CLI Reference

Installation

dotnet tool install --global dotnet-rivet

Modes

Rivet detects which mode to run based on the flags provided:

Flags	Mode
--project	Forward: C# → TypeScript
--project + --compile	Forward + Zod runtime validators
--project + --openapi	Forward + OpenAPI 3.0 JSON spec
--project + --check	Verify contract coverage against implementations
--project + --routes	List all discovered endpoints
--from-openapi	Reverse: OpenAPI → C# contracts + DTOs

Flags

Flag	Alias	Description
--project <path>		Path to the .csproj file to analyse
--output <dir>	-o	Output directory. Omit to preview to stdout
--compile		Emit Zod validators (fromJSONSchema). Requires --output and zod in consumer project
--jsonschema		Emit standalone JSON Schema definitions (schemas.ts)
--openapi		Emit OpenAPI 3.0 JSON alongside TS output
--security <scheme>		Security scheme for OpenAPI spec
--check		Verify contract coverage (missing implementations, route/method mismatches)
--routes		List all discovered endpoints (method, route, handler)
--quiet	-q	Suppress codegen preview output (useful with --check)
--from-openapi <path>		Path to OpenAPI 3.x JSON spec to import
--namespace <ns>		C# namespace for imported contracts/types

Security scheme formats

The --security flag accepts these formats:

Format	OpenAPI scheme
bearer	HTTP Bearer
bearer:jwt	HTTP Bearer with JWT format
cookie:<name>	API key in cookie (e.g., cookie:sid)
apikey:header:<name>	API key in header (e.g., apikey:header:X-Api-Key)

Preview mode

Omit --output on any command to preview generated output to stdout without writing files:

# Preview TS output
dotnet rivet --project Api.csproj

# Preview imported C# contracts
dotnet rivet --from-openapi spec.json --namespace MyApp.Contracts

Examples

Forward pipeline

# Generate TS types + client
dotnet rivet --project path/to/Api.csproj --output ./generated

# Generate with Zod runtime validators
dotnet rivet --project path/to/Api.csproj --output ./generated --compile

# Generate standalone JSON Schema definitions
dotnet rivet --project path/to/Api.csproj --output ./generated --jsonschema

# Generate with OpenAPI spec
dotnet rivet --project path/to/Api.csproj --output ./generated --openapi

# Generate with OpenAPI spec + security
dotnet rivet --project path/to/Api.csproj --output ./generated --openapi --security bearer

Contract coverage check

# Check that all contract endpoints have matching implementations
dotnet rivet --project path/to/Api.csproj --check --quiet

# Check with codegen preview
dotnet rivet --project path/to/Api.csproj --check

# Check + generate (both run together)
dotnet rivet --project path/to/Api.csproj --output ./generated --check

Reports missing implementations, HTTP method mismatches, and route mismatches. Prints a coverage summary (e.g. Coverage: 79/79 endpoints covered. All OK.). Exits with code 1 if any warnings are found (standalone mode without --output).

Route list

# List all endpoints (like php artisan route:list)
dotnet rivet --project path/to/Api.csproj --routes

Output:

  Method  Route                   Handler
  ──────  ──────────────────────  ───────
  GET     /api/health             members.health
  GET     /api/members            members.list
  POST    /api/members            members.invite
  DELETE  /api/members/{id}       members.remove
  PUT     /api/members/{id}/role  members.updateRole
5 route(s).

Reverse pipeline (OpenAPI import)

# Preview imported contracts
dotnet rivet --from-openapi spec.json --namespace TaskBoard.Contracts

# Write to disk
dotnet rivet --from-openapi spec.json --namespace TaskBoard.Contracts --output ./src/

# With security scheme
dotnet rivet --from-openapi spec.json --namespace TaskBoard.Contracts --output ./src/ --security bearer

Development (from source)

When running from the repo instead of the installed tool:

dotnet run --project Rivet.Tool -- --project samples/AnnotationApi/AnnotationApi.csproj
dotnet run --project Rivet.Tool -- --project samples/AnnotationApi/AnnotationApi.csproj --output /tmp/rivet-output
dotnet run --project Rivet.Tool -- --project samples/AnnotationApi/AnnotationApi.csproj --output /tmp/rivet-output --compile