MSBuild Structured Log Viewer for Windows

What this application does

MSBuild Structured Log Viewer is a free Windows application that helps you inspect MSBuild output by presenting it in a structured, readable form. Instead of a flat stream of text, it stores the build execution as a hierarchical record of targets, tasks, and the values of properties and items, making root-cause analysis much easier.

Main capabilities

• Exposes a tree-like view of executed targets and the tasks within them, along with captured property and item values.
• Provides tools to pinpoint slow operations, so you can find and focus on performance hotspots in your build.
• Saves logs in a compact, portable interchange format that can be shared across machines and teams.
• Includes an interactive interface that simplifies exploring large and complex build logs.

Log format and portability

The tool produces logs in a portable interchange format using the .binlog file extension. These binary log files can be transferred between environments, opened on other systems running the viewer, and attached to issue reports to reproduce or explain build behavior.

How the viewer helps diagnose builds

The interactive viewer offers an intuitive GUI for stepping through the entire build process. You can expand and collapse nodes to navigate quickly, inspect inputs and outputs for individual tasks, and view timing information that highlights bottlenecks and inefficient steps.

Intended users and benefits

This utility is especially useful for developers, build engineers, and anyone who maintains CI pipelines. It helps reduce time spent debugging builds, reveals opportunities to optimize task execution, and supports efforts to improve overall build reliability and speed.