microbenchmarking
Activate this skill when BenchmarkDotNet (BDN) is involved in the task — creating, running, configuring, or reviewing BDN benchmarks. Also activate when microbenchmarking .NET code would be useful and BenchmarkDotNet is the likely tool. Consider activating when answering a .NET performance question requires measurement and BenchmarkDotNet may be needed. Covers microbenchmark design, BDN configuration and project setup, how to run BDN microbenchmarks efficiently and effectively, and using BDN for side-by-side performance comparisons. Do NOT use for profiling/tracing .NET code (dotnet-trace, Per
npx skills add dotnet/skills --skill microbenchmarking --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Benchmark Authoring Guidelines BenchmarkDotNet (BDN) is a .NET library for writing and running microbenchmarks. Throughout this skill, "BDN" refers to BenchmarkDotNet. > **Note:** Evaluations of LLMs writing BenchmarkDotNet benchmarks have revealed common failure patterns caused by outdated assumptions about BDN's behavior — particularly around runtime comparison, job configuration, and execution defaults that have changed in recent versions. The reference files in this skill contain verified, current information. **You MUST read the reference files relevant to the task before writing any code** — your training data likely contains outdated or incorrect BDN patterns. ## Key concepts - **Job** — describes how to run a benchmark: runtime, iteration counts, launch count, run strategy, and environment settings. Multiple jobs can be configured to run the same benchmarks under different conditions. - **Benchmark case** — one method × one parameter combination × one job. The atomic unit BDN measures. - **Operation** — the logical unit of work being measured. All BDN output columns (Mean, Error, etc.) report time per operation. - **Invocation** — a single call to the benchmark method. By
- Key concepts
- Benchmarks are comparative instruments
- Use cases and benchmark lifecycle
- Cost awareness
- Entry points and configuration
- Running benchmarks
- Writing new benchmarks
- Step 1: Plan the test cases
- Step 2: Implement the benchmarks
- Step 3: Validate and run
What does the microbenchmarking skill do?
Activate this skill when BenchmarkDotNet (BDN) is involved in the task — creating, running, configuring, or reviewing BDN benchmarks. Also activate when microbenchmarking .NET code would be useful and BenchmarkDotNet is the likely tool. Consider activating when answering a .NET performance question requires measurement and BenchmarkDotNet may be needed. Covers microbenchmark design, BDN configuration and project setup, how to run BDN microbenchmarks efficiently and effectively, and using BDN for side-by-side performance comparisons. Do NOT use for profiling/tracing .NET code (dotnet-trace, Per
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add dotnet/skills --skill microbenchmarking --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From dotnet/skills, a repository with 4,927 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.