Sharprompt Documentation

Sharprompt maps C# property types and specific Data Annotations to specialized prompt types. This allows you to control the user interface (e.g., showing a password mask or a selection list) directly from your data model.

You can enforce rules on user input by providing a list of validators. Validators are functions that return a ValidationResult?. If the result is not null, the input is considered invalid.

Commonly used validators include Validators.Required() and Validators.MinLength(int).

You can pass validators via the InputOptions<T> class, the Fluent API, or as a direct parameter in the Prompt.Input method.

var name = Prompt.Input<string>("What's your name?",
    defaultValue: "John Smith",
    placeholder: "At least 3 characters",
    validators: new[] { Validators.Required(), Validators.MinLength(3) });

The Input prompt allows you to capture user input and automatically convert it to a specified generic type T. This is useful for capturing strings, integers, or other types that support conversion.

Use Prompt.Input<T>(message) to prompt the user.

var name = Prompt.Input<string>("What's your name?");
Console.WriteLine($"Hello, {name}!");

var number = Prompt.Input<int>("Enter any number");
Console.WriteLine($"Input = {number}");

Sharprompt supports multi-byte characters and emojis. To ensure they render correctly in your terminal, set the Console.OutputEncoding to Encoding.UTF8 at the start of your application.

Console.OutputEncoding = Encoding.UTF8;

var name = Prompt.Input<string>("What's your name?");

The Password prompt allows you to collect sensitive user input while masking the characters entered. You can use it via a simple string message or by providing a more complex PasswordOptions object.

var secret = Prompt.Password("Type new password");
Console.WriteLine("Password OK");

The MultiSelect prompt allows users to select multiple items from a list using checkboxes. You can use it by passing a message, a collection of items, and optional constraints like pageSize, minimum, or maximum selections.

var cities = Prompt.MultiSelect("Which cities would you like to visit?",
    new[] { "Seattle", "London", "Tokyo", "New York", "Singapore", "Shanghai" },
    pageSize: 3);
Console.WriteLine($"You picked {string.Join(", ", cities)}");

Sharprompt allows you to enforce input constraints using the validators parameter. This parameter accepts an array of validator functions and is compatible with Input, Password, and List prompts. If a validator fails, the prompt will typically re-prompt the user with the error message provided by the validator.

var secret = Prompt.Password("Type new password",
    validators: new[] { Validators.Required(), Validators.MinLength(8) });

You can install Sharprompt via NuGet Package Manager or the dotnet CLI.

Install-Package Sharprompt

dotnet add package Sharprompt

When using an enum type with Select or MultiSelect, Sharprompt automatically generates the list items from the enum values. To customize the text displayed to the user instead of the raw enum member name, apply the [Display(Name = "...")] attribute from System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations to the enum members.

using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations;

public enum MyEnum
{
    [Display(Name = "First value")]
    First,
    [Display(Name = "Second value")]
    Second,
    [Display(Name = "Third value")]
    Third
}

var value = Prompt.Select<MyEnum>("Select enum value");
Console.WriteLine($"You selected {value}");

// For MultiSelect:
var values = Prompt.MultiSelect<MyEnum>("Select enum values");

You can install Sharprompt using either the PowerShell Package Manager or the .NET CLI.

Install-Package Sharprompt

dotnet add package Sharprompt

The Select prompt allows a user to pick exactly one item from a provided list. You can use it by passing a message and an array of items, or by using the SelectOptions<T> class for more granular control.

var city = Prompt.Select("Select your city", new[] { "Seattle", "London", "Tokyo" });
Console.WriteLine($"Hello, {city}!");

Sharprompt provides a static Prompt class for common interactive terminal tasks. You can perform simple string inputs, secure password entry with validation, and boolean confirmations.

using Sharprompt;

// Simple input
var name = Prompt.Input<string>("What's your name?");
Console.WriteLine($"Hello, {name}!");

// Password input
var secret = Prompt.Password("Type new password",
    validators: new[] { Validators.Required(), Validators.MinLength(8) });
Console.WriteLine("Password OK");

// Confirmation
var answer = Prompt.Confirm("Are you ready?", defaultValue: true);
Console.WriteLine($"Your answer is {answer}");