rename_symbol

[refactoring]

Renames a C# symbol and its references across the loaded workspace.

Before you use this tool

Writes files by default. Set applyChanges: false to preview the diff. Inspect the diff before application.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
symbolName	string	Yes	Opaque symbolKey from discovery (preferred), or a simple or fully qualified symbol name.
newName	string	Yes	New name for the symbol.
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. Default: `true`
includeDiff	boolean	No	Include unified diff in response. Default is true. Default: `true`
maxDiffChars	number	No	Max diff characters. Use 0 for unlimited. Default is 50000. Default: `50000`
includePerFileDiff	boolean	No	Include per-file diffs in changedFiles. Default is true. Default: `true`
pathStyle	string	No	Path style: 'absolute' (default) or 'relative' (to solution root). Default: `"absolute"`
responseDetail	string	No	compact returns results and actionable state. full adds diagnostic metadata under responseDiagnostics. Default: `"compact"`

Examples

Replace sample paths and symbol keys with values from your workspace.

Rename a class

Arguments 
{
  "symbolName": "OldClassName",
  "newName": "NewClassName"
}

Full MCP request

Full MCP request 
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "rename_symbol",
    "arguments": {
      "symbolName": "OldClassName",
      "newName": "NewClassName"
    }
  }
}

Illustrative response 
{
  "success": true,
  "symbolName": "OldClassName",
  "newName": "NewClassName",
  "symbolKind": "Class",
  "filesChanged": 5,
  "locationsChanged": 12,
  "applied": true,
  "unifiedDiff": "..."
}

Preview without applying

Arguments 
{
  "symbolName": "OldName",
  "newName": "NewName",
  "applyChanges": false
}

Full MCP request

Full MCP request 
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "rename_symbol",
    "arguments": {
      "symbolName": "OldName",
      "newName": "NewName",
      "applyChanges": false
    }
  }
}

Preview a rename by key

Arguments 
{
  "symbolName": "<symbol key from search_symbols>",
  "newName": "NewName",
  "applyChanges": false
}

Full MCP request

Full MCP request 
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "rename_symbol",
    "arguments": {
      "symbolName": "<symbol key from search_symbols>",
      "newName": "NewName",
      "applyChanges": false
    }
  }
}

Response Notes

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.

Returns a unified diff of the change set Results use top-level fields with success. Compact is the default; full adds responseDiagnostics. Both modes retain errors, coverage, partial state, and recovery advice.