TinyString

TinyString

Turn any .NET object into a readable string. Zero config for simple cases, a clean fluent API when you want more.

dotnet add package TinyString

Zero config

Call .Stringify() on anything:

using TinyString;

var book = new Book { Title = "1984", Author = "George Orwell", Pages = 328 };
book.Stringify();
// → "Book. Title: 1984, Author: George Orwell, Pages: 328"

All public properties, declaration order, class name as header, floats at 2 decimal places. No setup required.

Fluent API

Pass a configuration action when you need more control. Everything lives at the call site — your classes stay clean:

zoo.Stringify(o => o
    .MultiLine()
    .Label("🦁 Zoo")
    .For(x => x.EntrancePrice).Prefix("$").Decimals(0));

🦁 Zoo
Name: Woodland Zoo
EntrancePrice: $15
Animals:
|_ Animal. Name: Mittens, Species: Cat, Weight: 4.50
|_ Animal. Name: Tony, Species: Tiger, Weight: 120.30

In multi-line mode, collections are automatically rendered with |_ per item. In single-line mode they're joined with ", ". No extra configuration needed.

Options

Global

Method	What it does	Default
.MultiLine() / .SingleLine()	Layout style	single-line
.Label("…")	Replace the class name header	class name
.NoLabel()	Hide the header entirely	—
.Separator("…")	Between properties in single-line	", "
.CollectionSeparator("…")	Override the auto collection separator	auto
.Decimals(n)	Decimal places for floats	2
.Keys(NamingFormat.X)	Key naming style	PascalCase
.NullAs("…")	Token used for null values	"null"
.Only(x => x.A, x => x.B)	Whitelist — show only these properties	all

Collection items are rendered based on the active style: joined with ", " in single-line, or on their own line prefixed with |_ in multi-line. Multi-line items are indented to align under the prefix, so nested structures stay readable at any depth.

Available naming formats: PascalCase, CamelCase, SnakeCase, KebabCase, HumanCase.

Per property

Chain .For(x => x.Prop) to configure a specific property, then keep chaining .For() to move to the next one:

animal.Stringify(o => o
    .NoLabel()
    .Separator(" ")
    .For(x => x.Name).NoKey()
    .For(x => x.Species).Prefix("(").Suffix(")").NoKey()
    .For(x => x.Weight).NoKey().Suffix("kg").Decimals(2)
    .For(x => x.Age).NoKey().Suffix("yrs")
    .For(x => x.IsRare).Ignore());
// → "Mittens (Cat) 4.50kg 5yrs"

Method	What it does
.Ignore()	Exclude this property
.As("…")	Rename the key
.NoKey()	Show only the value
.Prefix("…") / .Suffix("…")	Wrap the value
.Separator("…")	Collection separator for this property
.Decimals(n)	Decimal places for this property
.MaxItems(n)	Truncate a collection; appends "... and N more"
.When(v => …)	Show only when the predicate is true
.ValueFormat(v => …)	Full control over value rendering

.Only() is the shorthand for whitelisting a few properties without chaining multiple .Ignore() calls:

animal.Stringify(o => o.Only(x => x.Name, x => x.Species));
// → "Animal. Name: Mittens, Species: Cat"

Nested objects

Nested objects are rendered using the first match in this priority order:

• A ForNested<T>() configuration registered on the parent
• An overridden ToString() on the nested type
• Reflection over public properties (same defaults as zero-config)

var order = new Order { Product = new Product { Name = "Book", Price = 12.99 }, Qty = 2 };
order.Stringify();
// → "Order. Product: Product. Name: Book, Price: 12.99, Qty: 2"

ForNested

Configure a nested type directly from the root call. The configuration applies wherever that type appears — as a property or inside a collection:

zoo.Stringify(o => o
    .MultiLine()
    .ForNested<Animal>(a => a
        .NoLabel()
        .Separator(" ")
        .For(x => x.Name).NoKey()
        .For(x => x.Species).Prefix("(").Suffix(")").NoKey()
        .For(x => x.Weight).NoKey().Suffix("kg"))
    .For(x => x.EntrancePrice).Prefix("$").Decimals(0));

Zoo
EntrancePrice: $15
Animals:
|_ Mittens (Cat) 4.50kg
|_ Tony (Tiger) 120.30kg

ToString()

If a nested type overrides ToString(), that is used automatically. If ToString() calls Stringify(), it recurses:

public class Animal
{
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public string Species { get; set; }

    public override string ToString() => this.Stringify(o => o
        .NoLabel()
        .For(x => x.Name).NoKey()
        .For(x => x.Species).Prefix("(").Suffix(")").NoKey());
    // → "Mittens (Cat)"
}

Migrating from the attribute API

Previous versions configured stringification via [Stringify], [StringifyProperty], and [StringifyIgnore] attributes. These still work but are deprecated and will be removed in a future major version. Move the configuration to the .Stringify() call site instead.

MIT License