How to run a C# console application with the console hidden

If you wrote the console application you can make it hidden by default.

Create a new console app then then change the "Output Type" type to "Windows Application" (done in the project properties)

If you are using Process Class then you can write

yourprocess.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
yourprocess.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;

before yourprocess.start(); and process will be hidden

You can use the FreeConsole API to detach the console from the process :

[DllImport("kernel32.dll")]
static extern bool FreeConsole();

(of course this is applicable only if you have access to the console application's source code)

If you're interested in the output, you can use this function:

private static string ExecCommand(string filename, string arguments)
{
    Process process = new Process();
    ProcessStartInfo psi = new ProcessStartInfo(filename);
    psi.Arguments = arguments;
    psi.CreateNoWindow = true;
    psi.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
    psi.RedirectStandardError = true;
    psi.UseShellExecute = false;
    process.StartInfo = psi;

    StringBuilder output = new StringBuilder();
    process.OutputDataReceived += (sender, e) => { output.AppendLine(e.Data); };
    process.ErrorDataReceived += (sender, e) => { output.AppendLine(e.Data); };

    // run the process
    process.Start();

    // start reading output to events
    process.BeginOutputReadLine();
    process.BeginErrorReadLine();

    // wait for process to exit
    process.WaitForExit();

    if (process.ExitCode != 0)
        throw new Exception("Command " + psi.FileName + " returned exit code " + process.ExitCode);

    return output.ToString();
}

It runs the given command line program, waits for it to finish and returns the output as string.

If you're creating a program that doesn't require user input you could always just create it as a service. A service won't show any kind of UI.

Add this to your class to import the DLL file:

[DllImport("user32.dll")] 
static extern bool ShowWindow(IntPtr hWnd, int nCmdShow); 

[DllImport("kernel32.dll")] 
static extern IntPtr GetConsoleWindow();

const int SW_HIDE = 0;
const int SW_SHOW = 5;

And then if you want to hide it use this command:

 var handle = GetConsoleWindow();
 ShowWindow(handle, SW_HIDE);

And if you want to show the console:

var handle = GetConsoleWindow();
ShowWindow(handle, SW_SHOW);

I've got a general solution to share:

using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

namespace WhateverNamepaceYouAreUsing
{
    class Magician
    {
        [DllImport("kernel32.dll")]
        static extern IntPtr GetConsoleWindow();

        [DllImport("user32.dll")]
        static extern bool ShowWindow(IntPtr hWnd, int nCmdShow);
    
        const int HIDE = 0;
        const int SHOW = 5;

        public static void DisappearConsole()
        {
            ShowWindow(GetConsoleWindow(), HIDE);
        }
    }
}

Just include this class in your project, and call Magician.DisappearConsole();.

A console will flash when you start the program by clicking on it. When executing from the command prompt, the command prompt disappears very shortly after execution.

I do this for a Discord Bot that runs forever in the background of my computer as an invisible process. It was easier than getting TopShelf to work for me. A couple TopShelf tutorials failed me before I wrote this with some help from code I found elsewhere.

I also tried simply changing the settings in Visual Studio > Project > Properties > Application to launch as a Windows Application instead of a Console Application, and something about my project prevented this from hiding my console - perhaps because DSharpPlus demands to launch a console on startup. I don't know. Whatever the reason, this class allows me to easily kill the console after it pops up.

Based on Adam Markowitz's answer above, following worked for me:

process = new Process();
process.StartInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("cmd.exe", "/k \"" + CmdFilePath + "\"");
process.StartInfo.WindowStyle = System.Diagnostics.ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;
//process.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
//process.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
process.Start();

I know I'm not answering exactly what you want, but I am wondering if you're asking the right question.

Why don't you use either:

1. windows service
2. create a new thread and run your process on that

Those sound like better options if all you want is to run a process.