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 allows 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 in C# 10:
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 additional source code files that don't have top-level statements.
No other entry points
You can write a Main
method explicitly, 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
If you include using
directives, they must come first in the file, as in this example:
using System.Text;
StringBuilder builder = new();
builder.AppendLine("The following arguments are passed:");
// Display the command line arguments using the args variable.
foreach (var arg in args)
{
builder.AppendLine($"Argument={arg}");
}
Console.WriteLine(builder.ToString());
// Return a success code.
return 0;
Global namespace
Top-level statements are implicitly in the global namespace.
Namespaces and type definitions
A file with top-level statements can also contain namespaces and type definitions, but they must come after the top-level statements. For example:
MyClass.TestMethod();
MyNamespace.MyClass.MyMethod();
public class MyClass
{
public static void TestMethod()
{
Console.WriteLine("Hello World!");
}
}
namespace MyNamespace
{
class MyClass
{
public static void MyMethod()
{
Console.WriteLine("Hello World from MyNamespace.MyClass.MyMethod!");
}
}
}
args
Top-level statements can reference the args
variable to access any command-line arguments that were entered. The args
variable is never null but its Length
is zero if no command-line arguments were provided. For example:
if (args.Length > 0)
{
foreach (var arg in args)
{
Console.WriteLine($"Argument={arg}");
}
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine("No arguments");
}
await
You can call an async method by using await
. 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 would look 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) |
C# language specification
For more information, see the C# Language Specification. The language specification is the definitive source for C# syntax and usage.