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Unable to start a command line with spaces from C#

The command line I need to execute is
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe" /Run "C:\unity\unity\MRTK Tutorial\Builds\MRTK Tutorial.sln"
This works from a windows command line without issues,
I formatted it into a string for visual studio
When running from C# this command never executes and the contents of result are ""
System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo procStartInfo = new System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo("C:\\Program Files(x86)\\Microsoft Visual Studio\\2019\\Enterprise\\Common7\\IDE\\devenv.exe", " /Run \"C:\\unity\\unity\\MRTK Tutorial\\Builds\\MRTK Tutorial.sln\"");
// The following commands are needed to redirect the standard output.
// This means that it will be redirected to the Process.StandardOutput StreamReader.
procStartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
procStartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
// Do not create the black window.
procStartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
// Now we create a process, assign its ProcessStartInfo and start it
System.Diagnostics.Process proc = new System.Diagnostics.Process();

You can try the following code to use c# to execute devenv.exe.
var devEnvPath = #"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe";
string SolutionFile = #"D:\Test\testconsole\testconsole.sln";
ProcessStartInfo startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo(devEnvPath);
startInfo.Arguments = "/Run " + SolutionFile;
Process process = new Process();
process.StartInfo = startInfo;
process.Start();
process.WaitForExit();
Console.ReadKey();
Based on my test, the above code will open vs2019 and open the startup project.

Activating conda environment from c# code (or what is the differences between manually opening cmd and opening it from c#?)

I want to run a gpu accelerated python script on windows using conda environment (dlwin36).
I’m trying to activate dlwin36 and execute a script:
1) activate dlwin36
2) set KERAS_BACKEND=tensorflow
3) python myscript.py
If I manually open cmd on my machine and write:"activate dlwin36"
it works.
But when I try opening a cmd from c# I get:
“activate is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.”
I tried using the following methods:
Command chaining:
var start = new ProcessStartInfo();
start.FileName = "cmd.exe";
start.Arguments = "/c activate dlwin36&&set KERAS_BACKEND=tensorflow&&python myscript.py";
Process.Start(start).WaitForExit();
(I’ve tested several variations of UseShellExecute, LoadUserProfile and WorkingDirectory)
Redirect standard input:
var commandsList = new List<string>();
commandsList.Add("activate dlwin36");
commandsList.Add("set KERAS_BACKEND=tensorflow");
commandsList.Add("python myscript.py");
var start = new ProcessStartInfo();
start.FileName = "cmd.exe";
start.UseShellExecute = false;
start.RedirectStandardInput = true;
var proc = Process.Start(start);
commandsList.ForEach(command => proc.StandardInput.WriteLine(command));
(I’ve tested several variations of LoadUserProfile and WorkingDirectory)
In both cases, I got the same error.
It seems that there is a difference between manually opening cmd and opening it from c#.

The key is to run activate.bat in your cmd.exe before doing anything else.
// Set working directory and create process
var workingDirectory = Path.GetFullPath("Scripts");
var process = new Process
{
StartInfo = new ProcessStartInfo
{
FileName = "cmd.exe",
RedirectStandardInput = true,
UseShellExecute = false,
RedirectStandardOutput = true,
WorkingDirectory = workingDirectory
}
};
process.Start();
// Pass multiple commands to cmd.exe
using (var sw = process.StandardInput)
{
if (sw.BaseStream.CanWrite)
{
// Vital to activate Anaconda
sw.WriteLine("C:\\PathToAnaconda\\anaconda3\\Scripts\\activate.bat");
// Activate your environment
sw.WriteLine("activate your-environment");
// Any other commands you want to run
sw.WriteLine("set KERAS_BACKEND=tensorflow");
// run your script. You can also pass in arguments
sw.WriteLine("python YourScript.py");
}
}
// read multiple output lines
while (!process.StandardOutput.EndOfStream)
{
var line = process.StandardOutput.ReadLine();
Console.WriteLine(line);
}

You need to use the python.exe from your environment. For example:
Process proc = new Process();
proc.StartInfo.FileName = #"C:\path-to-Anaconda3\envs\tensorflow-gpu\python.exe";
or in your case:
start.Arguments = "/c activate dlwin36&&set KERAS_BACKEND=tensorflow&&\"path-to-Anaconda3\envs\tensorflow-gpu\python.exe\" myscript.py";

I spent a bit of time working on this and here's the only thing that works for me: run a batch file that will activate the conda environment and then issue the commands in python, like so. Let's call this run_script.bat:
call C:\Path-to-Anaconda\Scripts\activate.bat myenv
set KERAS_BACKEND=tensorflow
python YourScript.py
exit
(Note the use of the call keyword before we invoke the activate batch file.)
After that you can run it from C# more or less as shown above.
ProcessStartInfo start = new ProcessStartInfo();
start.FileName = "cmd.exe";
start.Arguments = "/K c:\\path_to_batch\\run_script.bat";
start.UseShellExecute = false;
start.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
start.RedirectStandardError = true;
start.WorkingDirectory = "c:\\path_to_batch";
string stdout, stderr;
using (Process process = Process.Start(start))
{
using (StreamReader reader = process.StandardOutput)
{
stdout = reader.ReadToEnd();
}
using (StreamReader reader = process.StandardError)
{
stderr = reader.ReadToEnd();
}
process.WaitForExit();
}
I am generating the batch file on the fly in C# to set the necessary parameters.

If this is gonna help anyone in the future. I found that you must run the activation from C:\ drive.

How to read message from batch file from C# application

I have a batch file that copy file from one folder to another folder. So I would like to run this file from a C# windows services then I would like to read if the script generate an error or it works correctly.
This is my code for lunch it but I don't Know how to read the message of the script:
SCRIPT CODE:
REM
REM This script moves files with results from GOLD server and saves them on MES06 server on .
REM IMPORT folder.
REM
REM Robocopy Options:
REM /R:2 Two retries on failed copies (default is 1 million)
REM /W:5 Wait 5 seconds between retries (default is 30 sec).
REM
REM GOLD QAS Inbound Folder: \\goldqas01.app.pmi\limscihome$\RootDirectory
REM
for /f "delims=: tokens=2,3" %%j in (F:\MES2GOLD\copy_list_test.txt) do ROBOCOPY.EXE %%j %%j\..\BACKUP *.* /R:2 /W:5 /log+:%%j\..\LOGS\MES2GOLD.log & ROBOCOPY.EXE %%j %%k *.* /R:2 /W:5 /MOV /log+:%%j\..\LOGS\MES2GOLD.log
PAUSE
C# Code:
public void execute(string workingDirectory, string command)
{
// create the ProcessStartInfo using "cmd" as the program to be run, and "/c " as the parameters.
// Incidentally, /c tells cmd that we want it to execute the command that follows, and then exit.
System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo procStartInfo = new System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo("cmd.exe", #"/c C:\Users\mcastrio\Desktop\GOLD2MES.bat");
procStartInfo.WorkingDirectory = workingDirectory;
//This means that it will be redirected to the Process.StandardOutput StreamReader.
procStartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
//This means that it will be redirected to the Process.StandardError StreamReader. (same as StdOutput)
procStartInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;
procStartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
// Do not create the black window.
procStartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
// Now we create a process, assign its ProcessStartInfo and start it
System.Diagnostics.Process proc = new System.Diagnostics.Process();
//This is importend, else some Events will not fire!
proc.EnableRaisingEvents = true;
// passing the Startinfo to the process
proc.StartInfo = procStartInfo;
// The given Funktion will be raised if the Process wants to print an output to consol
proc.OutputDataReceived += DoSomething;
// Std Error
proc.ErrorDataReceived += DoSomethingHorrible;
// If Batch File is finished this Event will be raised
proc.Exited += Exited;
}
Can we help me?

You can use the code below inside your loop:
var startInfo = p.StartInfo;
startInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
startInfo.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;
startInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
startInfo.StandardOutputEncoding = Encoding.GetEncoding("ibm850");
startInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
startInfo.FileName = filebatch;
startInfo.Arguments = arguments;
p.Start();
var output = p.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
p.WaitForExit();
Or just use ProcessHelper.Run from TestSharp library:
ProcessHelper.Run(string exePath, string arguments = "", bool waitForExit = true)

Sending arguments to Developer Command Prompt for Visual Studio

I am not able to pass some parameters to my Dev cmd prompt for vs, I can do it with the classic cmd but not with this one. And I need it because I want to execute CodedUITests from an executable.
This is what my code looks like:
String Path = #"C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Microsoft Visual Studio 2012\Visual Studio Tools\Developer Command Prompt for VS2012.lnk";
ProcessStartInfo proc = new ProcessStartInfo();
proc.FileName = Path;
proc.UseShellExecute = true;
proc.Arguments = #"/c MSTest/h";
Process.Start(proc);
It starts, but no args are inserted,what am I doing wrong ?
EDIT 1 - None of these are working
Process.Start(Path, #"/c "+"MSTest/h"); - err : invalid path - in dev cmd prompt
OR
Process.Start(Path, #"/c ""MSTest/h"); - err: invalid path - in dev cmd prompt
OR
Process.Start(Path, #"/c MSTest/h"); - nothing
OR
Process.Start(Path, "/c MSTest/h"); -nothing
OR
Process.Start(Path, "MSTest/h"); -nothing
EDIT 2 - This is how my final code looks like, partially working, dev cmd starting, but no way to parse args into it because any args I pass they go straight to cmd not to dev-cmd
// ProcessStartInfo procStartInfo = new System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo("cmd", #"%comspec% /k ""C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 11.0\Common7\Tools\VsDevCmd.bat""");
ProcessStartInfo procStartInfo = new System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo("cmd", #"%comspec% /k ""C:\Users\butoiu.edward\Desktop\VsDevCmd1.bat");
procStartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
// procStartInfo.Arguments = "/k MSTest";
Process proc = new Process();
proc.StartInfo = procStartInfo;
proc.Start();
proc.WaitForExit();

Did you try this way?
void OpenWithArguments()
{
Process.Start("IExplore.exe", "www.northwindtraders.com");
Process.Start("path to exe", "argument");
}
-- FMI MSDN LINK
Update:
I assume it will work this way... but not sure
Open sys default cmd prompt.. and give first param as batch file path (C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 11.0\Common7\Tools\VsDevCmd.bat) and give a space and add next attribute.
Process.Start("Path to EXE", "arg1 arg2")

lnk" file it is actually a link of visual studio cmd prompt. Instead of this location you try original file located at "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\VC\vcvarsall.bat"
String Path = #"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\VC\vcvarsall.bat";
ProcessStartInfo proc = new ProcessStartInfo();
proc.FileName = Path;
proc.UseShellExecute = true;
proc.Arguments = #"/c MSTest/h";
Process.Start(proc);
I hope this will help you.

BCDEDIT not recognized when running via C#

When i try to run BCDEDIT from my C# application i get the following error:
'bcdedit' is not recognized as an internal or external
command,
operable program or batch file.
when i run it via elevated command line i get as expected.
i have used the following code:
Process p = new Process();
p.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
p.StartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
p.StartInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;
p.StartInfo.FileName = #"CMD.EXE";
p.StartInfo.Arguments = #"/C bcdedit";
p.Start();
string output = p.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
String error = p.StandardError.ReadToEnd();
p.WaitForExit();
return output;
i have also tried using
p.StartInfo.FileName = #"BCDEDIT.EXE";
p.StartInfo.Arguments = #"";
i have tried the following:
Checking path variables - they are fine.
running visual studio from elevated command prompt.
placing full path.
i am running out of ideas,
any idea as to why i am getting this error ?
all i need is the output of the command if there is another way that would work as well.
thanks

There is one explanation that makes sense:
You are executing the program on a 64 bit machine.
Your C# program is built as x86.
The bcdedit.exe file exists in C:\Windows\System32.
Although C:\Windows\System32 is on your system path, in an x86 process you are subject to the File System Redirector. Which means that C:\Windows\System32 actually resolves to C:\Windows\SysWOW64.
There is no 32 bit version of bcdedit.exe in C:\Windows\SysWOW64.
The solution is to change your C# program to target AnyCPU or x64.

If you are stuck with x86 application on both 32it/64bit Windows and You need to call bcdedit command, here is a way how to do that:
private static int ExecuteBcdEdit(string arguments, out IList<string> output)
{
var cmdFullFileName = Path.Combine(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Windows),
Environment.Is64BitOperatingSystem && !Environment.Is64BitProcess
? #"Sysnative\cmd.exe"
: #"System32\cmd.exe");
ProcessStartInfo psi = new ProcessStartInfo(cmdFullFileName, "/c bcdedit " + arguments) { UseShellExecute = false, RedirectStandardOutput = true };
var process = new Process { StartInfo = psi };
process.Start();
StreamReader outputReader = process.StandardOutput;
process.WaitForExit();
output = outputReader.ReadToEnd().Split(new[] { Environment.NewLine }, StringSplitOptions.None).ToList();
return process.ExitCode;
}
usage:
var returnCode = ExecuteBcdEdit("/set IgnoreAllFailures", out outputForInvestigation);
Inspiration was from this thread and from How to start a 64-bit process from a 32-bit process and from http://www.samlogic.net/articles/sysnative-folder-64-bit-windows.htm