming might have removed things Snoop relies on

2.11.0

Highlights:

• Support for multiple app domains
• Auto elevation to enable spying of elevated processes without running Snoop as administrator
• Persistent settings for various settings
• Improved error dialog and issue reporting
• Rewritten window finder

2.10.0

Was released on September 19th, 2018. In this version we finally got rid of support for snooping WPF 3.5 applications. This allowed us to move the Snoop projects forward to Visual Studio 2017 which should make it much easier to work with Snoop's source code.

2.9.0

Was released on July 27th, 2018. The big addition in this version was the inclusion of the triggers tab which was a useful feature of another WPF spying utility called WPF Inspector (written by Christan Moser). It was ported to Snoop by Bastian Schmidt.

Documentation on how to use Snoop

Unfortunately there isn't any exhaustive documentation on how to use Snoop and there are plenty of hidden features. If someone is willing to work on this, please let me know. On the bright side, it is a pretty easy utility to use and learn. I have made three videos which should get most people quick started.

Here are the links to the current Snoop Tips & Tricks:

• http://www.cplotts.com/2011/02/10/snoop-tips-tricks-1-ctrl-shift-mouse-over
• http://www.cplotts.com/2011/02/14/snoop-tips-tricks-2-snooping-transient-visuals
• http://www.cplotts.com/2012/05/31/snoop-tips-tricks-3-the-crosshairs

Why can't I snoop .NET 3.5 applications?

Well, you can! You will just need to use Snoop 2.9.0 and earlier, in order to do so. As part of the process of moving to Visual Studio 2019, we have dropped support for .NET 3.5 applications. The minimum supported .NET version is 4.0 as of Snoop version 3.0.

Why can't I snoop .NET 4.0 and 4.5.0 applications?

Well, you can! You will just need to use Snoop 3.0.0 and earlier, in order to do so. As part of the process of moving to Visual Studio 2022, we have dropped support for .NET 4.0 and 4.5.0 applications. The minimum supported .NET version is 4.5.1 as of Snoop version 4.0.

How do i build Snoop?

Just open Snoop.sln with Visual Studio and build it.

Requirements:

• Visual Studio 2022 (including C++ payloads (x86/x64/ARM/ARM64))
  • You can import the .vsconfig file in the Visual Studio installer to let it install all required components
• .NET Core SDK 5.0.400 or later
• .NET 4.5.1 targeting pack download

Contributors

Over time contributions have been added by several people, most notably:

• Bastian Schmidt, batzendev.de (current maintainer)
• Cory Plotts, cplotts.com
• Dan Hanan
• Andrei Kashcha
• Maciek Rakowski
• Bailey Ling