If you’ve ever wanted to use C# the way you use Python or Bash for quick automation, .NET 10 just made that feel… normal.

With file-based apps, you can write code in a single .cs file and run it directly — no .csproj, no scaffolding, no “create a project first” ceremony.

Quick start

Create hello.cs:

Console.WriteLine("Hello from a single C# file");

Run it:

dotnet run hello.cs
# or (shorthand)
dotnet hello.cs

That’s the workflow: one file, one command.

Need a NuGet package? Add it inline

Drop a package directive at the top of the file:

#:package Spectre.Console@0.49.1

using Spectre.Console;

AnsiConsole.MarkupLine("[green]C# as a script? Yep.[/]");

Run it the same way:

dotnet run tool.cs

Make it executable on Linux/macOS

You can go full “shell script” with a shebang:

#!/usr/bin/env dotnet
#:package Spectre.Console@0.49.1

using Spectre.Console;

AnsiConsole.MarkupLine("[cyan]Running C# like a script.[/]");

Then:

chmod +x dotnet.sh
./dotnet.sh

Why this matters

This changes how C# fits into day-to-day dev work:

• Prototyping without project setup
• Automation scripts you can keep in-repo
• Tiny CLI tools that don’t need a whole solution
• Learning/teaching C# with less friction

Takeaway: C# isn’t “only for big projects” anymore — it’s now genuinely script-friendly too.

Categories: Developer Chat

Tags: .net 10, automation, c#, cli tools, code, csharp, Developer, developer productivity, DevOps, dotnet, dotnet run, engineer, file-based apps, nuget, scripting, shell scripting, Software