# dahall/Vanara

A set of .NET libraries for Windows implementing PInvoke calls to many native Windows APIs with supporting wrappers.

Repository: https://github.com/dahall/Vanara
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/vanara
Language: C#
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: pinvoke, dotnet, dotnet-standard, controls, windows, extensions, shell, interop, windows-api, nuget, winapi
Last push: 2026-08-17T15:32:42+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 98/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 98, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3201, "days_push": 16, "days_rel": 18, "gap_med": 29, "n_releases_24m": 18}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2092, forks 225 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:12.560919+00:00)

## What it is
Vanara is a set of .NET libraries providing P/Invoke declarations, interfaces, enums, and structures for many native Windows APIs, along with helpful wrappers. It is distributed as modular NuGet assemblies targeting .NET Framework, .NET Core, and .NET Standard, with extensions for WinForms, WPF, and UWP.

## Use cases
- call native Windows APIs from C# without writing P/Invoke signatures
- access Windows Shell features like taskbar, shell items, and dialogs from .NET
- interoperate with kernel32, user32, gdi32, and other Win32 libraries
- wrap native handles and COM interfaces in safe .NET classes
- build Windows desktop apps that need OS-level functionality

## When to choose
- you need to call Win32 or COM APIs from .NET and want maintained, tested signatures
- you want modular NuGet packages covering specific Windows libraries
- you need wrappers that make raw native APIs safer and more idiomatic in C#

## When to avoid
- you are targeting non-Windows platforms exclusively
- you only need a handful of simple P/Invoke calls and prefer hand-written declarations
- you need a higher-level abstraction rather than near-raw API access

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: sdk, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, windows, apis
- platform: windows, dotnet, cross-platform
- tags: pinvoke, windows-api, interop, winapi, shell, nuget, csharp

## Member repositories
- dahall/Vanara (main) score 98

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:12.560919+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:55:30.217883+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/dahall/Vanara (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:12.560919+00:00, sha 4b459208d40f)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.