CliInvoke is a .NET library for interacting with Command Line Interfaces and wrapping around executables.
Launch processes, redirect standard input and output streams, await process completion and much more.
- Features
- Why CliInvoke?
- Installing CliInvoke
- CliInvoke Examples
- Contributing to CliInvoke
- Roadmap
- License
- Acknowledgements
- Clear separation of concerns between Process Configuration Builders, Process Configuration Models, and Invokers.
- Supports .NET Standard 2.0, .NET 8 and newer TFMs, and has few dependencies.
- Has Dependency Injection extensions to make using it a breeze.
- Support for specific specializations such as running executables or commands via Windows Powershell or CMD on Windows 1
- SourceLink support
1 Specializations library distributed separately.
| Feature | CliInvoke | CliWrap | ProcessX |
|---|---|---|---|
| Configure and Run External Processes using code written in .NET | ✅ | ✅ | ❌, Uses mixture of .NET and BASH syntax |
| No Additional Licensing Terms Required for Use | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Uses only managed .NET code | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Follows Separation of Concerns and the Single Responsibility Principle | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Allows for alternative Process Runners to be specified and/or used | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
CliInvoke is available on the Nuget Gallery but call be also installed via the dotnet sdk cli.
The package(s) to install depends on your use case:
- For use in a .NET library - Install the Abstractions Package, your developer users can install the Implementation and Dependency Injection packages.
- For use in a .NET app - Install the Implementation Package and the Dependency Injection Extensions Package
dotnet add package AlastairLundy.CliInvoke.Coredotnet add package AlastairLundy.CliInvokedotnet add package AlastairLundy.CliInvoke.ExtensionsCliInvoke.Specializations Nuget
dotnet add package AlastairLundy.CliInvoke.SpecializationsCliInvoke can currently be added to .NET Standard 2.0, .NET 8, or .NET 9 or newer supported projects.
The following table details which target platforms are supported for executing commands via CliInvoke.
| Operating System | Support Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | Fully Supported âś… | |
| macOS | Fully Supported âś… | |
| Mac Catalyst | Untested Platform |
Support for this platform has not been tested but should theoretically work. |
| Linux | Fully Supported âś… | |
| FreeBSD | Fully Supported âś… | |
| Android | Untested Platform |
Support for this platform has not been tested but should theoretically work. |
| IOS | Not Supported ❌ | Not supported due to Process.Start() not supporting IOS. 3 |
| tvOS | Not Supported ❌ | Not supported due to Process.Start() not supporting tvOS 3 |
| watchOS | Not Supported ❌ | Not supported due to Process.Start() not supporting watchOS 4 |
| Browser | Not Planned ❌ | Not supported due to not being a valid target Platform for executing programs or processes. |
3 - See the Process class documentation for more info.
4 - Lack of watchOS support is implied by lack of IOS support since watchOS is based on IOS.
Note: This library has not been tested on Android or Tizen.
This approach uses the IProcessConfigurationFactory interface factory to create a ProcessConfiguration. It requires fewer parameters and sets up more defaults for you.
It can be provided with a Action<IProcessConfigurationBuilder> configure optional parameter where greater control is desired.
This example gets a non buffered ProcessResult that contains basic process exit code, id, and other information.
using AlastairLundy.CliInvoke.Core.Factories;
using AlastairLundy.CliInvoke.Core;
using AlastairLundy.CliIinvoke;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
// Dependency Injection setup code ommitted for clarity
// Get IProcessConfigurationFactory
IProcessConfigurationFactory processConfigFactory = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<IProcessConfigurationFactory>();
// Get IProcessConfigurationInvoker
IProcessConfigurationInvoker _invoker_ = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<IProcessConfigurationInvoker>();
// Simply create the process configuration.
ProcessConfiguration configuration = processConfigFactory.Create("path/to/exe", "arguments");
// Run the process configuration and get the results.
ProcessResult result = await _invoker.ExecuteAsync(configuration, CancellationToken.None);This example gets a BufferedProcessResult which contains redirected StandardOutput and StandardError as strings.
using AlastairLundy.CliInvoke.Core.Factories;
using AlastairLundy.CliInvoke.Core;
using AlastairLundy.CliIinvoke;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
// Dependency Injection setup code ommitted for clarity
// Get IProcessConfigurationFactory
IProcessConfigurationFactory processConfigFactory = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<IProcessConfigurationFactory>();
// Get IProcessConfigurationInvoker
IProcessConfigurationInvoker _invoker_ = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<IProcessConfigurationInvoker>();
// Simply create the process configuration.
ProcessConfiguration configuration = processConfigFactory.Create("path/to/exe", "arguments");
// Run the process configuration and get the results.
BufferedProcessResult result = await _invoker.ExecuteBufferedAsync(configuration, CancellationToken.None);The following examples shows how to configure and build a ProcessConfiguration depending on whether Buffering the output is desired.
This example gets a non buffered ProcessResult that contains basic process exit code, id, and other information.
using AlastairLundy.CliInvoke;
using AlastairLundy.CliInvoke.Core;
using AlastairLundy.CliInvoke.Builders;
using AlastairLundy.CliInvoke.Core.Builders;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
//Namespace and class code ommitted for clarity
// ServiceProvider and Dependency Injection setup code ommitted for clarity
IProcessInvoker _processInvoker = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<IProcessInvoker>();
// Fluently configure your Command.
IProcessConfigurationBuilder builder = new ProcessConfigurationBuilder("Path/To/Executable")
.WithArguments(["arg1", "arg2"])
.WithWorkingDirectory("/Path/To/Directory");
// Build it as a ProcessConfiguration object when you're ready to use it.
ProcessConfiguration config = builder.Build();
// Execute the process through ProcessInvoker and get the results.
ProcessResult result = await _processConfigInvoker.ExecuteAsync(config);This example gets a BufferedProcessResult which contains redirected StandardOutput and StandardError as strings.
using AlastairLundy.CliInvoke;
using AlastairLundy.CliInvoke.Builders;
using AlastairLundy.CliInvoke.Core;
using AlastairLundy.CliInvoke.Core.Builders;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
//Namespace and class code ommitted for clarity
// ServiceProvider and Dependency Injection setup code ommitted for clarity
IProcessInvoker _processInvoker = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<IProcessInvoker>();
// Fluently configure your Command.
IProcessConfigurationBuilder builder = new ProcessConfigurationBuilder("Path/To/Executable")
.WithArguments(["arg1", "arg2"])
.WithWorkingDirectory("/Path/To/Directory")
.RedirectStandardOutput(true)
.RedirectStandardError(true);
// Build it as a ProcessConfiguration object when you're ready to use it.
ProcessConfiguration config = builder.Build();
// Execute the process through ProcessInvoker and get the results.
BufferedProcessResult result = await _processInvoker.ExecuteBufferedAsync(config);Please see building-cliinvoke.md for how to build CliInvoke from source.
Please see the CONTRIBUTING.md file for code and localization contributions.
If you want to file a bug report or suggest a potential feature to add, please check out the GitHub issues page to see if a similar or identical issue is already open. If there isn't already a relevant issue filed, please file one here and follow the respective guidance from the appropriate issue template.
CliInvoke aims to make working with Commands and external processes easier.
Whilst an initial set of features are available in version 1, there is room for more features, and for modifications of existing features in future updates.
Future updates may focus on one or more of the following:
- Improved ease of use
- Improved stability
- New features
- Enhancing existing features
CliInvoke is licensed under the MPL 2.0 license. You can learn more about it here
If you use CliInvoke in your project please make an exact copy of the contents of CliInvoke's LICENSE.txt file available either in your third party licenses txt file or as a separate txt file.
CliInvoke's Icon is NOT licensed under the MPL 2.0 license and is licensed under Copyright with all rights reserved to me (Alastair Lundy).
If you fork CliInvoke and re-distribute it, please replace the usage of the icon unless you have prior written agreements from me.
This project would like to thank the following projects for their work:
For more information, please see the THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES file.