What are the default access modifiers in C#?

What is the default access modifier for classes, methods, members, constructors, delegates and interfaces?

Solution

The default access for everything in C# is "the most restricted access you could declare for that member".

So for example:

namespace MyCompany
{
    class Outer
    {
        void Foo() {}
        class Inner {}
    }
}

is equivalent to

namespace MyCompany
{
    internal class Outer
    {
        private void Foo() {}
        private class Inner {}
    }
}

The one sort of exception to this is making one part of a property (usually the setter) more restricted than the declared accessibility of the property itself:

public string Name
{
    get { ... }
    private set { ... } // This isn't the default, have to do it explicitly
}

This is what the C# 3.0 specification has to say (section 3.5.1):

Depending on the context in which a member declaration takes place, only certain types of declared accessibility are permitted. Furthermore, when a member declaration does not include any access modifiers, the context in which the declaration takes place determines the default declared accessibility.

Namespaces implicitly have public declared accessibility. No access modifiers are allowed on namespace declarations.

Types declared in compilation units or namespaces can have public or internal declared accessibility and default to internal declared accessibility.

Class members can have any of the five kinds of declared accessibility and default to private declared accessibility. (Note that a type declared as a member of a class can have any of the five kinds of declared accessibility, whereas a type declared as a member of a namespace can have only public or internal declared accessibility.)

Struct members can have public, internal, or private declared accessibility and default to private declared accessibility because structs are implicitly sealed. Struct members introduced in a struct (that is, not inherited by that struct) cannot have protected or protected internal declared accessibility. (Note that a type declared as a member of a struct can have public, internal, or private declared accessibility, whereas a type declared as a member of a namespace can have only public or internal declared accessibility.)

Interface members implicitly have public declared accessibility. No access modifiers are allowed on interface member declarations.

Enumeration members implicitly have public declared accessibility. No access modifiers are allowed on enumeration member declarations.

(Note that nested types would come under the "class members" or "struct members" parts - and therefore default to private visibility.)