Top-level statements - programs without Main methods

You don't have to explicitly include a Main method in a console application project. Instead, you can use the top-level statements feature to minimize the code you have to write.

Top-level statements allow you to write executable code directly at the root of a file, eliminating the need for wrapping your code in a class or method. This means you can create programs without the ceremony of a Program class and a Main method. In this case, the compiler generates a Program class with an entry point method for the application. The name of the generated method isn't Main, it's an implementation detail that your code can't reference directly.

Here's a Program.cs file that is a complete C# program:

Console.WriteLine("Hello World!");

Top-level statements let you write simple programs for small utilities such as Azure Functions and GitHub Actions. They also make it simpler for new C# programmers to get started learning and writing code.

The following sections explain the rules on what you can and can't do with top-level statements.

Only one top-level file

An application must have only one entry point. A project can have only one file with top-level statements. Putting top-level statements in more than one file in a project results in the following compiler error:

CS8802 Only one compilation unit can have top-level statements.

A project can have any number of source code files that don't have top-level statements.

No other entry points

You can explicitly write a Main method, but it can't function as an entry point. The compiler issues the following warning:

CS7022 The entry point of the program is global code; ignoring 'Main()' entry point.

In a project with top-level statements, you can't use the -main compiler option to select the entry point, even if the project has one or more Main methods.

using directives

For the single file containing top-level statements, using directives must come first in that file, as in this example:

using System.Text;

StringBuilder builder = new();
builder.AppendLine("The following arguments are passed:");

foreach (var arg in args)
{
    builder.AppendLine($"Argument={arg}");
}

Console.WriteLine(builder.ToString());

return 0;

Global namespace

Top-level statements are implicitly in the global namespace.

Namespaces and type definitions

A file with top-level statements can also contain namespaces and type definitions, but they must come after the top-level statements. For example:

MyClass.TestMethod();
MyNamespace.MyClass.MyMethod();

public class MyClass
{
    public static void TestMethod()
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Hello World!");
    }
}

namespace MyNamespace
{
    class MyClass
    {
        public static void MyMethod()
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Hello World from MyNamespace.MyClass.MyMethod!");
        }
    }
}

args

Top-level statements can reference the args variable to access any command-line arguments that were entered. The args variable is never null but its Length is zero if no command-line arguments were provided. For example:

if (args.Length > 0)
{
    foreach (var arg in args)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Argument={arg}");
    }
}
else
{
    Console.WriteLine("No arguments");
}

await

Use await to call an async method. For example:

Console.Write("Hello ");
await Task.Delay(5000);
Console.WriteLine("World!");

Exit code for the process

To return an int value when the application ends, use the return statement as you would in a Main method that returns an int. For example:

string? s = Console.ReadLine();

int returnValue = int.Parse(s ?? "-1");
return returnValue;

Implicit entry point method

The compiler generates a method to serve as the program entry point for a project with top-level statements. The signature of the method depends on whether the top-level statements contain the await keyword or the return statement. The following table shows what the method signature looks like, using the method name Main in the table for convenience.

Top-level code contains	Implicit Main signature
await and return	static async Task<int> Main(string[] args)
await	static async Task Main(string[] args)
return	static int Main(string[] args)
No await or return	static void Main(string[] args)

Starting with C# 14, programs can be file-based apps, where a single file contains the program. You run file-based apps by using the command dotnet <file.cs>, or by using the #!/usr/bin/env dotnet directive as the first line (Unix shells only).

C# language specification

For more information, see the C# Language Specification. The language specification is the definitive source for C# syntax and usage.

Feature specification - Top-level statements