ProcessStartInfo.Arguments Property

Definition

Namespace:

System.Diagnostics

Assembly:

System.Diagnostics.Process.dll

Source:

ProcessStartInfo.cs

Gets or sets the set of command-line arguments to use when starting the application.

public:
 property System::String ^ Arguments { System::String ^ get(); void set(System::String ^ value); };

public string Arguments { get; set; }

member this.Arguments : string with get, set

Public Property Arguments As String

Property Value

String

A single string containing the arguments to pass to the target application specified in the FileName property. The default is an empty string ("").

Examples

The first example creates a small application (argsecho.exe) that echos its arguments to the console. The second example creates an application that invokes argsecho.exe to demonstrate different variations for the Arguments property.

// Place this code into a console project called ArgsEcho to build the argsecho.exe target

using namespace System;

int main(array<System::String ^> ^args)
{
    Console::WriteLine("Received the following arguments:\n");

    for (int i = 0; i < args->Length; i++)
    {
        Console::WriteLine("[" + i + "] = " + args[i]);
    }

    Console::WriteLine("\nPress any key to exit");
    Console::ReadLine();
    return 0;
}

// Place this code into a console project called ArgsEcho to build the argsecho.exe target

using System;

namespace StartArgs
{
    class ArgsEcho
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Received the following arguments:\n");

            for (var i = 0; i < args.Length; i++)
            {
                Console.WriteLine($"[{i}] = {args[i]}");
            }

            Console.WriteLine("\nPress any key to exit");
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
    }
}

' Place this code into a console project called ArgsEcho to build the argsecho.exe target

Module Module1
    Sub Main()
        Dim i As Integer = 0

        For Each s As String In My.Application.CommandLineArgs
            Console.WriteLine($"[{i}] = {s}")
            i = i + 1
        Next

        Console.WriteLine(Environment.NewLine + "Press any key to exit")
        Console.ReadLine()
    End Sub
End Module

// Place the following code into a console project called StartArgsEcho. It depends on the
// console application named argsecho.exe.

using namespace System;
using namespace System::Diagnostics;

int main()
{
    ProcessStartInfo^ startInfo = gcnew ProcessStartInfo("argsecho.exe");
    startInfo->WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle::Normal;

    // Start with one argument.
    // Output of ArgsEcho:
    //  [0]=/a            
    startInfo->Arguments = "/a";
    Process::Start(startInfo);

    // Start with multiple arguments separated by spaces.
    // Output of ArgsEcho:
    //  [0] = /a
    //  [1] = /b
    //  [2] = c:\temp
    startInfo->Arguments = "/a /b c:\\temp";
    Process::Start(startInfo);

    // An argument with spaces inside quotes is interpreted as multiple arguments.
    // Output of ArgsEcho:
    //  [0] = /a
    //  [1] = literal string arg
    startInfo->Arguments = "/a \"literal string arg\"";
    Process::Start(startInfo);

    // An argument inside double quotes is interpreted as if the quote weren't there,
    // that is, as separate arguments. 
    // Output of ArgsEcho:
    //  [0] = /a
    //  [1] = /b:string
    //  [2] = in
    //  [3] = double
    //  [4] = quotes
    startInfo->Arguments = "/a /b:\"\"string in double quotes\"\"";
    Process::Start(startInfo);

    // Triple-escape quotation marks to include the character in the final argument received
    // by the target process.
    //  [0] = /a
    //  [1] = /b:"quoted string"
    startInfo->Arguments = "/a /b:\"\"\"quoted string\"\"\"";
    Process::Start(startInfo);

    return 0;
}

// Place this code into a console project called StartArgsEcho. It depends on the
// console application named argsecho.exe.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Diagnostics;

namespace StartArgsEcho
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main()
        {
            ProcessStartInfo startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("argsecho.exe");
            startInfo.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Normal;

            // Start with one argument.
            // Output of ArgsEcho:
            //  [0]=/a
            startInfo.Arguments = "/a";
            Process.Start(startInfo);

            // Start with multiple arguments separated by spaces.
            // Output of ArgsEcho:
            //  [0] = /a
            //  [1] = /b
            //  [2] = c:\temp
            startInfo.Arguments = "/a /b c:\\temp";
            Process.Start(startInfo);

            // An argument with spaces inside quotes is interpreted as multiple arguments.
            // Output of ArgsEcho:
            //  [0] = /a
            //  [1] = literal string arg
            startInfo.Arguments = "/a \"literal string arg\"";
            Process.Start(startInfo);

            // An argument inside double quotes is interpreted as if the quote weren't there,
            // that is, as separate arguments. Equivalent verbatim string is @"/a /b:""string with quotes"""
            // Output of ArgsEcho:
            //  [0] = /a
            //  [1] = /b:string
            //  [2] = in
            //  [3] = double
            //  [4] = quotes
            startInfo.Arguments = "/a /b:\"\"string in double quotes\"\"";
            Process.Start(startInfo);

            // Triple-escape quotation marks to include the character in the final argument received
            // by the target process. Equivalent verbatim string: @"/a /b:""""""quoted string""""""";
            //  [0] = /a
            //  [1] = /b:"quoted string"
            startInfo.Arguments = "/a /b:\"\"\"quoted string\"\"\"";
            Process.Start(startInfo);
        }
    }
}

' Place this code into a console project called StartArgsEcho. It depends on the
' console application named argsecho.exe.

Module Module1
    Sub Main()
        Dim startInfo As ProcessStartInfo = New ProcessStartInfo("argsecho.exe")
        startInfo.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Normal

        ' Start with one argument.
        ' Output of ArgsEcho:
        '  [0]=/a            
        startInfo.Arguments = "/a"
        Process.Start(startInfo)

        ' Start with multiple arguments separated by spaces.
        ' Output of ArgsEcho:
        '  [0] = /a
        '  [1] = /b
        '  [2] = c:\temp
        startInfo.Arguments = "/a /b c:\temp"
        Process.Start(startInfo)

        ' An argument with spaces inside quotes is interpreted as multiple arguments.
        ' Output of ArgsEcho:
        '  [0] = /a
        '  [1] = literal string arg
        startInfo.Arguments = "/a ""literal string arg"" "
        Process.Start(startInfo)

        ' An argument inside double quotes is interpreted as if the quote weren't there,
        ' that is, as separate arguments.
        ' Output of ArgsEcho:
        '  [0] = /a
        '  [1] = /b:string
        '  [2] = in
        '  [3] = double
        '  [4] = quotes
        startInfo.Arguments = "/a /b:""""string in double quotes"""" "
        Process.Start(startInfo)

        ' Triple-escape quotation marks to include the character in the final argument received
        ' by the target process. 
        '  [0] = /a
        '  [1] = /b:"quoted string"
        startInfo.Arguments = "/a /b:""""""quoted string"""""" "
        Process.Start(startInfo)
    End Sub
End Module

Remarks

The length of the string assigned to the Arguments property must be less than 32,699.

Arguments are parsed and interpreted by the target application, so must align with the expectations of that application. For .NET applications as demonstrated in the Examples below, spaces are interpreted as a separator between multiple arguments. A single argument that includes spaces must be surrounded by quotation marks, but those quotation marks are not carried through to the target application. To include quotation marks in the final parsed argument, triple-escape each mark. If you use this property to set command-line arguments, ArgumentList must not contain any elements.

Arguments and ArgumentList, which is supported starting with .NET Core 2.1 and .NET Standard 2.1, are independent of one another. That is, the string assigned to the Arguments property does not populate the ArgumentList collection, and the members of the ArgumentList collection are not assigned to the Arguments property.

Important

Using an instance of this object with untrusted data is a security risk. Use this object only with trusted data. For more information, see Validate All Inputs.