How to Run Batch Script in C#

In this article, we will see how we can write a C# program that can run a Batch file from a directory.

Run Batch Script in C#

In C#, when we want to execute a Batch file, it acts as a process. You can follow the example code below to run a batch script using the C# program.

System.Diagnostics.Process pros = new System.Diagnostics.Process();
pros.StartInfo.FileName = "C:\\MyDir\\simple.bat";
pros.StartInfo.WorkingDirectory = "C:\\MyWorkDir";
pros.Start();

In the example code above, we execute a batch script named simple.bat. Here you need to set the working directory before starting the process.

The above example is the piece of code that can run a batch file from a specified directory. In the following snippet, we have shortly performed the same task.

Code - C#:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Diagnostics;
namespace BatchLoader {
  public partial class Form1 : Form {
    public Form1() {
      InitializeComponent();
    }
    private void Button_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) {
      // initialize empty process
      Process pros = null;
      try {
        string BatFileDir = string.Format(@"D:\");  // directory of the file
        pros = new Process();
        pros.StartInfo.WorkingDirectory = BatFileDir;
        pros.StartInfo.FileName = "Mybat.bat";  // batch file name to be execute
        pros.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = false;
        pros.Start();  // run batch file
        pros.WaitForExit();
        MessageBox.Show("Batch file successfully executed !!");
      } catch (Exception ex) {
        Console.WriteLine(ex.StackTrace.ToString());
      }
    }
  }
}

First, we initialize all the necessary packages to our code. Then we initialize all the graphical components.

We provide the action to run the batch file through a button. Through the line Process pros = null;, we initialize an empty process.

We keep our main part of the code in an exception handler as it can generate runtime errors. Through the line string BatFileDir = string.Format(@"D:\"); we take a string containing the file’s directory.

After that, we declared a new process and initialized the working directory with the variable BatFileDir. We set the filename through the line pros.StartInfo.FileName = "Mybat.bat"; and disable opening new window by the line pros.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = false;.

Then we execute the batch file through the line pros.Start();. The line pros.WaitForExit(); make the program wait until it finishes the execution of the Batch file.

Lastly, we showed a message to the user that the Batch file was successfully executed through the line MessageBox.Show("Batch file successfully executed !!");.