PromptPlus

# PromptPlus ## **Getting Started** [![NuGet](https://img.shields.io/badge/NuGet-PromptPlus-blue)](https://www.nuget.org/packages/PromptPlus) [![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-yellow.svg)](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT) [![.NET](https://img.shields.io/badge/.NET-8%20%7C%209%20%7C%2010-512BD4)](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/)

← Back to Home • Next: Core Concepts →

This guide takes you from zero to a working interactive console app in about five minutes.

Prerequisites

.NET 8, 9, or 10 SDK
Any terminal with at least 80 columns × 10 rows

1 — Install the Package

dotnet add package PromptPlus

Or add to your .csproj:

<PackageReference Include="PromptPlus" Version="*" />

2 — Your First App

Create Program.cs in a new console project:

using PromptPlusLibrary;

// Ask for the user's name
var nameResult = PromptPlus.Controls.Input("What is your name?").Run();
if (nameResult.IsAborted)
{
	PromptPlus.Console.WriteLine("Cancelled.");
	return;
}

// Let the user pick a role
var roleResult = PromptPlus.Controls
	.Select<string>("Choose your role")
	.AddItems(["Developer", "Designer", "Manager", "Other"])
	.Run();

// Deconstruct result
var (role, aborted) = roleResult;
if (aborted)
{
	PromptPlus.Console.WriteLine("Cancelled.");
	return;
}

// Ask for confirmation
var confirmResult = PromptPlus.Controls
	.Confirm($"Hello {nameResult.Content}, your role is '{role}'. Correct?")
	.Run();

if (confirmResult.IsAborted)
{
	PromptPlus.Console.WriteLine("Cancelled.");
	return;
}

// Confirm returns the key the user pressed (ConsoleKeyInfo?), which is the culture's
// Yes or No key. Compare it to the configured YesChar to decide.
var confirmed = confirmResult.Content is { } key &&
	char.ToUpperInvariant(key.KeyChar) == char.ToUpperInvariant(PromptPlus.Config.YesChar);

if (confirmed)
	PromptPlus.Console.WriteLine("[green]Great, welcome![/]");
else
	PromptPlus.Console.WriteLine("[yellow]No problem, start over.[/]");

Run it

dotnet run

You should see interactive prompts one after another. Press Enter to confirm, Esc to cancel any step.

3 — Understanding What Happened

Line	What it does
`PromptPlus.Controls.Input(…)`	Creates an Input control with that prompt text
`.Run()`	Renders the control and blocks until the user confirms or presses Esc
`result.IsAborted`	`true` if the user pressed Esc
`result.Content`	The confirmed value (empty string if aborted)
`var (role, aborted) = …`	Deconstruct — equivalent to `.Content` and `.IsAborted`
`PromptPlus.Console.WriteLine(…)`	Writes styled text using markup tags

💡 Tip: Always check IsAborted before using .Content. If the user pressed Esc, .Content returns the default value of T.

4 — Global Configuration

Add configuration before your first control to change defaults for all controls in your app:

using PromptPlusLibrary;
using System.Globalization;

// At the top of your Program.cs, before any control

// Show 8 items per page in lists
PromptPlus.Config.PageSize = 8;

// Erase the control UI after the user confirms
PromptPlus.Config.HideAfterFinish = true;

// Use en-US for number and date formatting
PromptPlus.Config.DefaultCulture = new CultureInfo("en-US");

// Enable Emacs shortcuts in text fields
PromptPlus.Console.EnabledEmacs = true;

// Now run your controls …
var result = PromptPlus.Controls.Input("Name").Run();

5 — Persist Config to Disk

Write your configuration to a JSON file so it loads automatically on every run:

// Set up your config
PromptPlus.Config.PageSize = 8;
PromptPlus.Config.HideAfterFinish = true;

// Save to current directory
PromptPlus.Config.ToFile(".");

This writes PromptPlus.config next to your executable. On the next run, PromptPlus reads it automatically — you do not need to call ToFile() again.

The generated file looks like — every config property is serialized, not just the ones you changed (a partial excerpt, since the real file lists all of IPromptPlusConfig’s properties):

{
  "PageSize": 8,
  "HideAfterFinish": true
}

⚠️ ToFile() serializes the entire configuration unconditionally — it does not diff against defaults. You can hand-edit the generated file safely.

6 — Per-Control Override

You can override any global config for a single control using .Options():

PromptPlus.Controls
	.Input("Private note")
	.Options(o => o
		.HideAfterFinish(false)  // keep UI visible even if global says true
		.ShowTooltip(false))     // hide keyboard hints for this field
	.Run();

Next Steps

Topic	Where to go
Understanding the design	Architecture
All config properties	Global Behaviors
Keyboard shortcuts	Keyboard Bindings
Output-only widgets	Widgets
All controls	Docs index
Upgrading from v5.x	Migration Guide v5.x → v6.x