Table of Contents

Getting started

Install

For a typical .NET 8 / 9 / 10 console app:

dotnet add package Tharga.Console

If you only need the cross-platform core (no ClientConsole, no startup commands) — e.g. in a netstandard2.0 library or test project — use Tharga.Console.Standard instead:

dotnet add package Tharga.Console.Standard

For voice input, add Tharga.Console.Speech on top of Tharga.Console:

dotnet add package Tharga.Console.Speech

Namespaces

The core types live across three small namespaces — import them all at the top of Program.cs:

using Tharga.Console;
using Tharga.Console.Commands;
using Tharga.Console.Consoles;
  • Tharga.Console — CommandEngine, the program entry point.
  • Tharga.Console.Commands — RootCommand, RootCommandIoc, and the command base classes.
  • Tharga.Console.Consoles — ClientConsole and friends.

Minimal example

The smallest useful program is three lines: a ClientConsole, a RootCommand, and a CommandEngine. Top-level statements work fine:

using Tharga.Console;
using Tharga.Console.Commands;
using Tharga.Console.Consoles;

using var console = new ClientConsole();
var command = new RootCommand(console);
var engine = new CommandEngine(command);
engine.Start(args);

Run it and you get an interactive prompt with the built-in commands (help, screen, startup, posh, etc.). Type help to see them.

Add your own command

Inherit from ActionCommandBase for a leaf command:

public class HelloCommand : ActionCommandBase
{
    public HelloCommand() : base("hello", "Says hello.") {}

    public override void Invoke(string[] param)
    {
        OutputInformation("Hello!");
    }
}

Register it on the root command before starting the engine:

using var console = new ClientConsole();
var command = new RootCommand(console);
command.RegisterCommand(new HelloCommand());
var engine = new CommandEngine(command);
engine.Start(args);

Typing hello at the prompt now writes Hello!.

Pass parameters via the command line

engine.Start(args) accepts the host process's args. You can run a single command without entering interactive mode by passing it directly:

MyApp.exe hello

To run a command and keep the interactive prompt open, append /c:

MyApp.exe "hello" /c

Next steps

  • Commands — container / action / async command base classes, naming, visibility.
  • Consoles — the IConsole abstraction and the built-in console types.
  • Dependency injection — use Microsoft.Extensions.DI or Castle Windsor to resolve your commands.
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