C# Cannot maximize Console from within the code

Question

I tried Maximizing the Console .NET application using C# commands, but it doesn't work.

EDIT: I feel the need to specify that I use "Console App (.NET Framework)" and not "(Console App (NET Core))" .NET Version is: 4.7.2 Windows version is: Windows 11 (With the new Terminal as my CMD)

This is what I tried: Example1:

using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

[DllImport("kernel32.dll", ExactSpelling = true)]
private static extern IntPtr GetConsoleWindow();

[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
private static extern bool ShowWindow(IntPtr hWnd, int nCmdShow);
private const int MAXIMIZE = 3;
private const int MINIMIZE = 6;

static void Main(string[] args)
{
    ShowWindow(GetConsoleWindow(), MAXIMIZE);
    Console.ReadKey();
}

With this first example, if you type "MINIMIZE" instead of "MAXIMIZE", It does minimize, but it doesn't MAXIMIZE...

Example2:

[DllImport("user32.dll")]
public static extern bool ShowWindow(System.IntPtr hWnd, int cmdShow);

private static void Maximize()
{
    Process p = Process.GetCurrentProcess();
    ShowWindow(p.MainWindowHandle, 3); //SW_MAXIMIZE = 3
}

static void Main(string[] args)
{
   Maximize();
   Console.ReadKey();
}

Answer 1

Your code runs fine in Windows 10, but if you select Windows Terminal in Win11, your code will not work.

If you are using Win11:

Please open Settings=>Privacy&security=>For developers=>Terminal=>Change to Windows Console Host

If you don't find For developers in Privacy&security, you can also search For developers directly in the settings.

At this point, you can maximize the console program by using the code you provided again.

using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

[DllImport("kernel32.dll", ExactSpelling = true)]
private static extern IntPtr GetConsoleWindow();

[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
private static extern bool ShowWindow(IntPtr hWnd, int nCmdShow);
private const int MAXIMIZE = 3;
private const int MINIMIZE = 6;

static void Main(string[] args)
{
    ShowWindow(GetConsoleWindow(), MAXIMIZE);
    Console.ReadKey();
}

Update:

If you don't want to manually adjust the Windows Terminal to Windows Console Host, you can use the following code directly:

internal class Program
{
    [DllImport("user32.dll")]
    static extern IntPtr GetForegroundWindow();
    [DllImport("user32.dll")]
    static extern bool ShowWindow(IntPtr hWnd, int nCmdShow);
    [DllImport("user32.dll")]
    static extern bool GetWindowRect(IntPtr hWnd, out Rect lpRect);
    [DllImport("user32.dll")]
    static extern bool MoveWindow(IntPtr hWnd, int x, int y, int nWidth, int nHeight, bool bRepaint);

    private const int SW_RESTORE = 9; // Use SW_RESTORE to restore the window if it's minimized

    private static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        // Import the necessary functions from user32.dll

        // Constants for the ShowWindow function
        const int SW_MAXIMIZE = 3;
        // Get the handle of the console window
        IntPtr consoleWindowHandle = GetForegroundWindow();

        // Restore the window if it's minimized
        ShowWindow(consoleWindowHandle, SW_RESTORE);

        // Maximize the console window
        ShowWindow(consoleWindowHandle, SW_MAXIMIZE);

        // Get the screen size
        Rect screenRect;
        GetWindowRect(consoleWindowHandle, out screenRect);

        // Resize and reposition the console window to fill the screen
        var width = screenRect.Right - screenRect.Left;
        var height = screenRect.Bottom - screenRect.Top;
        MoveWindow(consoleWindowHandle, (int)screenRect.Left, (int)screenRect.Top, (int)width, (int)height, true);

        Console.ReadKey();
    }
}

// Define the Rect structure
public struct Rect
{
    public int Left;
    public int Top;
    public int Right;
    public int Bottom;
}