How to continuously output console application to text file in C# - c#

I am trying to open up a hidden console application with arguments, and basically log it's output into a file continuously until it is stopped.
I have tried using a memory stream and writing it into the file, and it did seem to work for a bit. Now I am trying to take advantage of the DataRecievedEvent so I can further process the output. Right now I am not getting any output.
Here is how I am opening the console application:
StreamWriter writer = new StreamWriter("tsharkfieldoutput.txt", true)
private void capturePackets(int device)
{
string path =
string.Format("-i " + device +
" -O SNMP -T fields -e snmp.value.oid -e snmp.VarBind -e snmp.variable_bindings -e snmp.value.octets -e snmp.name -R udp src " +
destPort);
string tshark = #"C:\Program Files\Wireshark\tshark.exe";
ProcessStartInfo ps = new ProcessStartInfo();
ps.FileName = tshark;
ps.CreateNoWindow = true;
ps.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;
ps.UseShellExecute = false;
ps.CreateNoWindow = true;
ps.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
ps.Arguments = path;
Process process = new Process();
process.StartInfo = ps;
process.Start();
process.OutputDataReceived += new DataReceivedEventHandler(tshark_OutputDataReceived);
//Not using stream reader any more.
//StreamReader myStreamReader = process.StandardOutput;
writer.Write("Begin tshark output- " + DateTime.Now + " - " + Environment.NewLine);
}
private void tshark_OutputDataReceived(object sender, DataReceivedEventArgs arg)
{
string tsharkline = arg.Data; //arg.Data contains the output data from the process...
writer.Write(tsharkline);
}


I think the issue is that your reference to the process is going out of scope at the end of function capturePackets. You will either need to give the process variable the same scope as the writer or wait in the capturePackets function until the process exits using the WaitForExit() method. Although the process that you create continues to run, when the reference to it goes out of scope (via the process variable), the events will stop being processed.

Related

how to execute batch file in c# [duplicate]

I'm trying to execute a batch file in C#, but I'm not getting any luck doing it.
I've found multiple examples on the Internet doing it, but it is not working for me.
public void ExecuteCommand(string command)
{
int ExitCode;
ProcessStartInfo ProcessInfo;
Process Process;
ProcessInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("cmd.exe", "/c " + command);
ProcessInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
ProcessInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
Process = Process.Start(ProcessInfo);
Process.WaitForExit();
ExitCode = Process.ExitCode;
Process.Close();
MessageBox.Show("ExitCode: " + ExitCode.ToString(), "ExecuteCommand");
}
The command string contains the name of the batch file (stored in system32) and some files it should manipulate. (Example: txtmanipulator file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt). When I execute the batch file manually, it works correctly.
When executing the code, it gives me an **ExitCode: 1** (Catch all for general errors)
What am I doing wrong?

This should work. You could try to dump out the contents of the output and error streams in order to find out what's happening:
static void ExecuteCommand(string command)
{
int exitCode;
ProcessStartInfo processInfo;
Process process;
processInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("cmd.exe", "/c " + command);
processInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
processInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
// *** Redirect the output ***
processInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;
processInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
process = Process.Start(processInfo);
process.WaitForExit();
// *** Read the streams ***
// Warning: This approach can lead to deadlocks, see Edit #2
string output = process.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
string error = process.StandardError.ReadToEnd();
exitCode = process.ExitCode;
Console.WriteLine("output>>" + (String.IsNullOrEmpty(output) ? "(none)" : output));
Console.WriteLine("error>>" + (String.IsNullOrEmpty(error) ? "(none)" : error));
Console.WriteLine("ExitCode: " + exitCode.ToString(), "ExecuteCommand");
process.Close();
}
static void Main()
{
ExecuteCommand("echo testing");
}
* EDIT *
Given the extra information in your comment below, I was able to recreate the problem. There seems to be some security setting that results in this behaviour (haven't investigated that in detail).
This does work if the batch file is not located in C:\Windows\System32. Try moving it to some other location, e.g. the location of your executable. Note that keeping custom batch files or executables in the Windows directory is bad practice anyway.
* EDIT 2 *
It turns out that if the streams are read synchronously, a deadlock can occur, either by reading synchronously before WaitForExit or by reading both stderr and stdout synchronously one after the other.
This should not happen if using the asynchronous read methods instead, as in the following example:
static void ExecuteCommand(string command)
{
var processInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("cmd.exe", "/c " + command);
processInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
processInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
processInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;
processInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
var process = Process.Start(processInfo);
process.OutputDataReceived += (object sender, DataReceivedEventArgs e) =>
Console.WriteLine("output>>" + e.Data);
process.BeginOutputReadLine();
process.ErrorDataReceived += (object sender, DataReceivedEventArgs e) =>
Console.WriteLine("error>>" + e.Data);
process.BeginErrorReadLine();
process.WaitForExit();
Console.WriteLine("ExitCode: {0}", process.ExitCode);
process.Close();
}

System.Diagnostics.Process.Start("c:\\batchfilename.bat");
this simple line will execute the batch file.

After some great help from steinar this is what worked for me:
public void ExecuteCommand(string command)
{
int ExitCode;
ProcessStartInfo ProcessInfo;
Process process;
ProcessInfo = new ProcessStartInfo(Application.StartupPath + "\\txtmanipulator\\txtmanipulator.bat", command);
ProcessInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
ProcessInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
ProcessInfo.WorkingDirectory = Application.StartupPath + "\\txtmanipulator";
// *** Redirect the output ***
ProcessInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;
ProcessInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
process = Process.Start(ProcessInfo);
process.WaitForExit();
// *** Read the streams ***
string output = process.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
string error = process.StandardError.ReadToEnd();
ExitCode = process.ExitCode;
MessageBox.Show("output>>" + (String.IsNullOrEmpty(output) ? "(none)" : output));
MessageBox.Show("error>>" + (String.IsNullOrEmpty(error) ? "(none)" : error));
MessageBox.Show("ExitCode: " + ExitCode.ToString(), "ExecuteCommand");
process.Close();
}

It works fine. I tested it like this:
String command = #"C:\Doit.bat";
ProcessInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("cmd.exe", "/c " + command);
// ProcessInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
I commented out turning off the window so I could SEE it run.

Here is sample c# code that are sending 2 parameters to a bat/cmd file for answer this question.
Comment: how can I pass parameters and read a result of command execution?
/by #Janatbek Sharsheyev
Option 1 : Without hiding the console window, passing arguments and without getting the outputs
This is an edit from this answer /by #Brian Rasmussen
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
namespace ConsoleApplication
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(#"c:\batchfilename.bat", "\"1st\" \"2nd\"");
}
}
}
Option 2 : Hiding the console window, passing arguments and taking outputs
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
namespace ConsoleApplication
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var process = new Process();
var startinfo = new ProcessStartInfo(#"c:\batchfilename.bat", "\"1st_arg\" \"2nd_arg\" \"3rd_arg\"");
startinfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
startinfo.UseShellExecute = false;
process.StartInfo = startinfo;
process.OutputDataReceived += (sender, argsx) => Console.WriteLine(argsx.Data); // do whatever processing you need to do in this handler
process.Start();
process.BeginOutputReadLine();
process.WaitForExit();
}
}
}
// C# decode bat file and run passing arguments: // edit 01/2022
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;
using System.Diagnostics;
namespace ConsoleApplication
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
String encodedString = #"QGVjaG8gb2ZmIAoKc2V0ICJ4PUZvbGRlciIKeGNvcHkgL3kgL3YgL2UgLlw
iJXglIlwqIFxcMTAuMC4wLjIwMFxkXAoKZm9yICUleSBpbiAoMjAyLDIwMy
wyMDQsMjA1KWRvICgKICAgICBuZXQgdXNlIFxcMTAuMC4wLiUlfnlcZSAiJ
X4xIiAvdXNlcjoiJX4yIgogICAgIGVjaG9cQ29weWluZyBmaWxlcyB0byBc
XDEwLjAuMC4lJX55XGVcCiAgICAgeGNvcHkgL3kgL3YgL2UgLlwiJXglIlw
qIFxcMTAuMC4wLiUlfnlcZVwKICAgICk=";
File.WriteAllBytes(#"z:\batchfilename.bat", Convert.FromBase64String(encodedString));
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(#"z:\batchfilename.bat", "\"PassWord1\" \"User1\"");
}
}
}
/* bat file decoded:
#echo off
set "x=Folder"
xcopy /y /v /e .\"%x%"\* \\10.0.0.200\d\
for %%y in (202,203,204,205)do (
net use \\10.0.0.%%~y\e "%~1" /user:"%~2"
echo\Copying files to \\10.0.0.%%~y\e\
xcopy /y /v /e .\"%x%"\* \\10.0.0.%%~y\e\
)
Execute bat:
#"z:\batchfilename.bat", "\"PassWord1\" \"User1\""
Bat argument:
Argument %1 == PassWord1 Argument %2 == User1
*/
1. Create your bat and test it as much as possible
2. Convert the code to base64
3. Defines a variable in your code with the base64 strings
4. Decode at runtime to a pre-defined and proper location for execution
5. Call the bat execution on the path where it was decodes
6. If necessary, pass your arguments

Below code worked fine for me
using System.Diagnostics;
public void ExecuteBatFile()
{
Process proc = null;
string _batDir = string.Format(#"C:\");
proc = new Process();
proc.StartInfo.WorkingDirectory = _batDir;
proc.StartInfo.FileName = "myfile.bat";
proc.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = false;
proc.Start();
proc.WaitForExit();
ExitCode = proc.ExitCode;
proc.Close();
MessageBox.Show("Bat file executed...");
}

using System.Diagnostics;
private void ExecuteBatFile()
{
Process proc = null;
try
{
string targetDir = string.Format(#"D:\mydir"); //this is where mybatch.bat lies
proc = new Process();
proc.StartInfo.WorkingDirectory = targetDir;
proc.StartInfo.FileName = "lorenzo.bat";
proc.StartInfo.Arguments = string.Format("10"); //this is argument
proc.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = false;
proc.StartInfo.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden; //this is for hiding the cmd window...so execution will happen in back ground.
proc.Start();
proc.WaitForExit();
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
Console.WriteLine("Exception Occurred :{0},{1}", ex.Message, ex.StackTrace.ToString());
}
}

Have you tried starting it as an administrator? Start Visual Studio as an administrator if you use it, because working with .bat files requires those privileges.

With previously proposed solutions, I have struggled to get multiple npm commands executed in a loop and get all outputs on the console window.
It finally started to work after I have combined everything from the previous comments, but rearranged the code execution flow.
What I have noticed is that event subscribing was done too late (after the process has already started) and therefore some outputs were not captured.
The code below now does the following:
Subscribes to the events, before the process has started,
therefore ensuring that no output is missed.
Begins reading from outputs as soon as the process is started.
The code has been tested against the deadlocks, although it is synchronous (one process execution at the time) so I cannot guarantee what would happen if this was run in parallel.
static void RunCommand(string command, string workingDirectory)
{
Process process = new Process
{
StartInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("cmd.exe", $"/c {command}")
{
WorkingDirectory = workingDirectory,
CreateNoWindow = true,
UseShellExecute = false,
RedirectStandardError = true,
RedirectStandardOutput = true
}
};
process.OutputDataReceived += (object sender, DataReceivedEventArgs e) => Console.WriteLine("output :: " + e.Data);
process.ErrorDataReceived += (object sender, DataReceivedEventArgs e) => Console.WriteLine("error :: " + e.Data);
process.Start();
process.BeginOutputReadLine();
process.BeginErrorReadLine();
process.WaitForExit();
Console.WriteLine("ExitCode: {0}", process.ExitCode);
process.Close();
}

I wanted something that was more directly usable without organization-specific hard-coded string values in it. I offer the following as a directly reusable chunk of code. The minor downside is needing to determine and pass the working folder when making the call.
public static void ExecuteCommand(string command, string workingFolder)
{
int ExitCode;
ProcessStartInfo ProcessInfo;
Process process;
ProcessInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("cmd.exe", "/c " + command);
ProcessInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
ProcessInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
ProcessInfo.WorkingDirectory = workingFolder;
// *** Redirect the output ***
ProcessInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;
ProcessInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
process = Process.Start(ProcessInfo);
process.WaitForExit();
// *** Read the streams ***
string output = process.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
string error = process.StandardError.ReadToEnd();
ExitCode = process.ExitCode;
MessageBox.Show("output>>" + (String.IsNullOrEmpty(output) ? "(none)" : output));
MessageBox.Show("error>>" + (String.IsNullOrEmpty(error) ? "(none)" : error));
MessageBox.Show("ExitCode: " + ExitCode.ToString(), "ExecuteCommand");
process.Close();
}
Called like this:
// This will get the current WORKING directory (i.e. \bin\Debug)
string workingDirectory = Environment.CurrentDirectory;
// This will get the current PROJECT directory
string projectDirectory = Directory.GetParent(workingDirectory).Parent.FullName;
string commandToExecute = Path.Combine(projectDirectory, "TestSetup", "WreckersTestSetupQA.bat");
string workingFolder = Path.GetDirectoryName(commandToExecute);
commandToExecute = QuotesAround(commandToExecute);
ExecuteCommand(commandToExecute, workingFolder);
In this example, from within Visual Studio 2017, as part of a test run, I want to run an environment reset batch file before executing some tests. (SpecFlow+xUnit). I got tired of extra steps for manually running the bat file separately, and wanted to just run the bat file as part of the C# test setup code. The environment reset batch file moves test case files back into the input folder, cleans up output folders, etc. to get to the proper test starting state for testing. The QuotesAround method simply puts quotes around the command line in case there are spaces in folder names ("Program Files", anyone?). All that's in it is this: private string QuotesAround(string input) {return "\"" + input + "\"";}
Hope some find this useful and save a few minutes if your scenario is similar to mine.

System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(BatchFileName, Parameters);
I know this will work for batch file and parameters, but no ideas how to get the results in C#.
Usually, the outputs are defined in the batch file.

Using CliWrap:
var result = await Cli.Wrap("foobar.bat").ExecuteBufferedAsync();
var exitCode = result.ExitCode;
var stdOut = result.StandardOutput;

How to stop logcat from logging and close adb programmatically?

I am writing a small C# application to collect logcat files for an app that's running on an Android device connected to the computer.
I can easily start logcat and get it to log the desired lines to a particular text file. But every command that I've tried to stop logcat from logging doesn't work.
I've tried my solutions also when running my app with admin rights.
Here is my code:
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string choice;
string clearLogging = #"adb logcat -c";
string startLogging = #"adb logcat MyApp_LoggingTag:V AndroidRuntime:E *:S > C:\logcat.txt";
string adbDir = #"C:\Users\me\AppData\Local\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools\";
string clearCommand = adbDir + clearLogging;
string startLoggingCommand = adbDir + startLogging;
ProcessStartInfo startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("cmd.exe", "/K " + clearCommand);
startInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
startInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
startInfo.RedirectStandardInput = true;
//Tried giving the cmd process elevated rights and then use logcat -c - didn't work
//startInfo.Verb = "runas";
Process logcatRunner = Process.Start(startInfo);
//This works!
logcatRunner.StandardInput.WriteLine(startLoggingCommand);
Console.WriteLine("Logging has started.");
Console.Write("Press Enter to stop logging....");
Console.ReadLine();
//-c doesn't work
//logcatRunner.StandardInput.WriteLine(clearCommand);
//Tried killing adb via the logcatRunner process - doesn't work.
//logcatRunner.StandardInput.WriteLine(#"taskkill -f /im ""adb.exe""");
//Tried killing my process - doesn't work - adb is still running and logcat is still writing logs
//logcatRunner.Kill();
Console.WriteLine("Logging has stopped.");
Console.Write(#"Enter any key");
choice = Console.ReadLine();
}
adb is still running after I close the above application.
So my question is, having started adb and logcat successfully, how do I close both of them programmatically?

Doing this with your approach is complicated. You create cmd process and then start another process (adb) there. To kill adb you need to send CTRL+C to cmd, but it's not that easy because of CreateNoWindow=true. I'd suggest another approach and run adb directly, redirecting its output:
string adbPath = #"G:\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools\adb.exe";
ProcessStartInfo startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo(adbPath, "logcat MyApp_LoggingTag:V AndroidRuntime:E *:S");
startInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
startInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
startInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
// if you don't want to recreate it each time - choose another file mode, like FileMode.Append
using (var fs = new FileStream(#"C:\logcat.txt", FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write, FileShare.Read)) {
using (var writer = new StreamWriter(fs)) {
Process logcatRunner = new Process();
logcatRunner.StartInfo = startInfo;
logcatRunner.EnableRaisingEvents = true;
logcatRunner.OutputDataReceived += (sender, args) => {
// Data null indicates end of output stream - don't write it
if (args.Data != null) {
writer.Write(args.Data);
// flush immediately if needed
writer.Flush();
}
};
logcatRunner.Start();
logcatRunner.BeginOutputReadLine();
Console.WriteLine("Logging started, press any key to stop");
Console.ReadKey();
logcatRunner.CancelOutputRead();
logcatRunner.Kill();
logcatRunner.WaitForExit();
}
}

How to pass Ctrl+Enter command to Process when using C# StandardInput redirection

Im trying to make C# application that uses hunpos tagger.
Runing hunpos-tag.exe requires three input arguments: model, inputFile, outputFile
In cmd it would look something like this:
hunpos-tag.exe model <inputFile >outputFile
Although, hunpos-tag.exe can be run with just the model, at that point it'll wait for text input (from cmd) which is processed when the tagger receives Ctrl+Enter as input and the results are displayed through standard output. I've been trying to use StandardInput redirection in C# but I don't know how to send the Ctrl+Enter end command (Or if the redirection works at all). The code:
string inputFilePath = path + "\\CopyFolder\\rr";
string pathToExe = path + "\\CopyFolder\\hunpos-tag.exe";
ProcessStartInfo startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo
{
FileName = pathToExe,
UseShellExecute = false,
RedirectStandardInput = true,
WorkingDirectory = Directory.GetDirectoryRoot(pathToExe),
Arguments = path + "\\CopyFolder\\model.hunpos.mte5.defnpout",
};
try
{
Process _proc = new Process();
_proc.StartInfo.FileName = pathToExe;
_proc.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
_proc.StartInfo.RedirectStandardInput = true;
_proc.StartInfo.Arguments = path + "\\CopyFolder\\model.hunpos.mte5.defnpout";
_proc.Start();
var streamReader = new StreamReader(inputFilePath);
_proc.StandardInput.Write(streamReader.ReadToEnd());
_proc.StandardInput.Flush();
_proc.StandardInput.Close();
_proc.WaitForExit();
}
catch (Exception e)
{
Console.WriteLine(e);
}
When I run the following code the tagger has the following output:
model loaded
tagger compiled
Fatal error: exception Sys_error("Bad file description")
The exception is caused by the .Close() command. The file is valid and works when runned from cmd. Any ideas on how could I send the end command or how to emulate cmd command without using redirection?

It wouldn't work with input redirection so I managed it with running cmd procces and passing it the required command.
using (Process process = new Process())
{
process.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
process.StartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
process.StartInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;
process.StartInfo.WorkingDirectory = #"C:\";
process.StartInfo.FileName = Path.Combine(Environment.SystemDirectory, "cmd.exe");
// Redirects the standard input so that commands can be sent to the shell.
process.StartInfo.RedirectStandardInput = true;
// Runs the specified command and exits the shell immediately.
//process.StartInfo.Arguments = #"/c ""dir""";
process.OutputDataReceived += ProcessOutputDataHandler;
process.ErrorDataReceived += ProcessErrorDataHandler;
process.Start();
process.BeginOutputReadLine();
process.BeginErrorReadLine();
// Send a directory command and an exit command to the shell
process.StandardInput.WriteLine(path + "\\CopyFolder\\hunpos-tag.exe " + path + "\\CopyFolder\\model.hunpos.mte5.defnpout <" + path + "\\CopyFolder\\rr >" + path + "\\CopyFolder\\zz");
process.StandardInput.WriteLine("exit");
process.WaitForExit();
}

Write only the output from the console command

I'm trying to build a .net application that will run some console commands (like running phantomJs) and return me the outcome of the operations. But by default I'm getting everything from the starting of cmd.exe to closing it. Any ideas for a quick fix or do I need to play with regexes ?
Here's my code as for now :
System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo psi = new System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo("cmd.exe");
psi.UseShellExecute = false;
psi.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
psi.RedirectStandardInput = true;
psi.RedirectStandardError = true;
System.Diagnostics.Process proc = System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(psi);
System.IO.StreamReader sOut = proc.StandardOutput;
System.IO.StreamWriter sIn = proc.StandardInput;
sIn.WriteLine("phantomjs -v");
sIn.WriteLine("EXIT");
proc.Close();
string results = sOut.ReadToEnd().Trim();
sIn.Close();
sOut.Close();

PhantomJS is an executable (according to their docs) - why not execute that directly rather than running cmd.exe? That will avoid the cmd.exe noise.
Or redirect the output of phantomjs to a log file and load the log file.
Or if you absolutely have to use cmd.exe and can't redirect ... I'd maybe throw some echo sentinels around the phantomjs to serve as parse start/stop points.
e.g.,
echo PARSE START
runcommand.exe
echo PARSE STOP
But don't do that.

Instead of using the different streams. Why not use cmd as filename and pass it the -c "phantomjs -v" as argument. Then use proc.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd() to grab everything that is outputted in the console. This should leave out unneeded info as it only reads what the output of the executed command is.
Following code might not work, but should give you the general idea.
ProcessStartInfo psi = new ProcessStartInfo();
psi.FileName = "cmd";
psi.Arguments = "/c \"phantomjs -v\"";
psi.UseShellExecute = false;
psi.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
// Optional other options
Process proc = Process.Start(psi);
string output = proc.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
proc.WaitForExit();

If you are on an unix machine:
sIn.WriteLine("phantomjs -v > /dev/null");
Windows:
sIn.WriteLine("phantomjs -v > NUL");

I hope that the following would be helpful!
{
Process xyProcess = new Process();
xyProcess.StartInfo.FileName = "FilenameYouWant";
xyProcess.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
xyProcess.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
xyProcess.StartInfo.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;
xyProcess.StartInfo.RedirectStandardInput = true;
xyProcess.StartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
xyProcess.StartInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;
xyProcess.StartInfo.Arguments += "any arg1 you want ";
xyProcess.StartInfo.Arguments += "any arg2 you want ";
xyProcess.EnableRaisingEvents = true;
xyProcess.OutputDataReceived += process_DataReceived;
// Start the process
xyProcess.Start();
xyProcess.BeginErrorReadLine();
xyProcess.BeginOutputReadLine();
xyProcess.WaitForExit();
}
static private void process_DataReceived(object sender, DataReceivedEventArgs e)
{
//Catch the process response here
}

Executing Batch File in C#

I'm trying to execute a batch file in C#, but I'm not getting any luck doing it.
I've found multiple examples on the Internet doing it, but it is not working for me.
public void ExecuteCommand(string command)
{
int ExitCode;
ProcessStartInfo ProcessInfo;
Process Process;
ProcessInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("cmd.exe", "/c " + command);
ProcessInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
ProcessInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
Process = Process.Start(ProcessInfo);
Process.WaitForExit();
ExitCode = Process.ExitCode;
Process.Close();
MessageBox.Show("ExitCode: " + ExitCode.ToString(), "ExecuteCommand");
}
The command string contains the name of the batch file (stored in system32) and some files it should manipulate. (Example: txtmanipulator file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt). When I execute the batch file manually, it works correctly.
When executing the code, it gives me an **ExitCode: 1** (Catch all for general errors)
What am I doing wrong?

This should work. You could try to dump out the contents of the output and error streams in order to find out what's happening:
static void ExecuteCommand(string command)
{
int exitCode;
ProcessStartInfo processInfo;
Process process;
processInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("cmd.exe", "/c " + command);
processInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
processInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
// *** Redirect the output ***
processInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;
processInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
process = Process.Start(processInfo);
process.WaitForExit();
// *** Read the streams ***
// Warning: This approach can lead to deadlocks, see Edit #2
string output = process.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
string error = process.StandardError.ReadToEnd();
exitCode = process.ExitCode;
Console.WriteLine("output>>" + (String.IsNullOrEmpty(output) ? "(none)" : output));
Console.WriteLine("error>>" + (String.IsNullOrEmpty(error) ? "(none)" : error));
Console.WriteLine("ExitCode: " + exitCode.ToString(), "ExecuteCommand");
process.Close();
}
static void Main()
{
ExecuteCommand("echo testing");
}
* EDIT *
Given the extra information in your comment below, I was able to recreate the problem. There seems to be some security setting that results in this behaviour (haven't investigated that in detail).
This does work if the batch file is not located in C:\Windows\System32. Try moving it to some other location, e.g. the location of your executable. Note that keeping custom batch files or executables in the Windows directory is bad practice anyway.
* EDIT 2 *
It turns out that if the streams are read synchronously, a deadlock can occur, either by reading synchronously before WaitForExit or by reading both stderr and stdout synchronously one after the other.
This should not happen if using the asynchronous read methods instead, as in the following example:
static void ExecuteCommand(string command)
{
var processInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("cmd.exe", "/c " + command);
processInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
processInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
processInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;
processInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
var process = Process.Start(processInfo);
process.OutputDataReceived += (object sender, DataReceivedEventArgs e) =>
Console.WriteLine("output>>" + e.Data);
process.BeginOutputReadLine();
process.ErrorDataReceived += (object sender, DataReceivedEventArgs e) =>
Console.WriteLine("error>>" + e.Data);
process.BeginErrorReadLine();
process.WaitForExit();
Console.WriteLine("ExitCode: {0}", process.ExitCode);
process.Close();
}

System.Diagnostics.Process.Start("c:\\batchfilename.bat");
this simple line will execute the batch file.

After some great help from steinar this is what worked for me:
public void ExecuteCommand(string command)
{
int ExitCode;
ProcessStartInfo ProcessInfo;
Process process;
ProcessInfo = new ProcessStartInfo(Application.StartupPath + "\\txtmanipulator\\txtmanipulator.bat", command);
ProcessInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
ProcessInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
ProcessInfo.WorkingDirectory = Application.StartupPath + "\\txtmanipulator";
// *** Redirect the output ***
ProcessInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;
ProcessInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
process = Process.Start(ProcessInfo);
process.WaitForExit();
// *** Read the streams ***
string output = process.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
string error = process.StandardError.ReadToEnd();
ExitCode = process.ExitCode;
MessageBox.Show("output>>" + (String.IsNullOrEmpty(output) ? "(none)" : output));
MessageBox.Show("error>>" + (String.IsNullOrEmpty(error) ? "(none)" : error));
MessageBox.Show("ExitCode: " + ExitCode.ToString(), "ExecuteCommand");
process.Close();
}

It works fine. I tested it like this:
String command = #"C:\Doit.bat";
ProcessInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("cmd.exe", "/c " + command);
// ProcessInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
I commented out turning off the window so I could SEE it run.

Here is sample c# code that are sending 2 parameters to a bat/cmd file for answer this question.
Comment: how can I pass parameters and read a result of command execution?
/by #Janatbek Sharsheyev
Option 1 : Without hiding the console window, passing arguments and without getting the outputs
This is an edit from this answer /by #Brian Rasmussen
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
namespace ConsoleApplication
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(#"c:\batchfilename.bat", "\"1st\" \"2nd\"");
}
}
}
Option 2 : Hiding the console window, passing arguments and taking outputs
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
namespace ConsoleApplication
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var process = new Process();
var startinfo = new ProcessStartInfo(#"c:\batchfilename.bat", "\"1st_arg\" \"2nd_arg\" \"3rd_arg\"");
startinfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
startinfo.UseShellExecute = false;
process.StartInfo = startinfo;
process.OutputDataReceived += (sender, argsx) => Console.WriteLine(argsx.Data); // do whatever processing you need to do in this handler
process.Start();
process.BeginOutputReadLine();
process.WaitForExit();
}
}
}
// C# decode bat file and run passing arguments: // edit 01/2022
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;
using System.Diagnostics;
namespace ConsoleApplication
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
String encodedString = #"QGVjaG8gb2ZmIAoKc2V0ICJ4PUZvbGRlciIKeGNvcHkgL3kgL3YgL2UgLlw
iJXglIlwqIFxcMTAuMC4wLjIwMFxkXAoKZm9yICUleSBpbiAoMjAyLDIwMy
wyMDQsMjA1KWRvICgKICAgICBuZXQgdXNlIFxcMTAuMC4wLiUlfnlcZSAiJ
X4xIiAvdXNlcjoiJX4yIgogICAgIGVjaG9cQ29weWluZyBmaWxlcyB0byBc
XDEwLjAuMC4lJX55XGVcCiAgICAgeGNvcHkgL3kgL3YgL2UgLlwiJXglIlw
qIFxcMTAuMC4wLiUlfnlcZVwKICAgICk=";
File.WriteAllBytes(#"z:\batchfilename.bat", Convert.FromBase64String(encodedString));
System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(#"z:\batchfilename.bat", "\"PassWord1\" \"User1\"");
}
}
}
/* bat file decoded:
#echo off
set "x=Folder"
xcopy /y /v /e .\"%x%"\* \\10.0.0.200\d\
for %%y in (202,203,204,205)do (
net use \\10.0.0.%%~y\e "%~1" /user:"%~2"
echo\Copying files to \\10.0.0.%%~y\e\
xcopy /y /v /e .\"%x%"\* \\10.0.0.%%~y\e\
)
Execute bat:
#"z:\batchfilename.bat", "\"PassWord1\" \"User1\""
Bat argument:
Argument %1 == PassWord1 Argument %2 == User1
*/
1. Create your bat and test it as much as possible
2. Convert the code to base64
3. Defines a variable in your code with the base64 strings
4. Decode at runtime to a pre-defined and proper location for execution
5. Call the bat execution on the path where it was decodes
6. If necessary, pass your arguments

Below code worked fine for me
using System.Diagnostics;
public void ExecuteBatFile()
{
Process proc = null;
string _batDir = string.Format(#"C:\");
proc = new Process();
proc.StartInfo.WorkingDirectory = _batDir;
proc.StartInfo.FileName = "myfile.bat";
proc.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = false;
proc.Start();
proc.WaitForExit();
ExitCode = proc.ExitCode;
proc.Close();
MessageBox.Show("Bat file executed...");
}

using System.Diagnostics;
private void ExecuteBatFile()
{
Process proc = null;
try
{
string targetDir = string.Format(#"D:\mydir"); //this is where mybatch.bat lies
proc = new Process();
proc.StartInfo.WorkingDirectory = targetDir;
proc.StartInfo.FileName = "lorenzo.bat";
proc.StartInfo.Arguments = string.Format("10"); //this is argument
proc.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = false;
proc.StartInfo.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden; //this is for hiding the cmd window...so execution will happen in back ground.
proc.Start();
proc.WaitForExit();
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
Console.WriteLine("Exception Occurred :{0},{1}", ex.Message, ex.StackTrace.ToString());
}
}

Have you tried starting it as an administrator? Start Visual Studio as an administrator if you use it, because working with .bat files requires those privileges.

With previously proposed solutions, I have struggled to get multiple npm commands executed in a loop and get all outputs on the console window.
It finally started to work after I have combined everything from the previous comments, but rearranged the code execution flow.
What I have noticed is that event subscribing was done too late (after the process has already started) and therefore some outputs were not captured.
The code below now does the following:
Subscribes to the events, before the process has started,
therefore ensuring that no output is missed.
Begins reading from outputs as soon as the process is started.
The code has been tested against the deadlocks, although it is synchronous (one process execution at the time) so I cannot guarantee what would happen if this was run in parallel.
static void RunCommand(string command, string workingDirectory)
{
Process process = new Process
{
StartInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("cmd.exe", $"/c {command}")
{
WorkingDirectory = workingDirectory,
CreateNoWindow = true,
UseShellExecute = false,
RedirectStandardError = true,
RedirectStandardOutput = true
}
};
process.OutputDataReceived += (object sender, DataReceivedEventArgs e) => Console.WriteLine("output :: " + e.Data);
process.ErrorDataReceived += (object sender, DataReceivedEventArgs e) => Console.WriteLine("error :: " + e.Data);
process.Start();
process.BeginOutputReadLine();
process.BeginErrorReadLine();
process.WaitForExit();
Console.WriteLine("ExitCode: {0}", process.ExitCode);
process.Close();
}

I wanted something that was more directly usable without organization-specific hard-coded string values in it. I offer the following as a directly reusable chunk of code. The minor downside is needing to determine and pass the working folder when making the call.
public static void ExecuteCommand(string command, string workingFolder)
{
int ExitCode;
ProcessStartInfo ProcessInfo;
Process process;
ProcessInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("cmd.exe", "/c " + command);
ProcessInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
ProcessInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
ProcessInfo.WorkingDirectory = workingFolder;
// *** Redirect the output ***
ProcessInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;
ProcessInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
process = Process.Start(ProcessInfo);
process.WaitForExit();
// *** Read the streams ***
string output = process.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
string error = process.StandardError.ReadToEnd();
ExitCode = process.ExitCode;
MessageBox.Show("output>>" + (String.IsNullOrEmpty(output) ? "(none)" : output));
MessageBox.Show("error>>" + (String.IsNullOrEmpty(error) ? "(none)" : error));
MessageBox.Show("ExitCode: " + ExitCode.ToString(), "ExecuteCommand");
process.Close();
}
Called like this:
// This will get the current WORKING directory (i.e. \bin\Debug)
string workingDirectory = Environment.CurrentDirectory;
// This will get the current PROJECT directory
string projectDirectory = Directory.GetParent(workingDirectory).Parent.FullName;
string commandToExecute = Path.Combine(projectDirectory, "TestSetup", "WreckersTestSetupQA.bat");
string workingFolder = Path.GetDirectoryName(commandToExecute);
commandToExecute = QuotesAround(commandToExecute);
ExecuteCommand(commandToExecute, workingFolder);
In this example, from within Visual Studio 2017, as part of a test run, I want to run an environment reset batch file before executing some tests. (SpecFlow+xUnit). I got tired of extra steps for manually running the bat file separately, and wanted to just run the bat file as part of the C# test setup code. The environment reset batch file moves test case files back into the input folder, cleans up output folders, etc. to get to the proper test starting state for testing. The QuotesAround method simply puts quotes around the command line in case there are spaces in folder names ("Program Files", anyone?). All that's in it is this: private string QuotesAround(string input) {return "\"" + input + "\"";}
Hope some find this useful and save a few minutes if your scenario is similar to mine.

System.Diagnostics.Process.Start(BatchFileName, Parameters);
I know this will work for batch file and parameters, but no ideas how to get the results in C#.
Usually, the outputs are defined in the batch file.

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