How Can I Retrieve a List of Installed Applications in C#?

Use C# to get system installed applications

Question:

How to determine the applications installed on the system using C# code?

Solution:

To get a list of installed applications on your system using C#, you can use the registry or WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation).

Registry-based method:

Iterating through the registry key "SOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionUninstall" can provide a complete list of installed applications. Each subkey represents a different application, and the "DisplayName" value contains the name of the application.

WMI method:

A slower but feasible alternative is to use WMI through the ManagementObjectSearcher object. The query "SELECT * FROM Win32_Product" will retrieve a list of installed programs. The "Name" property of each ManagementObject represents the name of the application.

Code snippet:

Based on registry:

<code class="language-csharp">string registry_key = @"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall";
using (Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey key = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(registry_key))
{
    foreach (string subkey_name in key.GetSubKeyNames())
    {
        using (RegistryKey subkey = key.OpenSubKey(subkey_name))
        {
            Console.WriteLine(subkey.GetValue("DisplayName"));
        }
    }
}</code>

Based on WMI:

<code class="language-csharp">ManagementObjectSearcher mos = new ManagementObjectSearcher("SELECT * FROM Win32_Product");
foreach (ManagementObject mo in mos.Get())
{
    Console.WriteLine(mo["Name"]);
}</code>

Note:

Registry-based methods may also capture Windows updates and components. WMI, although slower, may miss installed applications for all users. Depending on your needs, you can choose the appropriate method.

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