Boomerang vs dnSpyEx
Boomerang
github.comdnSpyEx
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Boomerang | dnSpyEx |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Reverse Engineering Tools | 8.5 (#6) | 7.7 (#22) |
| Spec score · Decompiler Software | 8.6 (#4) | 7.8 (#11) |
| Integrations | The README lists CMake, Qt5, Capstone, GNU bison, GNU flex, and optional CCache, Doxygen, and Python 3 as build tools or dependencies. | To debug Unity games, the project says the dnSpyEx Unity Mono repository is also needed. |
| License | The repository describes Boomerang as BSD licensed. | The repository states that dnSpy is licensed under GPLv3. |
| Purpose | Boomerang is an open-source machine-code decompiler that attempts to turn executable files into high-level source code. | dnSpyEx is an unofficial continuation of dnSpy, a debugger and .NET assembly editor for working with assemblies without source code. |
Plans
In their own words
Boomerang
Boomerang is an open-source decompiler that translates supported machine-code binaries into C source code. It supports x86 (IA-32 only), PPC, and ST20 architectures, and accepts ELF, PE, DOS MZ, DOS/4GW LE, and Mach-O files. Users can run it as a command-line tool or a GUI application. The project describes its license as BSD, and the software is free. Build instructions cover Linux, macOS, and Windows, but compiling requires a 64-bit operating system and a C++17 compiler; 32-bit systems are not supported. Documented prerequisites include CMake, Qt5, Capstone, GNU bison, and GNU flex. Precompiled packages are available for release versions, although the project recommends building the development branch from source. Unit and regression tests are provided, but the README says the regression test suite cannot be built on Windows. The maker describes the release as intended for developers and experimenters and warns that large-binary decompilation may disappoint. Decompiled output does not recreate the original source file and may differ from it. The project directs users to its GitHub issue tracker for bug reports.
dnSpyEx
dnSpyEx is an unofficial continuation of dnSpy, a debugger and .NET assembly editor for working with assemblies without source code. It can debug .NET Framework, .NET, and Unity game assemblies, with breakpoints, tracepoints, conditional breakpoints, exception breakpoints, and multiple-process debugging. Editing covers metadata and methods or classes in C# and Visual Basic, plus low-level IL method bodies. The project lists C# and Visual Basic decompilers using the ILSpy engine, along with a BAML decompiler and disassembler. Assembly search, class and method usage analysis, caller finding, bookmarks, and project export are also included. A public API supports extensions, and the C# Interactive window can control or script dnSpyEx. The latest stable release listed is v6.6.0, which adds a .NET 10 distribution. It is free under GPLv3. Release notes describe Wine compatibility adjustments for Linux, not native Linux support. Dynamic methods cannot be debugged because of CLR limitations.