Metalama.Framework

A Roslyn-based meta-programming framework for code generation, architecture validation and aspect-oriented programming in C#.

Metalama lets you write cleaner, more maintainable .NET code by automating repetitive patterns at compile time using aspects, templates, and compile-time logic. It integrates tightly with the Roslyn compiler, providing full control over how your code is built.

Why Metalama?

• Write and maintain less code: Eliminate boilerplate by generating it dynamically during compilation, reducing code lines and bugs by up to 15%.
• Validate your codebase in real time: Enforce adherence to design rules and conventions without waiting for code reviews.
• Excel with large, complex, or legacy codebases: Metalama shines at scale and does not require architectural changes.

When to use it?

Metalama is ideal for:

• Large projects: Automate repetitive patterns across dozens of entities and hundreds of properties or methods.
• Large teams: Align developers on consistent patterns and practices.
• Long lifecycle projects: Maintain quality over years of development.

It's main use cases are:

• Design Patterns: Singleton, Memento, Factory, Builder, Decorator, Proxy, ...
• UI Patterns: INotifyPropertyChanged, Change Tracking, Memoization, Undo/Redo, Command, Dependency Properties, ...
• Object Services: Cloning, ToString, Comparison, ...
• Defensive Programming: Code Contracts (preconditions, post-conditions, invariants)
• DevOps: Logging & Tracing, Metrics, Caching, Exception Handling

License

Metalama is released under the MIT license.

Some optional extensions and IDE tooling are released under a proprietary license. 💎

Features

• Code Generation
• Code Validation
• Architecture Validation 💎
• Immediate Editor Feedback
• Code Fix Toolkit 💎
• Ready-to-Use Aspect Libraries
• Visual Studio Tooling 💎
• Test Frameworks
• Debugging of Transformed Code
• Roslyn Extensibility SDK
• Code Query API

Resources

• 🌐 Metalama Website
• 📖 Documentation
• 📝 Annotated Examples
• 📜 Changelogs
• 📢 Release Notes
• ✨ Metalama Tools for Visual Studio Extension

Quick Start

• Add the Metalama.Framework package to your project:

  dotnet add package Metalama.Framework
  

• Optionally, install Metalama Tools for Visual Studio Extension. It's free for individuals, non-commercial uses, and companies with up to 3 users.

• Explore the Metalama Marketplace for ready-made aspects or examples.

• Follow the Getting Started guide to create your first aspect.

Building Metalama from Source

Please check instructions here.

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Here's how you can help:

• ⭐ Star this repository or review us on Visual Studio Marketplace.
• 📝 Write a blog post or record a video about Metalama.
• 📦 Share your aspects on the Metalama Marketplace.
• 🛠️ Contribute to Metalama.Community.
• 📚 Improve the documentation. Learn how.
• 🐛 Fix bugs or contribute code. Learn how.

For more details, see Contributing to Metalama.

Support & Community

• Report issues on GitHub. Follow these recommendations.
• Join GitHub discussions for questions and proposals.
• Enterprise support is available. Learn more about premium support. 💎

Related Packages

• Metalama.Extensions.DependencyInjection: allows you to inject services into your aspects using a dependency injection framework.
• Metalama.Extensions.Metrics: allows your aspects or fabrics to rely on code metrics, e.g. number of lines of code.
• Metalama.Extensions.Validation 💎: provides an API allowing to validate code and references, usages and dependencies.
• Metalama.Extensions.Architecture 💎: built on Metalama.Extensions.Validation, implements concrete rules for architecture verification.
• Metalama.Extensions.CodeFixes 💎: allows you to attach code fix suggestions to errors and warnings or to suggest code refactorings.
• Metalama.Patterns.*: a set of ready-made, professionally-built aspect libraries built with Metalama.Framework, most of them open-source.