Support publish-mode app model introspection with aspire describe
- Dominant language
- C#
- Stars
- 6.3k
- Forks
- 991
- Avg merge
- 2d 15h
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 196
Description
## Description
`aspire describe` should be able to describe the app model in **publish mode**, not just describe a currently running AppHost.
Today, `aspire describe` is primarily useful for introspecting a running AppHost instance. For deployment and publishing workflows, we also need a way to inspect the publish-time app model without starting the app. The output should probably be different from the running-AppHost output because the questions are different.
In publish mode, the command should help answer things like:
- What resources are in the publish/deployment model?
- What deployment artifacts or steps would be produced?
- What resources participate in deployment, and how are they connected?
- What information does deployment need in order to list steps and reason about resources?
This may be related to, or potentially replace some use cases for, the manifest: a structured way to introspect the app model for publishing/deployment without relying on a running AppHost.
## Expected behavior
There should be a supported way to run something like `aspire describe` in publish mode and get structured output for the publish/deployment model.
The output should be distinct from the running-AppHost description and focused on deployment introspection: resources, publish artifacts, steps, and relationships needed by deployment tooling.
## Why this matters
Deployment tooling needs to inspect the app model, list deployment steps, and understand the resources involved without requiring the AppHost to be running. A publish-mode describe command would provide a clear CLI/API surface for that introspection.
Contributor guide
Research direction
Start at the existing `aspire describe` CLI entry point and trace how it produces the running-AppHost description. Compare that flow with the manifest and publish/deployment model surfaces mentioned in the issue; done means a supported publish-mode command returns structured resources, artifacts or steps, and deployment relationships without starting the AppHost.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- csharp
- Domain
- cli, cloud, devops
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 5/5
- Estimated time
- Over a week
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100