A comprehensive set of .NET libraries providing P/Invoke calls and wrappers for native Windows APIs.
Vanara is a set of .NET libraries that provide P/Invoke calls and supporting wrappers for native Windows APIs. It solves the problem of manually defining and maintaining interop signatures for hundreds of Windows functions, structures, and constants. By offering organized, versioned NuGet packages, it enables .NET developers to seamlessly integrate with low-level Windows services, system APIs, and multimedia frameworks.
.NET developers building applications that require deep integration with Windows operating system features, such as system services, security, graphics, networking, or shell extensions. It is particularly valuable for those working on system utilities, desktop applications, or tools that need to call native Windows APIs beyond what the .NET Framework provides.
Developers choose Vanara because it offers a comprehensive, tested, and versioned collection of P/Invoke signatures that are often tedious and error-prone to write manually. Its safe handles, memory management helpers, and wrapper classes reduce common interop pitfalls, while its modular NuGet packages allow for minimal dependency overhead.
A set of .NET libraries for Windows implementing PInvoke calls to many native Windows APIs with supporting wrappers.
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Supports over 100 Windows DLLs with high completion rates—e.g., kernel32 and shell32 at 100%—eliminating the need to manually write P/Invoke signatures for most system functions.
Implements SafeHandle derivatives and safe memory handles for automatic resource cleanup, reducing common interop errors like memory leaks, as outlined in the Design Concepts section.
Provides overloads, static using directives, and helper classes (e.g., in Vanara.Core) that simplify calling conventions and cut down on boilerplate code for native API calls.
Builds against .NET Framework 4.8, .NET 5-10, .NET Standard, and Core 3.1, ensuring compatibility across a wide range of modern .NET environments, as stated in the README.
Offers separate NuGet packages for each DLL and a meta-package (Vanara.Library), allowing developers to include only necessary dependencies and minimize bloat.
Critical libraries like NtDll, Rpc, and TelephonyApi have very low coverage (5% or 0%), and Direct3D11 is only 27%, limiting functionality for those specific Windows APIs.
Tied exclusively to Windows OS due to its reliance on native DLLs, making it useless for cross-platform .NET projects and restricting portability.
Requires familiarity with Windows API documentation and interop concepts to effectively use the libraries, despite the wrappers, which can be daunting for developers new to system programming.
Using the meta-package (Vanara.Library) includes all assemblies, which can significantly increase project size if only a few APIs are needed, though modular packages help mitigate this.