lucasg/Dependencies · warning

Json output is not currently supported when dumping the…

Error message

Json output is not currently supported when dumping the dependency chain.

What it means

Printed by Program.DumpModules (Program.cs:775) when the requested printer is JsonPrinter. The `-modules` command resolves the whole dependency chain and then hands `PeDependencies.GetModules` (a ModuleEntries dictionary) to the printer; JSON serialization of that graph is intentionally unsupported, so the method writes this notice to stderr and returns without doing anything.

Solutions

1. Drop `-json` for the `-modules` command and parse the default human-readable output instead.
2. Use `-chain` or `-imports`/`-exports` which do support JSON serialization if machine-readable output is required.
3. If JSON module info is essential, modify DumpModules to serialize a projection (e.g. a flat list of {ModuleName, Filepath, SearchStrategy}) rather than the whole PeDependencies graph.

Example fix

// before: combination silently does nothing but print a notice
// run:  Dependencies.exe -json -modules notepad.exe
// after: pick a JSON-supported command
// run:  Dependencies.exe -json -imports notepad.exe

// Validate command/printer compatibility before invoking, mirroring DumpModules' guard.
bool jsonIncompatibleWithModules = export_as_json && command == Program.DumpModules;
if (jsonIncompatibleWithModules)
{
    Console.Error.WriteLine("-json is not supported with -modules; choose -imports/-exports/-chain instead.");
    return;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Command line `Dependencies.exe -json -modules <FILE>`: GetObjectPrinter(true) returns JsonPrinter, command is wired to DumpModules, and the `Printer == JsonPrinter` guard trips.

Common situations: Users scripting Dependencies for machine consumption combining `-json` with `-modules` expecting JSON output.

Related errors

• - "{0:s}"
• Modules backtrace:
• Stacktrace
• [!] Unhandled exception occured while processing
• [x] Exception

AI-assisted analysis of lucasg/Dependencies@1997a40000 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/682b85330db13d7c. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at Dependencies/Program.cs:775

        }

        public static void DumpModuleReferences(PE Pe, Action<IPrettyPrintable> Printer, int recursion_depth = 0)
        {
            PEModuleReferences ModuleReferences = new PEModuleReferences(Pe);
            Printer(ModuleReferences);
        }

        public static void DumpDependencyChain(PE Pe, Action<IPrettyPrintable> Printer, int recursion_depth = 0)
        {
            PeDependencies Deps = new PeDependencies(Pe, recursion_depth);
            Printer(Deps);
        }

        public static void DumpModules(PE Pe, Action<IPrettyPrintable> Printer, int recursion_depth = 0)
        {
            if (Printer == JsonPrinter)
            {
                Console.Error.WriteLine("Json output is not currently supported when dumping the dependency chain.");
                return;
            }

            PeDependencies Deps = new PeDependencies(Pe, recursion_depth);
            Printer(Deps.GetModules);
        }

        public static void DumpUsage()
        {
            string Usage = String.Join(Environment.NewLine,
                "Dependencies.exe : command line tool for dumping dependencies and various utilities.",
                "",
                "Usage : Dependencies.exe [OPTIONS] <FILE>",
                "",
                "Options :",
                "  -h -help : display this help",
                "  -json : activate json output.",
				"  -cache : load and use binary cache in order to prevent dll file locking.",

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