move_type

[refactoring]

Moves a type to a different file and/or namespace and updates references. An applied refactor keeps the line endings each file already has. A file that mixes LF and CRLF is written with the ending it uses most. The unified diff normalizes both sides to LF, so it shows the edit and not the endings.

Why this tool exists

C# refactors are semantic operations, not search-and-replace operations.

How it helps the agent

The model can preview or apply semantic changes while preserving symbol identity across overloads, files, and projects.

Try it locally in the Glider playground

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
typeName	string	Yes	Type name to move (simple or fully qualified).
targetFilePath	string	No	Optional target file path.
targetNamespace	string	No	Optional target namespace.
projectName	string	No	Optional project name to limit symbol search.
applyChanges	boolean	No	If true (default), applies changes to disk. If false, returns a preview diff.
formatAfter	boolean	No	Format changed documents after the move. Default is false.
organizeUsingsAfter	boolean	No	Organize usings in changed documents after the move. Default is false.
includeDiff	boolean	No	Include unified diff in response. Default is true.
maxDiffChars	number	No	Max diff characters. Use 0 for unlimited. Default is 50000.
includePerFileDiff	boolean	No	Include per-file diffs in changedFiles. Default is true.
pathStyle	string	No	Path style: 'absolute' (default) or 'relative' (to solution root).

Examples

Move a type to a new namespace

Request 
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "move_type",
    "arguments": {
      "typeName": "MyClass",
      "targetNamespace": "MyApp.Utils"
    }
  }
}

Response 
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "symbolName": "MyClass",
    "symbolKind": "Class",
    "sourceLocation": "/path/to/OldFile.cs",
    "targetLocation": "/path/to/NewFile.cs",
    "filesChanged": 3,
    "filesCreated": 1,
    "applied": true,
    "unifiedDiff": "...",
    "workspaceUpdate": {
      "kind": "reloaded_not_included",
      "updated": false,
      "inWorkspaceBefore": false,
      "inWorkspaceAfter": false,
      "message": "The move wrote 1 file(s) that no project compiles, so the moved code builds nowhere. ..."
    }
  },
  "error": null
}

Response Notes

Returns a unified diff of the change set. workspaceUpdate reports what the workspace did with a file the move created, and is null when it created none. kind reloaded_not_included means the file was written but no project compiles it, so the moved code builds nowhere. Its message names each such file and why.