SymbolSource.org

The gist

SymbolSource is an integrated solution for hosting and browsing code releases - specifically, but not only, NuGet and OpenWrap packages. It's true power, however, comes from implementing the srcsrv protocol, which allows Visual Studio and other compatible software to download on-demand symbol (PDB) and source files from SymbolSource. What this means for you, is that by doing a bit of configuration in your development environment, you'll be able to source step during debugging into the code of libraries that you use - both open source and commercial. SymbolSource has been created out of a real need and is being maintained by developers for developers.

Use cases

All developers

Access symbols (PDB files) and sources of third-party libraries on-demand while debugging and source stepping in Visual Studio , WinDbg or any other srcsrv compatible application, like Process Explorer from SysInternals . Symbol and source servers provide a huge productivity boost and are many times the only way to analyze behaviour of running code, especially in production environments, where only release binaries are used.

Safely share private projects with others using NuGet and OpenWrap packages hosted in SymbolSource Private Repositories . Read and write permissions to whole repositories or only specific projects or versions can be assigned flexibly to any other user of SymbolSource. Private Repositories also support on-demand symbol and source downloads during debugging.

Open source contributors

Host symbols and sources for the projects you mantain. SymbolSource provides a free hosting service, so that all OSS project releases can be debugged at least as easily as the .NET Framework can using the Microsoft Reference Source Server . Permissions to publish to public symbol repositories like NuGet are determined by contacting their respective mainstream hosts - in this case nuget.org . SymbolSource accepts uploads through NuGet or OpenWrap compatible tools as standard packages, or as custom ZIP files using a wizard available on the web site.

Create SymbolSource Private Repositories for pre-release versions of projects, separate from mainstream hosts like nuget.org , but still available to everyone for read access. This allows true pre-release package testing, without the need to setup any additional infrastructure or the risk of polluting official package feeds. Although anyone can download packages, symbols and sources from a correctly configure repository, only appointed maintainers are able to publish.

Enterprise users

Maintain a separate database of users and repositories for internal company use. SymbolSource Company Accounts provide all of the publicly available features: NuGet and OpenWrap package hosting, on-demand symbol and source file download and an extensive permission system - plus the possibility to manage user accounts, enforce consistent login names and create an unlimited number of arbitrarily named repositories.

SymbolSource exposes all of its features through a SOAP API , which allows administrators to automatically provision user accounts and integrate with existing infrastructure, both in terms of content management and access control.

Commercial library vendors

Use SymbolSource as a secure distribution platform for developer-focused software products. Companies developing control or utility libraries can use SymbolSource as a flexible platform for release distribution. Binaries, symbols and sources can be uploaded using standardized, easy-to-automate tools like NuGet and OpenWrap , providing customers with all of the benefits of having a well-known debugging server and making available all other features of SymbolSource, like online code navigation and analysis.

Automatically grant permissions on the version/release level using SymbolSource's SOAP API . SymbolSource can honour any sales policy set up by a library vendor, wether it involves specific release purchases, subscription models, or any combination thereof - and can be integrated with exisisting web sites or CRM solutions.

Available editions

Depending on your needs, you can use the following editions of SymbolSource.

	SymbolSource.org	SymbolSource.org Company Account	SymbolSource.SimpleServer	SymbolSource.SimpleServer Embedded Edition	SymbolSource Local Instance
Recommended users	All developers Commercial library vendors	Enterprise users	Enterprise users Open source tool authors	Commercial tool vendors	Enterprise users
Licensing model	software as a service	software as a service	open source	commercial license	boxed edition
Pricing model	free for all	monthly fee (free during beta)	free for all	single payment	single payment or subsription (free during beta)
Getting started	register or login	contact us to provision an account	Install-Package SymbolSource.SimpleServer.NuGet (comming soon)	contact us to prepare an agreement	(comming soon)

Feature matrix

Summed up, the main functionality of various SymbolSource editions covers the following areas.

	SymbolSource.org	SymbolSource.org Company Account	SymbolSource.SimpleServer	SymbolSource.SimpleServer Embedded Edition	SymbolSource Local Instance
Serving symbols (PDB files) and sources on-demand to Visual Studio , WinDbg and other software compatible with the srcsrv protocol
Validating all symbol package uploads for completeness and correctness
Validating packages client-side with a dedicated NuGet Package Explorer plugin
Hosting repositories of NuGet and OpenWrap packages in addition to symbol/source only repositories
Providing online source code navigation and analysis (more coming soon)
Securing access independently to repositories, projects and versions, with separate pemissions for read and write operations
Exposing a management interface to all content and metadata through the web site and a SOAP API
Maintaining separate user and repository databases with additional branding options
Integrated with nuget.org and myget.org
Providing out of the box integration with any NuGet Gallery instance