How do I run a Python script from C#?

Question

This sort of question has been asked before in varying degrees, but I feel it has not been answered in a concise way and so I ask it again.

I want to run a script in Python. Let's say it's this:

if __name__ == '__main__':
    with open(sys.argv[1], 'r') as f:
        s = f.read()
    print s

Which gets a file location, reads it, then prints its contents. Not so complicated.

Okay, so how do I run this in C#?

This is what I have now:

    private void run_cmd(string cmd, string args)
    {
        ProcessStartInfo start = new ProcessStartInfo();
        start.FileName = cmd;
        start.Arguments = args;
        start.UseShellExecute = false;
        start.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
        using (Process process = Process.Start(start))
        {
            using (StreamReader reader = process.StandardOutput)
            {
                string result = reader.ReadToEnd();
                Console.Write(result);
            }
        }
    }

When I pass the code.py location as cmd and the filename location as args it doesn't work. I was told I should pass python.exe as the cmd, and then code.py filename as the args.

I have been looking for a while now and can only find people suggesting to use IronPython or such. But there must be a way to call a Python script from C#.

Some clarification:

I need to run it from C#, I need to capture the output, and I can't use IronPython or anything else. Whatever hack you have will be fine.

P.S.: The actual Python code I'm running is much more complex than this, and it returns output which I need in C#, and the C# code will be constantly calling the Python code.

Pretend this is my code:

    private void get_vals()
    {
        for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++)
        {
            run_cmd("code.py", i);
        }
    }

Answer 1

The reason it isn't working is because you have UseShellExecute = false.

If you don't use the shell, you will have to supply the complete path to the python executable as FileName, and build the Arguments string to supply both your script and the file you want to read.

Also note, that you can't RedirectStandardOutput unless UseShellExecute = false.

I'm not quite sure how the argument string should be formatted for python, but you will need something like this:

private void run_cmd(string cmd, string args)
{
     ProcessStartInfo start = new ProcessStartInfo();
     start.FileName = "my/full/path/to/python.exe";
     start.Arguments = string.Format("{0} {1}", cmd, args);
     start.UseShellExecute = false;
     start.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
     using(Process process = Process.Start(start))
     {
         using(StreamReader reader = process.StandardOutput)
         {
             string result = reader.ReadToEnd();
             Console.Write(result);
         }
     }
}

Answer 2

If you're willing to use IronPython, you can execute scripts directly in C#:

using IronPython.Hosting;
using Microsoft.Scripting.Hosting;

private static void doPython()
{
    ScriptEngine engine = Python.CreateEngine();
    engine.ExecuteFile(@"test.py");
}

Get IronPython here.

Answer 3

Execute Python script from C

Create a C# project and write the following code.

using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.IO;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Windows.Forms;
namespace WindowsFormsApplication1
{
    public partial class Form1 : Form
    {
        public Form1()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }

        private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            run_cmd();
        }

        private void run_cmd()
        {

            string fileName = @"C:\sample_script.py";

            Process p = new Process();
            p.StartInfo = new ProcessStartInfo(@"C:\Python27\python.exe", fileName)
            {
                RedirectStandardOutput = true,
                UseShellExecute = false,
                CreateNoWindow = true
            };
            p.Start();

            string output = p.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
            p.WaitForExit();

            Console.WriteLine(output);

            Console.ReadLine();

        }
    }
}

Python sample_script

print "Python C# Test"

You will see the 'Python C# Test' in the console of C#.

Answer 4

I ran into the same problem and Master Morality's answer didn't do it for me. The following, which is based on the previous answer, worked:

private void run_cmd(string cmd, string args)
{
 ProcessStartInfo start = new ProcessStartInfo();
 start.FileName = cmd;//cmd is full path to python.exe
 start.Arguments = args;//args is path to .py file and any cmd line args
 start.UseShellExecute = false;
 start.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
 using(Process process = Process.Start(start))
 {
     using(StreamReader reader = process.StandardOutput)
     {
         string result = reader.ReadToEnd();
         Console.Write(result);
     }
 }
}

As an example, cmd would be @C:/Python26/python.exe and args would be C://Python26//test.py 100 if you wanted to execute test.py with cmd line argument 100. Note that the path the .py file does not have the @ symbol.

Answer 5

Actually its pretty easy to make integration between Csharp (VS) and Python with IronPython. It's not that much complex... As Chris Dunaway already said in answer section I started to build this inegration for my own project. N its pretty simple. Just follow these steps N you will get your results.

step 1 : Open VS and create new empty ConsoleApp project.

step 2 : Go to tools --> NuGet Package Manager --> Package Manager Console.

step 3 : After this open this link in your browser and copy the NuGet Command. Link: https://www.nuget.org/packages/IronPython/2.7.9

step 4 : After opening the above link copy the PM>Install-Package IronPython -Version 2.7.9 command and paste it in NuGet Console in VS. It will install the supportive packages.

step 5 : This is my code that I have used to run a .py file stored in my Python.exe directory.

using IronPython.Hosting;//for DLHE
using Microsoft.Scripting.Hosting;//provides scripting abilities comparable to batch files
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.IO;
using System.Net;
using System.Net.Sockets;
class Hi
{
private static void Main(string []args)
{
Process process = new Process(); //to make a process call
ScriptEngine engine = Python.CreateEngine(); //For Engine to initiate the script
engine.ExecuteFile(@"C:\Users\daulmalik\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python37\p1.py");//Path of my .py file that I would like to see running in console after running my .cs file from VS.//process.StandardInput.Flush();
process.StandardInput.Close();//to close
process.WaitForExit();//to hold the process i.e. cmd screen as output
}
} 

step 6 : save and execute the code

Answer 6

Set WorkingDirectory or specify the full path of the python script in the Argument

ProcessStartInfo start = new ProcessStartInfo();
start.FileName = "C:\\Python27\\python.exe";
//start.WorkingDirectory = @"D:\script";
start.Arguments = string.Format("D:\\script\\test.py -a {0} -b {1} ", "some param", "some other param");
start.UseShellExecute = false;
start.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
using (Process process = Process.Start(start))
{
    using (StreamReader reader = process.StandardOutput)
    {
        string result = reader.ReadToEnd();
        Console.Write(result);
    }
}

Answer 7

I had the same issue and used answers on here to solve it using a process. I had conflicts between my .NET and IronPython so wasn't successful there. This works well with my python 3.10.

    public void Run_cmd2(string exe, string args, string output )
    {
        var outputStream = new StreamWriter(output);
        // create a process with the name provided by the 'exe' variable 
        Process cmd = new Process();
        cmd.StartInfo.FileName = exe;
        //define you preference on the window and input/output 
        cmd.StartInfo.RedirectStandardInput = true;
        cmd.StartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
        cmd.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
        cmd.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
        // write the output to file created 
        cmd.OutputDataReceived += new DataReceivedEventHandler((sender, e) =>
        {
            if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(e.Data))
            {
                outputStream.WriteLine(e.Data);
            }
        });
        cmd.Start();
        // write to the console you opened. In this case for example the python console 
        cmd.StandardInput.WriteLine(args);
        //Read the output and close everything. make sure you wait till the end of the process 
        cmd.BeginOutputReadLine();
        cmd.StandardInput.Flush();
        cmd.StandardInput.Close();
        cmd.WaitForExit();
        //close the process. writing to debug helps when coding
        outputStream.Close();
        //Console.WriteLine(cmd.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd()); 
        cmd.Close();
        Debug.WriteLine("\n\n Process done!");
        //Console.ReadLine();
    }

Example call:

string pythonEngine = "C:\ProgramData\Anaconda3\envs\compVision\python.exe";

string pythonArguements = "import os ; os.chdir('C:\YourPath\excelWorkbooks') ; import testSearch ; testSearch.performAdd(2, 3)";

// here a function in testSearch.py is called. To run the .py directly do this:

string pythonArguements = "import os ; os.chdir('C:\YourPath\excelWorkbooks') ; import testSearch ; testSearch.py";

outFile = "C:\YourPath\output.txt";

_yourModuleName.Run_cmd2(pythonEngine, pythonArguements, outFile);

Answer 8

I am having problems with stdin/stout - when payload size exceeds several kilobytes it hangs. I need to call Python functions not only with some short arguments, but with a custom payload that could be big.

A while ago, I wrote a virtual actor library that allows to distribute task on different machines via Redis. To call Python code, I added functionality to listen for messages from Python, process them and return results back to .NET. Here is a brief description of how it works.

It works on a single machine as well, but requires a Redis instance. Redis adds some reliability guarantees - payload is stored until a worked acknowledges completion. If a worked dies, the payload is returned to a job queue and then is reprocessed by another worker.

Answer 9

had same issure and this worked for me:

using IronPython.Hosting;

  var engine = Python.CreateEngine();

  engine.ExecuteFile("") //put the directory of the program in the quote marks