# dotnet/ILMerge

ILMerge is a static linker for .NET Assemblies.

Repository: https://github.com/dotnet/ILMerge
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/ilmerge
Language: C#
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Archived: true
Last push: 2020-07-09T16:44:18+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3646, "days_push": 2246, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, archived
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1306, forks 179 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:18.809867+00:00)

## What it is
ILMerge is a static linker that merges multiple .NET assemblies into a single assembly, available as a console application and a NuGet package with MSBuild integration. It preserves entry points and can re-sign merged assemblies with strong names.

## Use cases
- merge multiple .NET dlls into one executable
- bundle .NET assemblies into a single file for distribution
- combine c# project dependencies into one assembly
- statically link .net libraries into my app
- re-sign merged assembly with strong name key
- integrate assembly merging into msbuild build

## When to choose
- you need to ship a .NET Framework app as a single file on Windows
- you want MSBuild/NuGet integration for assembly merging
- you need strong-name re-signing of merged assemblies

## When to avoid
- you target .NET Core/.NET 5+ (prefer single-file publish or ILRepack alternatives)
- you need cross-platform merging on Linux or macOS
- you need Mono support

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: maintenance
- function: build-tool, cli, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, compilers
- platform: windows, dotnet, cli
- tags: assembly-merging, static-linker, il-merging, nuget-package, msbuild-integration, strong-naming, dotnet

## Member repositories
- dotnet/ILMerge (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:18.809867+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T04:50:57.445264+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/dotnet/ILMerge (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:18.809867+00:00, sha 493fc80a879b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.