PromptPlus

# PromptPlus ## **Task** [](https://www.nuget.org/packages/PromptPlus) [](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT) [](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/)

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Runs one synchronous or asynchronous operation and shows that it is working — an animated spinner, the elapsed time, and a completion (or error) message — until it finishes.

The Task control is for a single unit of background work whose progress you cannot measure: a save, a download, an API call. You attach the work with an Action(...)/ActionAsync(...) method, Run() displays the spinner and elapsed time, and the control returns a StateTask carrying the elapsed time, any output the work produced, and any exception it threw.

📊 If you can measure progress as a number, use the ProgressBar control instead. To run several operations (sequentially or in parallel) with a per-task status list, use MultiTasks. For a fixed-length wait, use Timer.

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On this page

Sub-page	What you will find
Index (this page)	What it is, when to use it, a first working example, the method map
Methods	Every fluent method — signature, parameters, defaults, and a snippet
Operations	Action overloads, contexts, elapsed time, cancellation, errors
Styles	The TaskStyles regions and how to recolor them

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When to use it

Use Task when…	Consider instead…
You run one operation you can’t measure	—
You can report a numeric progress value	ProgressBar
You run many operations at once	MultiTasks
You just need to wait a fixed duration	Timer

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Minimal example

using PromptPlusLibrary;
using System.Threading;

var result = PromptPlus.Controls
    .Task("Processing")
    .Action(token => Thread.Sleep(2000))   // the work
    .Run();

if (!result.IsAborted)
    PromptPlus.Console.WriteLine($"Done in {result.Content.ElapsedTime}");

• Task("Processing") creates the control. The first argument is the prompt; an optional second argument is a description line.
• Action(...) attaches the work. The work runs when you call Run() — there is no work delegate on Run; you set it here.
• .Run() shows the control and blocks until the work returns (or throws, or is cancelled).
• The call returns a ResultPrompt<StateTask>: read .Content for the StateTask and .IsAborted for cancellation.

💡 Add ShowElapsedTime() and Spinner(...) to give the user visible feedback that something is happening.

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A more complete example

using PromptPlusLibrary;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

var context = new Dictionary<string, object?> { ["name"] = "PromptPlus", ["count"] = 10 };

var result = PromptPlus.Controls
    .Task("Computing")
    .ShowElapsedTime()
    .Spinner(SpinnersType.Dots)
    .Context(context)                                  // isolated input context
    .Finish("Computed!", "Computation failed!")        // success / error text
    .ActionAsync(async (input, token) =>
    {
        await Task.Delay(1500, token).ConfigureAwait(false);
        int count = input.TryGetValue("count", out var raw) && raw is int c ? c : 0;
        return new Dictionary<string, object?> { ["result"] = count * 2 };   // output context
    })
    .Run();

int doubled = result.Content.GetOutput<int>("result", out bool found);

This shows the most useful pieces together: elapsed time, a spinner, an input context the work reads, an output context it returns, and finish text. See Operations for how contexts and errors flow.

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Method map

Grouped by purpose. Full signatures and examples are on the Methods page.

Purpose	Methods
Attach the work	Action, ActionAsync
Data in/out	Context
Feedback	ShowElapsedTime, Spinner, Finish, ChangeDescription, ChangeDescriptionAsync
Formatting	Culture
Styling & behavior	Styles, Options
Run	Run

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Return value

Task returns ResultPrompt<StateTask>.

Member	Meaning
.IsAborted	true when the run was cancelled (token / Esc)
.Content	The final StateTask struct

StateTask members

Member	Meaning
ElapsedTime	How long the work ran (TimeSpan)
Exception	The exception the work threw, if any (the control captures it — it does not propagate)
OutputContext	The output dictionary the work returned (IReadOnlyDictionary<string, object?>?)
GetOutput<T>(key, out found)	Typed read of an OutputContext entry

There is no .Status member, and Exception is null alone is not enough to conclude success — check .IsAborted first. A run cancelled via the token (forwarded to your awaits, as recommended) throws OperationCanceledException inside the handler, which is caught silently: Exception stays null but IsAborted is true. See Operations → Errors.

var result = PromptPlus.Controls.Task("Save").Action(Save).Run();
PromptPlus.Console.WriteLine($"HasError={result.Content.Exception is not null}, Elapsed={result.Content.ElapsedTime}");

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See also

• Methods — the full fluent API
• Operations — action overloads, contexts, elapsed time, cancellation, errors
• Styles — recolor the prompt, spinner, elapsed-time, and error regions
• ProgressBar — measurable progress
• MultiTasks — many operations at once
• Timer — a fixed-duration countdown

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