What is the correct way to create a single-instanc

Question

Using C# and WPF under .NET (rather than Windows Forms or console), what is the correct way to create an application that can only be run as a single instance?

I know it has something to do with some mythical thing called a mutex, rarely can I find someone that bothers to stop and explain what one of these are.

The code needs to also inform the already-running instance that the user tried to start a second one, and maybe also pass any command-line arguments if any existed.

Answer 1

It looks like there is a really good way to handle this:

WPF Single Instance Application

This provides a class you can add that manages all the mutex and messaging cruff to simplify the your implementation to the point where it's simply trivial.

Answer 2

I cant't find a short solution here soooo I hope someone will like this:

UPDATED 2018-09-20

(Btw. put the code in you're "Program.cs")

    using System.Diagnostics;

    static void Main()
    {
        Process ThisProcess = Process.GetCurrentProcess();
        Process[] AllProcesses = Process.GetProcessesByName(ThisProcess.ProcessName);
        if (AllProcesses.Length > 1)
        {
            //Don't put a MessageBox in here because the user could spam this MessageBox.
            return;
        }

// Optional code. If you don't want that someone runs you're ".exe" with a diffrent name:

        string exeName = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.FriendlyName;
        if (exeName != "the name of you're executable.exe") // If u try that in debug mode, don't forget that u don't use ur normal .exe. Debug uses the .vshost.exe.
        {// You can add here a MassageBox if you want. To point users that the name got changed and maybe what the name should be or something like that^^ 
            MessageBox.Show("The executable name should be \"the name of you're executable.exe\"", 
            "Wrong executable name", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error);
            return;
        }

        //Following Code is default code:
        Application.EnableVisualStyles();
        Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
        Application.Run(new MainForm());
    }

Answer 3

Normally, this is the code I use for single-instance Windows Forms applications:

[STAThread]
public static void Main()
{
    String assemblyName = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetName().Name;

    using (Mutex mutex = new Mutex(false, assemblyName))
    {
        if (!mutex.WaitOne(0, false))
        {
            Boolean shownProcess = false;
            Process currentProcess = Process.GetCurrentProcess();

            foreach (Process process in Process.GetProcessesByName(currentProcess.ProcessName))
            {
                if (!process.Id.Equals(currentProcess.Id) && process.MainModule.FileName.Equals(currentProcess.MainModule.FileName) && !process.MainWindowHandle.Equals(IntPtr.Zero))
                {
                    IntPtr windowHandle = process.MainWindowHandle;

                    if (NativeMethods.IsIconic(windowHandle))
                        NativeMethods.ShowWindow(windowHandle, ShowWindowCommand.Restore);

                    NativeMethods.SetForegroundWindow(windowHandle);

                    shownProcess = true;
                }
            }

            if (!shownProcess)
                MessageBox.Show(String.Format(CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, "An instance of {0} is already running!", assemblyName), assemblyName, MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Asterisk, MessageBoxDefaultButton.Button1, (MessageBoxOptions)0);
        }
        else
        {
            Application.EnableVisualStyles();
            Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
            Application.Run(new Form());
        }
    }
}

Where native components are:

[DllImport("User32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Unicode, ExactSpelling = true, SetLastError = true)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
internal static extern Boolean IsIconic([In] IntPtr windowHandle);

[DllImport("User32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Unicode, ExactSpelling = true, SetLastError = true)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
internal static extern Boolean SetForegroundWindow([In] IntPtr windowHandle);

[DllImport("User32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Unicode, ExactSpelling = true, SetLastError = true)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
internal static extern Boolean ShowWindow([In] IntPtr windowHandle, [In] ShowWindowCommand command);

public enum ShowWindowCommand : int
{
    Hide                   = 0x0,
    ShowNormal             = 0x1,
    ShowMinimized          = 0x2,
    ShowMaximized          = 0x3,
    ShowNormalNotActive    = 0x4,
    Minimize               = 0x6,
    ShowMinimizedNotActive = 0x7,
    ShowCurrentNotActive   = 0x8,
    Restore                = 0x9,
    ShowDefault            = 0xA,
    ForceMinimize          = 0xB
}

Answer 4

MSDN actually has a sample application for both C# and VB to do exactly this: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms771662(v=VS.90).aspx

The most common and reliable technique for developing single-instance detection is to use the Microsoft .NET Framework remoting infrastructure (System.Remoting). The Microsoft .NET Framework (version 2.0) includes a type, WindowsFormsApplicationBase, which encapsulates the required remoting functionality. To incorporate this type into a WPF application, a type needs to derive from it, and be used as a shim between the application static entry point method, Main, and the WPF application's Application type. The shim detects when an application is first launched, and when subsequent launches are attempted, and yields control the WPF Application type to determine how to process the launches.

• For C# people just take a deep breath and forget about the whole 'I don't wanna include VisualBasic DLL'. Because of this and what Scott Hanselman says and the fact that this pretty much is the cleanest solution to the problem and is designed by people who know a lot more about the framework than you do.
• From a usability standpoint the fact is if your user is loading an application and it is already open and you're giving them an error message like 'Another instance of the app is running. Bye' then they're not gonna be a very happy user. You simply MUST (in a GUI application) switch to that application and pass in the arguments provided - or if command line parameters have no meaning then you must pop up the application which may have been minimized.

The framework already has support for this - its just that some idiot named the DLL Microsoft.VisualBasic and it didn't get put into Microsoft.ApplicationUtils or something like that. Get over it - or open up Reflector.

Tip: If you use this approach exactly as is, and you already have an App.xaml with resources etc. you'll want to take a look at this too.

Answer 5

Use mutex solution:

using System;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Threading;

namespace OneAndOnlyOne
{
static class Program
{
    static String _mutexID = " // generate guid"
    /// <summary>
    /// The main entry point for the application.
    /// </summary>
    [STAThread]
    static void Main()
    {
        Application.EnableVisualStyles();
        Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);

        Boolean _isNotRunning;
        using (Mutex _mutex = new Mutex(true, _mutexID, out _isNotRunning))
        {
            if (_isNotRunning)
            {
                Application.Run(new Form1());
            }
            else
            {
                MessageBox.Show("An instance is already running.");
                return;
            }
        }
    }
}
}

Answer 6

From here.

A common use for a cross-process Mutex is to ensure that only instance of a program can run at a time. Here's how it's done:

class OneAtATimePlease {

  // Use a name unique to the application (eg include your company URL)
  static Mutex mutex = new Mutex (false, "oreilly.com OneAtATimeDemo");

  static void Main()
  {
    // Wait 5 seconds if contended – in case another instance
    // of the program is in the process of shutting down.
    if (!mutex.WaitOne(TimeSpan.FromSeconds (5), false))
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Another instance of the app is running. Bye!");
        return;
    }

    try
    {    
        Console.WriteLine("Running - press Enter to exit");
        Console.ReadLine();
    }
    finally
    {
        mutex.ReleaseMutex();
    }    
  }    
}

A good feature of Mutex is that if the application terminates without ReleaseMutex first being called, the CLR will release the Mutex automatically.