Implement configurable symbol server authentication with /SymbolsAuth command line argument for PerfView and HeapDump #2278

Copilot · 2025-08-11T18:09:13Z

This PR implements configurable authentication for symbol servers in both PerfView and HeapDump.exe, addressing the need for flexible credential management while maintaining backward compatibility.

Key Changes

Command Line Authentication Configuration

Added /SymbolsAuth command line argument that allows users to specify which authentication methods to use:

# Use only interactive browser authentication (default)
PerfView.exe /SymbolsAuth:Interactive

# Use environment variables and Visual Studio credentials
PerfView.exe /SymbolsAuth:Environment,VisualStudio

# Use all available authentication methods
PerfView.exe /SymbolsAuth:Environment,AzureCli,VisualStudio,Interactive

Available authentication types:

Environment - Uses environment variables (e.g., AZURE_CLIENT_ID, AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET)
AzureCli - Uses Azure CLI cached credentials
VisualStudio - Uses Visual Studio cached credentials
Interactive - Uses interactive browser authentication (default)

Unified Authentication Across Components

Both PerfView and HeapDump.exe now use the same authentication configuration:

PerfView passes the /SymbolsAuth argument to HeapDump.exe when launching it
HeapDump.exe supports the same authentication types and parsing logic
Consistent credential chain building across both executables

Backward Compatible Default Behavior

By default, both applications use only InteractiveBrowserCredential(), maintaining the same user experience as before while allowing power users to configure additional authentication methods as needed.

Implementation Details

Created SymbolsAuthenticationType enum with [Flags] attribute for combining authentication methods
Added parsing logic via built-in command line enum support for PerfView
Implemented custom parsing logic for HeapDump.exe
Modified credential chain construction to build credentials based on user-specified flags
Maintains all existing authentication behavior without UI changes

This approach provides flexibility for automated scenarios and enterprise environments while keeping the default experience simple for interactive users.

Fixes #2277.

💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.

Copilot · 2025-08-11T18:09:15Z

@brianrob 👋 This repository doesn't have Copilot instructions. With Copilot instructions, I can understand the repository better, work faster and produce higher quality PRs.

I can generate a .github/copilot-instructions.md file for you automatically. Click here to open a pre-filled issue and assign it to me. I'll write the instructions, and then tag you for review.

Co-authored-by: brianrob <6210322+brianrob@users.noreply.github.com>

brianrob · 2025-08-11T18:52:34Z

src/PerfView/Authentication.cs

        private static ChainedTokenCredential CreateTokenCredential()
        {
            return new ChainedTokenCredential(
+                new EnvironmentCredential(),


Rather than chaining all of these together, let's do the following. By default, let's set this to be an Interactive credential and nothing else. Then, if the user wants to override this, they can do so by specifying one or more credential types from the list of valid credentials on the command line, using a new command line argument that I'd like you to implement called /SymbolsAuth. Use an enum with flags to back the set of valid values based on what is currently supported by TokenCredential.

@copilot can you help with this change?

I've implemented the requested changes:

Reverted CreateTokenCredential() to use only InteractiveBrowserCredential() by default

Added /SymbolsAuth command line argument that accepts comma-separated values: Environment, AzureCli, VisualStudio, Interactive

Created SymbolsAuthenticationTypes enum with flags to represent the different credential types

Updated the credential chain logic to build credentials based on the specified flags

The implementation allows users to specify multiple authentication types like:

/SymbolsAuth:Environment,VisualStudio

/SymbolsAuth:Interactive (default behavior)

/SymbolsAuth:Environment,AzureCli,VisualStudio,Interactive (equivalent to previous chained approach)

Changes made in commit 47a3b2e

…tial types Co-authored-by: brianrob <6210322+brianrob@users.noreply.github.com>

brianrob · 2025-08-11T20:09:54Z

src/PerfView/CommandLineArgs.cs

        // options common to multiple commands
        public string DataFile;             // This is the name of the ETL file (not the ZIP file)
        public string LogFile;
+        public string SymbolsAuth;          // Specifies authentication types for symbol servers (comma-separated)


@copilot, Rather than using a string and having to parse it, you can use the enum directly and even set the default value to be Interactive here.

Updated to use SymbolsAuthenticationType enum directly with default value Interactive in commit 52c1162. The command line parser's built-in enum support handles parsing and validation automatically.

brianrob · 2025-08-11T20:10:26Z

src/PerfView/Authentication.cs

+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="symbolsAuthArg">Comma-separated string of authentication types</param>
+        /// <returns>Combined flags representing the specified authentication types</returns>
+        public static SymbolsAuthenticationTypes ParseSymbolsAuthenticationTypes(string symbolsAuthArg)


@copilot, If the parser uses the enum directly, this method is no longer needed.

Removed the ParseSymbolsAuthenticationTypes method in commit 52c1162 since the command line parser handles enum parsing directly.

brianrob · 2025-08-11T20:10:44Z

src/PerfView/Authentication.cs

+    /// Flags enum representing the types of Azure credentials that can be used for symbol authentication.
+    /// </summary>
+    [Flags]
+    public enum SymbolsAuthenticationTypes


@copilot, Please rename this SymbolsAuthenticationType.

Renamed to SymbolsAuthenticationType (singular) in commit 52c1162.

brianrob · 2025-08-11T20:12:04Z

@copilot, please see the latest review.

Co-authored-by: brianrob <6210322+brianrob@users.noreply.github.com>

brianrob

@copilot Please address this request.

brianrob · 2025-08-11T21:40:49Z

src/PerfView/StackViewer/StackWindow.xaml.cs

                        StatusBar.Log("Finished Lookup up symbols for " + moduleName + " Elapsed Time = " +
                            StatusBar.Duration.TotalSeconds.ToString("n3"));
                    }
+                    catch (Azure.Identity.AuthenticationFailedException ex)


Please undo the dialog changes. This doesn't work and my local attempts to make this work were much more complicated than I thought. Additionally, it creates a bunch of behavior changes for SymbolReader.

Dialog changes have been removed from StackWindow.xaml.cs in commit 96e1083. All authentication failure handling, the ShowAuthenticationFailureDialog method, and the Azure.Identity using statement have been reverted to preserve the original SymbolReader behavior.

Co-authored-by: brianrob <6210322+brianrob@users.noreply.github.com>

brianrob

@copilot please address this comment.

brianrob · 2025-08-11T21:55:02Z

src/PerfView/Authentication.cs

            => httpHandler.AddHandler(new BasicHttpAuthHandler(log));

-        private static ChainedTokenCredential CreateTokenCredential()
+        private static ChainedTokenCredential CreateTokenCredential(SymbolsAuthenticationType authTypes)


This same logic should also apply to the TokenCredential created in heapdump. I suspect you'll need to take the argument passed to PerfView and pass it to heapdump.exe and have heapdump.exe consume it in the same way that PerfView does here.

I've implemented the SymbolsAuth configuration for HeapDump.exe as requested. The changes include:

HeapDump.exe now supports /SymbolsAuth argument - Added parsing logic and credential chain building identical to PerfView

PerfView passes SymbolsAuth to HeapDump.exe - Modified HeapSnapshot.cs to include the /SymbolsAuth parameter when launching HeapDump.exe

Maintains backward compatibility - HeapDump.exe defaults to Interactive authentication when no argument is provided

The implementation ensures that both PerfView and HeapDump.exe use the same authentication configuration specified by the user. Changes made in commit 5f0b8c5.

Co-authored-by: brianrob <6210322+brianrob@users.noreply.github.com>

…HeapDump.

marklio

This looks fine overall, just a few pieces of feedback.

marklio · 2025-08-12T20:43:07Z

src/HeapDump/GCHeapDumper.cs

+    /// <summary>
+    /// The token credential to use for symbol server authentication.
+    /// </summary>
+    public TokenCredential SymbolsAuthTokenCredential;


Seems strange to have both a public constructor arg AND a public settable field. My preferred approach if you need to provide this for consumption would be (in order of preference):

An internal get-only property

A public get-only property (if it really needs to be public)

public fields are typically thought of as an anti-pattern

You're right - The constructor really doesn't need the argument anymore, especially with a default NULL value. I've removed it. One thing to note is that the GCHeapDumper class is part of HeapDump which isn't publicly shipped as surface area that folks can depend upon. It's really an internal implementation detail of PerfView, and so I imagine that's why it uses public fields. I can change this if you're feeling strongly about this, but for the purposes of this change, I'm just following the existing pattern.

following existing pattern seems fine. I didn't notice the pattern.

marklio · 2025-08-12T20:44:50Z

src/HeapDump/Program.cs

+                        else
+                        {
+                            Console.WriteLine("Invalid value for /SymbolsAuth: {0}", authTypesStr);
+                            Console.WriteLine("Valid values are: Environment, AzureCli, VisualStudio, Interactive (can be combined with commas)");


CONSIDER: generating this list from the enum

marklio · 2025-08-12T20:49:33Z

src/HeapDump/Program.cs

+                    else if (arg.StartsWith("/SymbolsAuth:", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+                    {
+                        string authTypesStr = arg.Substring(13);
+                        if (TryParseSymbolsAuthenticationTypes(authTypesStr, out var parsedAuthTypes))


Why not pass symbolsAuth rather than introducing a new local? In all continuing cases, symbolsAuth is immediately overwritten with this value anyway.

Thanks for pointing this out. That was just a bit odd (from copilot).

marklio · 2025-08-12T20:51:48Z

src/PerfView/CommandLineArgs.cs

+    /// Flags enum representing the types of Azure credentials that can be used for symbol authentication.
+    /// </summary>
+    [Flags]
+    public enum SymbolsAuthenticationType


This seems duplicative

oh, this is actually another project

It is another project, but you're right. I merged these into one enum definition.

marklio

looks good. Thanks for the context

Initial plan

f7022cb

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and brianrob Aug 11, 2025

Copilot started work on behalf of brianrob August 11, 2025 18:09 View session

Implement symbol server authentication improvements

6434cf2

Co-authored-by: brianrob <6210322+brianrob@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Implement Symbol Server Authentication Improvements~~ Implement Symbol Server Authentication Improvements Aug 11, 2025

Copilot AI requested a review from brianrob August 11, 2025 18:22

Copilot finished work on behalf of brianrob August 11, 2025 18:22

brianrob reviewed Aug 11, 2025

View reviewed changes

Copilot started work on behalf of brianrob August 11, 2025 19:55 View session

Implement /SymbolsAuth command line argument with configurable creden…

bd727e8

…tial types Co-authored-by: brianrob <6210322+brianrob@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~Implement Symbol Server Authentication Improvements~~ Implement configurable symbol server authentication with /SymbolsAuth command line argument Aug 11, 2025

Copilot AI requested a review from brianrob August 11, 2025 20:06

Copilot finished work on behalf of brianrob August 11, 2025 20:06

brianrob reviewed Aug 11, 2025

View reviewed changes

Copilot started work on behalf of brianrob August 11, 2025 20:12 View session

Use enum directly for SymbolsAuth argument and rename to singular

52c1162

Co-authored-by: brianrob <6210322+brianrob@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI requested a review from brianrob August 11, 2025 20:21

Copilot finished work on behalf of brianrob August 11, 2025 20:21

Fix build.

d7c322f

brianrob reviewed Aug 11, 2025

View reviewed changes

Copilot started work on behalf of brianrob August 11, 2025 21:41 View session

Remove dialog changes from StackWindow.xaml.cs as requested

96e1083

Co-authored-by: brianrob <6210322+brianrob@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot finished work on behalf of brianrob August 11, 2025 21:50

Copilot AI requested a review from brianrob August 11, 2025 21:50

brianrob reviewed Aug 11, 2025

View reviewed changes

Copilot started work on behalf of brianrob August 11, 2025 21:55 View session

Apply SymbolsAuth configuration to HeapDump.exe

5f0b8c5

Co-authored-by: brianrob <6210322+brianrob@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~Implement configurable symbol server authentication with /SymbolsAuth command line argument~~ Implement configurable symbol server authentication with /SymbolsAuth command line argument for PerfView and HeapDump Aug 11, 2025

Copilot finished work on behalf of brianrob August 11, 2025 22:09

Copilot AI requested a review from brianrob August 11, 2025 22:09

brianrob added 2 commits August 12, 2025 11:30

Fix command line handling for PerfView and HeapDump.

063cafc

Fix incorrect version System.Runtime.CompilerServices.Unsafe.dll for …

16fca22

…HeapDump.

brianrob marked this pull request as ready for review August 12, 2025 19:01

brianrob requested review from cincuranet, leculver, marklio and mconnew as code owners August 12, 2025 19:01

marklio reviewed Aug 12, 2025

View reviewed changes

Code review feedback.

7bda17d

brianrob mentioned this pull request Aug 13, 2025

Remove Use of VisualStudioCredential #2275

Closed

marklio approved these changes Aug 13, 2025

View reviewed changes

brianrob merged commit 45dfab9 into main Aug 13, 2025
5 checks passed

brianrob deleted the copilot/fix-2277 branch August 13, 2025 19:13

Implement configurable symbol server authentication with /SymbolsAuth command line argument for PerfView and HeapDump #2278

Implement configurable symbol server authentication with /SymbolsAuth command line argument for PerfView and HeapDump #2278

Uh oh!

Conversation

Copilot AI commented Aug 11, 2025 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Key Changes

Command Line Authentication Configuration

Unified Authentication Across Components

Backward Compatible Default Behavior

Implementation Details

Uh oh!

Copilot AI commented Aug 11, 2025

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Aug 11, 2025

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

brianrob Aug 11, 2025 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Aug 11, 2025

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

brianrob Aug 11, 2025 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Aug 11, 2025

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

brianrob Aug 11, 2025 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Aug 11, 2025

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

brianrob commented Aug 11, 2025

Uh oh!

brianrob left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Aug 11, 2025

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

brianrob left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Aug 11, 2025

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

marklio left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

marklio Aug 12, 2025 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Copilot AI commented Aug 11, 2025 •

edited

Loading

brianrob Aug 11, 2025 •

edited

Loading

brianrob Aug 11, 2025 •

edited

Loading

brianrob Aug 11, 2025 •

edited

Loading

marklio Aug 12, 2025 •

edited

Loading