How to run .NET core application by double clicking a file like exe in .NET framework

Question

In .NET framework when we build our solution/project, we get an exe in the debug/release folder and we can run our application by double clicking that exe. But how can we do this in .NET core, i know we can't have an exe in .NET core because it is windows specific. When i build my .NET core application i get the following files in the debug folder.

I know how to run this application using command prompt but i want to have a file like exe by clicking which i can run my application.

Use the [Process.Start() method](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/181719/how-do-i-start-a-process-from-c) — Kunal Mukherjee, Nov 26 '18 at 08:38
Possible duplicate of [Build .NET Core console application to output an EXE?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/44074121/build-net-core-console-application-to-output-an-exe) — Caius Jard, Nov 26 '18 at 08:46

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 26 '18 at 08:43

You can generate exe (self-contained application).

.NET Core 2.0 + Open Package Manager Console or any other console in your project directory and type:

dotnet publish -c Release -r win10-x64
dotnet publish -c Release -r ubuntu.16.10-x64

When you use previous version of .NET Core you have to add runtime identifier of the target environment in csproj:

<PropertyGroup>
    <RuntimeIdentifiers>win10-x64;ubuntu.16.10-x64</RuntimeIdentifiers>
</PropertyGroup>

Runtime Identifiers (RIDs) list: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/rid-catalog

Please use `linux-x64` instead of an os-specific RID like `ubuntu.16.10-x64`. The first one will run on all new-ish linux distributions. The second wont even run on the next version of ubuntu. — omajid, Nov 26 '18 at 16:48

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 26 '18 at 08:51

1

One simple solution is to create a .bat file with runs the dll via the dotnet cli, then you get "a file like exe"

dotnet ConsoleApp2.dll

answered Nov 26 '18 at 08:51

Marcus Höglund

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How to run .NET core application by double clicking a file like exe in .NET framework

2 Answers2