What's the best way to get the full path and filename of the invoked executable in c#?

Question

Given the following code:

using System;

namespace Sandbox
{
   class CommandLine
   {
      static void Main()
      {
         String[] args = Environment.GetCommandLineArgs();
         String executable = args[0];
         String[] paramList = getParamList(args);

         System.Console.WriteLine("Directory ....... {0}", Environment.CurrentDirectory);
         System.Console.WriteLine("Executable ...... {0}", args[0]);
         System.Console.WriteLine("Params .......... {0}", String.Join(", ", paramList));
      }

      private static String[] getParamList(String[] args)
      {
         String[] paramList = new String[args.Length - 1];

         for (int i = 1; i < args.Length; i++) 
         {
            int j = i - 1;
            paramList[j] = args[i];
         }

         return paramList;
      }
   }
}

... Saved as commandline.cs and csc’d to commandline.exe

I’d like to get the full path and filename of the execuatable being invoked. This code almost does it, however it’s not 100% accurate:

if I call it as commandline.exe foo bar baz from the same directory; all is well
if I call it as commandline foo bar baz from the same directory, I only get the filename sans extension; not what I want
if I call it as sandbox\commandline foo bar baz from the parent directory; I get the relative path and partial filename

I'm sure there's a much easier way of getting the full path and filename of the executable other than string manipulation, right?

.Net is a vast framework indeed. – Mike G Jul 26 '11 at 14:13 — Mike G, Jul 26 '11 at 14:13

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 26 '11 at 13:49

2

Application.ExecutablePath.

Note that this requires a reference to system.windows.forms.

answered Jul 26 '11 at 13:49

George Duckett

31,770
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score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 09:58

1

That will be

System.Diagnostics.Process.GetCurrentProcess().MainModule.FileName

Be aware, though, that when running your application from within Visual Studio, this will most likely return full path to a vshost file.

edited May 23 '17 at 09:58

Community

1
1

answered Jul 26 '11 at 13:47

Anton Gogolev

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score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 26 '11 at 13:47

1

use Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().CodeBase

answered Jul 26 '11 at 13:47

Yahia

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score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 10 '12 at 12:29

This is what we use. Seems to work from Console, WinForms, and WPF apps running from Visual Studio or standalone.

System.Reflection.Assembly entryAssembly = 
    System.Reflection.Assembly.GetEntryAssembly();
string applicationPath = entryAssembly != null ? entryAssembly.Location :
    System.Diagnostics.Process.GetCurrentProcess().MainModule.FileName;
string applicationDirectory = Path.GetDirectoryName(applicationPath);

score 0 · Answer 5 · edited Dec 15 '11 at 04:14

0

Path.GetDirectoryName(System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly(‌).Location)

edited Dec 15 '11 at 04:14

animuson

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answered Jul 26 '11 at 13:49

Haris Hasan

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score 0 · Answer 6 · edited Dec 15 '11 at 03:17

0

string path = System.Windows.Forms.Application.ExecutablePath;

edited Dec 15 '11 at 03:17

animuson

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answered Jul 26 '11 at 13:50

TreDubZedd

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score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Jul 26 '11 at 13:53

System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetName().CodeBase;

Application.ExecutablePath will give you path of the application that executed your code. For instance app that called your dll. The line above provides you full path to your app.

You can read more at: HOW TO: Determine the Executing Application's Path

What's the best way to get the full path and filename of the invoked executable in c#?

7 Answers7