H.Pipes

Async Named Pipe Wrapper for .NET Standard 2.0

A simple, easy to use, strongly-typed, async wrapper around .NET named pipes.

Features

• Create named pipe servers that can handle multiple client connections simultaneously.
• Send strongly-typed messages between clients and servers: any serializable .NET object can be sent over a pipe and will be automatically serialized/deserialized, including cyclical references and complex object graphs.
• Async
• Requires .NET Standard 2.0
• Supports large messages - up to 300 MiB.
• Server restart automatically
• Automatically wait for the release of the pipe for the server, if it is already in use
• Automatically waiting for a server pipe creating when client connecting
• Automatic reconnect with a given interval and at each client.WriteAsync, if necessary
• Supports variable formatters, default - BinaryFormatter which uses System.Runtime.Serialization.BinaryFormatter inside
• Also available ready formatters in separate nuget packages: H.Formatters.Newtonsoft.Json, H.Formatters.System.Text.Json and H.Formatters.Ceras
• Supports PipeAccessRule’s(see H.Pipes.AccessControl nuget package) or more complex code to access using the PipeServer.PipeStreamInitializeAction property
• Supports Trimming/NativeAOT

Nuget

// All clients and servers that do not need support AccessControl.
Install-Package H.Pipes

// Servers that need support AccessControl.
Install-Package H.Pipes.AccessControl

// If you want to transfer any data that can be serialized/deserialized in json using Newtonsoft.Json.
Install-Package H.Formatters.Newtonsoft.Json

// If you want to transfer any data that can be serialized/deserialized in json using System.Text.Json.
Install-Package H.Formatters.System.Text.Json

// If you want to transfer any data that can be serialized/deserialized in binary using Ceras.
Install-Package H.Formatters.Ceras

Usage

Server:

await using var server = new PipeServer<MyMessage>(pipeName);
server.ClientConnected += async (o, args) =>
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Client {args.Connection.PipeName} is now connected!");

    await args.Connection.WriteAsync(new MyMessage
    {
        Text = "Welcome!"
    });
};
server.ClientDisconnected += (o, args) =>
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Client {args.Connection.PipeName} disconnected");
};
server.MessageReceived += (sender, args) =>
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Client {args.Connection.PipeName} says: {args.Message}");
};
server.ExceptionOccurred += (o, args) => OnExceptionOccurred(args.Exception);

await server.StartAsync();

await Task.Delay(Timeout.InfiniteTimeSpan);

Client:

await using var client = new PipeClient<MyMessage>(pipeName);
client.MessageReceived += (o, args) => Console.WriteLine("MessageReceived: " + args.Message);
client.Disconnected += (o, args) => Console.WriteLine("Disconnected from server");
client.Connected += (o, args) => Console.WriteLine("Connected to server");
client.ExceptionOccurred += (o, args) => OnExceptionOccurred(args.Exception);

await client.ConnectAsync();

await client.WriteAsync(new MyMessage
{
    Text = "Hello!",
});

await Task.Delay(Timeout.InfiniteTimeSpan);

Notes:

• To use the server inside the WinForms/WPF/Other UI application, use Task.Run() or any alternative.
• Be careful and call Dispose before closing the program/after the end of use.
  Pipes are system resources and you might have problems restarting the server if you don’t properly clean up the resources.

Custom Formatters

Since BinaryFormatter is used by default, you should check out this article:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/standard/serialization/binaryformatter-security-guide

Install-Package H.Formatters.Newtonsoft.Json
Install-Package H.Formatters.System.Text.Json
Install-Package H.Formatters.Ceras

using H.Formatters;

await using var server = new PipeServer<MyMessage>(pipeName, formatter: new NewtonsoftJsonFormatter());
await using var client = new PipeClient<MyMessage>(pipeName, formatter: new NewtonsoftJsonFormatter());

Access Control

[!WARNING]
this is only available for the Windows platform.

Install-Package H.Pipes.AccessControl

using System.IO.Pipes;
using H.Pipes.AccessControl;

await using var server = new PipeServer<string>(pipeName);

// You can set PipeSecurity
var pipeSecurity = new PipeSecurity();
pipeSecurity.AddAccessRule(new PipeAccessRule(new SecurityIdentifier(WellKnownSidType.BuiltinUsersSid, null), PipeAccessRights.ReadWrite, AccessControlType.Allow));

server.SetPipeSecurity(pipeSecurity);

// or just add AccessRule's (Please be careful, the server will only consider AccessRules from the last call AddAccessRules())
server.AddAccessRules(new PipeAccessRule(new SecurityIdentifier(WellKnownSidType.BuiltinUsersSid, null), PipeAccessRights.ReadWrite, AccessControlType.Allow));

// or just
server.AllowUsersReadWrite();

Encryption

[!WARNING]
this is only available for the Windows platform.

Install-Package H.Formatters.Inferno

using H.Formatters;

await using var server = new PipeServer<MyMessage>(pipeName, formatter: new SystemTextJsonFormatter());
server.EnableEncryption();

await using var client = new PipeClient<MyMessage>(pipeName, formatter: new SystemTextJsonFormatter());
client.EnableEncryption();

await client.ConnectAsync(source.Token).ConfigureAwait(false);
// Waits for key exchange.
await client.Connection!.WaitExchangeAsync();

server.ClientConnected += async (_, args) =>
{
    // Waits for key exchange.
    await args.Connection.WaitExchangeAsync();

    await args.Connection.WriteAsync(new MyMessage
    {
        Text = "Welcome!"
    }, source.Token).ConfigureAwait(false);
};

GetImpersonationUserName

server.ClientConnected += async (o, args) =>
{
    var name = args.Connection.GetImpersonationUserName();

    Console.WriteLine($"Client {name} is now connected!");
};

Inter-process communication

I recommend that you take a look at my other library if you plan on doing IPC.
This is a SourceGenerator that will generate client and server code based on the presented interface.

Contacts

• mail