Tutorial: Create a .NET console application using Visual Studio

Start Visual Studio 2022.

On the start page, choose Create a new project.

On the Create a new project page, enter console in the search box. Next, choose C# or Visual Basic from the language list, and then choose All platforms from the platform list. Choose the Console App template, and then choose Next.

In the Configure your new project dialog, enter HelloWorld in the Project name box. Then choose Next.

In the Additional information dialog:

• Select .NET 8.
• Select Do not use top-level statements.
• Select Create.

The template creates a simple application that displays "Hello, World!" in the console window. The code is in the Program.cs or Program.vb file:

namespace HelloWorld;

 internal class Program
 {
     static void Main(string[] args)
     {
         Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!");
     }
 }

Imports System

Module Program
    Sub Main(args As String())
        Console.WriteLine("Hello World!")
    End Sub
End Module

If the language you want to use is not shown, change the language selector at the top of the page.

The code defines a class, Program, with a single method, Main, that takes a String array as an argument. Main is the application entry point, the method that's called automatically by the runtime when it launches the application. Any command-line arguments supplied when the application is launched are available in the args array.

C# has a feature named top-level statements that lets you omit the Program class and the Main method. This tutorial doesn't use this feature. Whether you use it in your programs is a matter of style preference.

Press Ctrl+F5 to run the program without debugging.

A console window opens with the text "Hello, World!" printed on the screen. (Or "Hello World!" without a comma in the Visual Basic project template.)

Press any key to close the console window.

In Program.cs or Program.vb, replace the contents of the Main method, which is the line that calls Console.WriteLine, with the following code:

Console.WriteLine("What is your name?");
var name = Console.ReadLine();
var currentDate = DateTime.Now;
Console.WriteLine($"{Environment.NewLine}Hello, {name}, on {currentDate:d} at {currentDate:t}!");
Console.Write($"{Environment.NewLine}Press any key to exit...");
Console.ReadKey(true);

Console.WriteLine("What is your name?")
Dim name = Console.ReadLine()
Dim currentDate = DateTime.Now
Console.WriteLine($"{Environment.NewLine}Hello, {name}, on {currentDate:d} at {currentDate:t}")
Console.Write($"{Environment.NewLine}Press any key to exit...")
Console.ReadKey(True)

This code displays a prompt in the console window and waits until the user enters a string followed by the Enter key. It stores this string in a variable named name. It also retrieves the value of the DateTime.Now property, which contains the current local time, and assigns it to a variable named currentDate. And it displays these values in the console window. Finally, it displays a prompt in the console window and calls the Console.ReadKey(Boolean) method to wait for user input.

Environment.NewLine is a platform-independent and language-independent way to represent a line break. Alternatives are \n in C# and vbCrLf in Visual Basic.

The dollar sign ($) in front of a string lets you put expressions such as variable names in curly braces in the string. The expression value is inserted into the string in place of the expression. This syntax is referred to as interpolated strings.

Press Ctrl+F5 to run the program without debugging.

Respond to the prompt by entering a name and pressing the Enter key.

Press any key to close the console window.

Start Visual Studio 2022.

On the start page, choose Create a new project.

On the Create a new project page, enter console in the search box. Next, choose C# or Visual Basic from the language list, and then choose All platforms from the platform list. Choose the Console App template, and then choose Next.

In the Configure your new project dialog, enter HelloWorld in the Project name box. Then choose Next.

In the Additional information dialog:

• Select .NET 7 (Standard-term support).
• Select Do not use top-level statements.
• Select Create.

The template creates a simple application that displays "Hello, World!" in the console window. The code is in the Program.cs or Program.vb file:

namespace HelloWorld;

 internal class Program
 {
     static void Main(string[] args)
     {
         Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!");
     }
 }

Imports System

Module Program
    Sub Main(args As String())
        Console.WriteLine("Hello World!")
    End Sub
End Module

If the language you want to use is not shown, change the language selector at the top of the page.

The code defines a class, Program, with a single method, Main, that takes a String array as an argument. Main is the application entry point, the method that's called automatically by the runtime when it launches the application. Any command-line arguments supplied when the application is launched are available in the args array.

In the latest version of C#, a new feature named top-level statements lets you omit the Program class and the Main method. Most existing C# programs don't use top-level statements, so this tutorial doesn't use this new feature. But it's available in C# 10, and whether you use it in your programs is a matter of style preference.

Press Ctrl+F5 to run the program without debugging.

A console window opens with the text "Hello, World!" printed on the screen. (Or "Hello World!" without a comma in the Visual Basic project template.)

Press any key to close the console window.

In Program.cs or Program.vb, replace the contents of the Main method, which is the line that calls Console.WriteLine, with the following code:

Console.WriteLine("What is your name?");
var name = Console.ReadLine();
var currentDate = DateTime.Now;
Console.WriteLine($"{Environment.NewLine}Hello, {name}, on {currentDate:d} at {currentDate:t}!");
Console.Write($"{Environment.NewLine}Press any key to exit...");
Console.ReadKey(true);

Console.WriteLine("What is your name?")
Dim name = Console.ReadLine()
Dim currentDate = DateTime.Now
Console.WriteLine($"{Environment.NewLine}Hello, {name}, on {currentDate:d} at {currentDate:t}")
Console.Write($"{Environment.NewLine}Press any key to exit...")
Console.ReadKey(True)

This code displays a prompt in the console window and waits until the user enters a string followed by the Enter key. It stores this string in a variable named name. It also retrieves the value of the DateTime.Now property, which contains the current local time, and assigns it to a variable named currentDate. And it displays these values in the console window. Finally, it displays a prompt in the console window and calls the Console.ReadKey(Boolean) method to wait for user input.

Environment.NewLine is a platform-independent and language-independent way to represent a line break. Alternatives are \n in C# and vbCrLf in Visual Basic.

The dollar sign ($) in front of a string lets you put expressions such as variable names in curly braces in the string. The expression value is inserted into the string in place of the expression. This syntax is referred to as interpolated strings.

Press Ctrl+F5 to run the program without debugging.

Respond to the prompt by entering a name and pressing the Enter key.

Press any key to close the console window.

Start Visual Studio 2022.

On the start page, choose Create a new project.

On the Create a new project page, enter console in the search box. Next, choose C# or Visual Basic from the language list, and then choose All platforms from the platform list. Choose the Console Application template, and then choose Next.

In the Configure your new project dialog, enter HelloWorld in the Project name box. Then choose Next.

In the Additional information dialog, select .NET 6 (Long-term support), and then select Create.

The template creates a simple application that displays "Hello World" in the console window. The code is in the Program.cs or Program.vb file:

Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!");

Imports System

Module Program
    Sub Main(args As String())
        Console.WriteLine("Hello World!")
    End Sub
End Module

If the language you want to use is not shown, change the language selector at the top of the page.

For C#, the code is just a line that calls the Console.WriteLine(String) method to display "Hello World!" in the console window. Replace the contents of Program.cs with the following code:

namespace HelloWorld
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Hello World!");
        }
    }
}

' This step of the tutorial applies only to C#.

The code defines a class, Program, with a single method, Main, that takes a String array as an argument. Main is the application entry point, the method that's called automatically by the runtime when it launches the application. Any command-line arguments supplied when the application is launched are available in the args array.

In the latest version of C#, a new feature named top-level statements lets you omit the Program class and the Main method. Most existing C# programs don't use top-level statements, so this tutorial doesn't use this new feature. But it's available in C# 10, and whether you use it in your programs is a matter of style preference.

Press Ctrl+F5 to run the program without debugging.

A console window opens with the text "Hello World!" printed on the screen.

Press any key to close the console window.

In Program.cs or Program.vb, replace the contents of the Main method, which is the line that calls Console.WriteLine, with the following code:

Console.WriteLine("What is your name?");
var name = Console.ReadLine();
var currentDate = DateTime.Now;
Console.WriteLine($"{Environment.NewLine}Hello, {name}, on {currentDate:d} at {currentDate:t}!");
Console.Write($"{Environment.NewLine}Press any key to exit...");
Console.ReadKey(true);

Console.WriteLine("What is your name?")
Dim name = Console.ReadLine()
Dim currentDate = DateTime.Now
Console.WriteLine($"{Environment.NewLine}Hello, {name}, on {currentDate:d} at {currentDate:t}")
Console.Write($"{Environment.NewLine}Press any key to exit...")
Console.ReadKey(True)

This code displays a prompt in the console window and waits until the user enters a string followed by the Enter key. It stores this string in a variable named name. It also retrieves the value of the DateTime.Now property, which contains the current local time, and assigns it to a variable named currentDate. And it displays these values in the console window. Finally, it displays a prompt in the console window and calls the Console.ReadKey(Boolean) method to wait for user input.

Environment.NewLine is a platform-independent and language-independent way to represent a line break. Alternatives are \n in C# and vbCrLf in Visual Basic.

The dollar sign ($) in front of a string lets you put expressions such as variable names in curly braces in the string. The expression value is inserted into the string in place of the expression. This syntax is referred to as interpolated strings.

Press Ctrl+F5 to run the program without debugging.

Respond to the prompt by entering a name and pressing the Enter key.

Press any key to close the console window.