What does the @ prefix do on string literals in C#?

The @ prefix in C# creates a verbatim string literal, which means you don't need to escape special characters like backslashes, quotes, or newlines. This makes the string easier to read and write, especially for file paths, regular expressions, and multi-line text.

Syntax

Following is the syntax for verbatim string literals −

@"string content here"

To include a double quote inside a verbatim string, use two consecutive quotes −

@"He said ""Hello"" to me"

Using @ for File Paths

The @ prefix eliminates the need to escape backslashes in file paths −

using System;

class Program {
   static void Main() {
      // Without @ prefix - requires escaping
      string path1 = "D:\Users\Documents\file.txt";
      
      // With @ prefix - no escaping needed
      string path2 = @"D:\Users\Documents\file.txt";
      
      Console.WriteLine("Escaped path: " + path1);
      Console.WriteLine("Verbatim path: " + path2);
      Console.WriteLine("Paths are equal: " + (path1 == path2));
   }
}

The output of the above code is −

Escaped path: D:\Users\Documents\file.txt
Verbatim path: D:\Users\Documents\file.txt
Paths are equal: True

Using @ for Multi-line Strings

Verbatim strings preserve line breaks and formatting exactly as written −

using System;

class Program {
   static void Main() {
      string message = @"Welcome User,
Kindly wait for the image to
load";
      
      Console.WriteLine(message);
      Console.WriteLine();
      
      string sql = @"SELECT Name, Age
FROM Users
WHERE Age > 18
ORDER BY Name";
      
      Console.WriteLine("SQL Query:");
      Console.WriteLine(sql);
   }
}

The output of the above code is −

Welcome User,
Kindly wait for the image to
load

SQL Query:
SELECT Name, Age
FROM Users
WHERE Age > 18
ORDER BY Name

Using @ with Quotes Inside Strings

To include double quotes in verbatim strings, use two consecutive quote characters −

using System;

class Program {
   static void Main() {
      string quote = @"She said ""Hello World"" and smiled.";
      string json = @"{""name"": ""John"", ""age"": 30}";
      
      Console.WriteLine(quote);
      Console.WriteLine(json);
   }
}

The output of the above code is −

She said "Hello World" and smiled.
{"name": "John", "age": 30}

Comparison

Common Use Cases

• File paths: Windows file paths with backslashes

• Regular expressions: Patterns with many special characters

• SQL queries: Multi-line database queries

• JSON/XML: Strings containing quotes and formatting

Conclusion

The @ prefix in C# creates verbatim string literals that preserve formatting and eliminate escape sequence processing. This makes code more readable when working with file paths, multi-line text, and strings containing special characters like quotes or backslashes.