MSTKit.ConsoleHelper

MSTKit.ConsoleHelper is a collection of useful console utilities for .NET CLI applications.

It provides features like themed output, colored text, structured menus, and input helpers.

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✨ Features

• Colorful output with custom RGB themes
• Menu helpers for CLI apps
• User input validation (string, int, decimal)
• Exit confirmation prompts
• Works on Windows, Linux, and macOS
• Supports .NET Standard 2.0 and above

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📦 Installation

dotnet add package MSTKit.ConsoleHelper

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🔧 Usage

You can import the namespace normally:

using MSTKit.ConsoleHelper;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        ConsoleHelper.PrintSuccess("Operation completed successfully!");
        ConsoleHelper.PrintError("Something went wrong!");
    }
}

Or, if you don’t want to type ConsoleHelper. every time, you can use the static import:

//use static import like this :
using static MSTKit.ConsoleHelper.ConsoleHelper;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // and you can use methods without typing 'ConsoleHelper.' every time
        Ok("Data saved correctly.");
        Fail("Failed to connect to server.");
        Warn("Low disk space.");
        Info("Loading configuration...");
    }
}

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🎨 Theming

You can fully customize colors with RGB values (0-255) or hex codes (#RRGGBB).

using static MSTKit.ConsoleHelper.ConsoleHelper;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        //you can set theme colors in hex format or R,G,B format
        SetTheme("#2DC653", "#A0A0A0", "#FFD23F");
    }
}

Reset theme back to default:

ResetTheme();

Set error color:

SetErrorColor("255,0,0");

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📋 UI Helpers

Sections and Dividers

Section("User Menu");
Divider();

Menu Items

MenuItem(1, "Start Application");
MenuItem(2, "Settings");
MenuItem(3, "Exit");

Results and Items

PrintResult("Username", "MST");
ShowItem(42, "Special Item");

Customizing Outputs

you can override the default theme colors for UI elements on a per-call basis to draw attention to important information.

Here is a combined example showing how you can use these customizations together to build a richer UI:

Section("System Diagnostics");
Info("Choose a system to check:");

// Highlight the "Network" option which requires attention
MenuItem(1, "CPU");
MenuItem(2, "Memory");
MenuItem(
    number: 3,
    text: "Network (High Latency Detected)",
    numberFg: "#FFB300", // Gold
    textFg: "255,215,0"  // Lighter Gold
);

// Show a result with custom colors to indicate a warning status
PrintResult(
    label: "Overall Status",
    result: "Action Required",
    labelFg: "#D3D3D3",   // Light Gray
    valueFg: "#FFA500"   // Orange
);

// List critical processes and highlight one that has stalled
Info("Running critical processes:");
ShowItem(2041, "system.core.service");
ShowItem(
    id: 3155,
    item: "data.backup.agent (Stalled)",
    idFg: "#FF6347",      // Tomato Red
    itemFg: "#FF8C00"     // Dark Orange
);

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⌨️ Input Helpers

Simple Input

string name = GetInput("Enter your name:");

Integer Input

int age = GetIntInput("Enter your age:");

Decimal Input

decimal price = GetDecimalInput("Enter product price:");

Customizing Input Prompts

By default, input prompts use the theme's Secondary color for the label (the prompt text) and the Primary color for the input symbol (➜). You can easily override these on a per-call basis using the labelFg and cursorFg parameters. This allows for creating visually distinct prompts for different questions without changing the global theme.

Here is a complete example demonstrating all parameters for GetIntInput:

int specialNumber = GetIntInput(
    prompt: "Enter a special number between 40 and 50",
    min: 40,
    max: 50,
    labelFg: "#9370DB", // A custom purple color for the label
    cursorFg: "#FFD700"  // A custom gold color for the arrow
);

Ok($"Success! Your special number is: {specialNumber}");

// The same customization can be applied to GetInput and GetDecimalInput.
string reason = GetInput(
    prompt: "Why did you choose this number?",
    labelFg: "173, 216, 230" // Light Blue
);

Confirm / Exit

if (Confirm("Do you want to continue?"))
{
    Ok("Confirmed!");
}

if (ExitOption())
{
    Fail("Exiting program...");
}

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✅ Example Output

✔ Operation completed successfully!
✖ Something went wrong!
➜ Loading configuration...

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⚙️ Advanced Configuration

If you're running the application in an environment that doesn't support Unicode symbols (like older Windows cmd.exe), you can force an ASCII-only symbol set.

// Force ASCII symbols like "[OK]" and "[X]" instead of "✔" and "✖"
SetSymbolSet(SymbolSet.Ascii);

Ok("This will now be prefixed with [OK].");

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📝 License

MIT License © 2025 MST