Search for executables across PATH, directories and drives — quickly from the command line or from your .NET code.

This repository contains two command-line tools and reusable libraries:

• WhatExec.Cli (full CLI / dotnet tool)
• WhatExec.Cli.Lite (PATH resolving only lightweight CLI / dotnet tool)
• WhatExec.Lib.* (C# libraries used by the CLIs and available as a NuGet package)

The CLIs are the primary entry point for most users. They are designed to be installed and run as dotnet tools.

Install (from NuGet):

• Global install (recommended):

  • WhatExec.Cli:

    dotnet tool install --global WhatExec.Cli

  • WhatExec.Cli.Lite:

    dotnet tool install --global WhatExec.Cli.Lite

• Per-user install:

  dotnet tool install --tool-path ~/.dotnet-tools WhatExec.Cli

Update:

dotnet tool update --global WhatExec.Cli

Run the tools:

• Show help and available commands:

  whatexec --help
  whatexec-lite --help

• Typical workflow:
  • Use the CLI to search for an executable name, list matching files in PATH, or scan directories/drives for executables.
  • See each CLI’s README for detailed subcommands and examples.

See the dedicated CLI READMEs for full usage and examples:

• WhatExec CLI README
• WhatExec Lite CLI README

If you want to embed executable-search functionality in your .NET application, use the WhatExec.Lib libraries.

Install via NuGet:

dotnet add package WhatExec.Lib.Abstractions

• WhatExec.Lib.Abstractions README

Install via NuGet:

dotnet add package WhatExec.Lib

Documentation and implementation details are available in the library README:

• WhatExec.Lib README

Install via NuGet:

dotnet add package WhatExec.Lib.DependencyInjection

• CLI-first experience for quick interactive discovery of executables
• Lightweight CLI for fast queries in constrained environments
• Reusable C# libraries for integrating executable discovery into apps and tools
• Search sources: PATH environment variable, specific directories, entire drives (configurable)

(See each CLI and the library README for exact feature lists and platform notes.)

• Install the CLI and run help to see commands:

  dotnet tool install --global WhatExec.Cli
  whatexec --help

• Add the library to a project:

  dotnet add package WhatExec.Lib

For concrete command examples and flags, consult:

• WhatExec CLI README
• WhatExec Lite CLI README
• WhatExecLib README

Contributions are welcome! Please follow the contribution guidelines:

• CONTRIBUTING.md

This project is licensed under the MPL 2.0 License. See the LICENSE file for details:

• LICENSE