Find the next TCP port in .NET

I want to create a new net.tcp://localhost:x/Service endpoint for a WCF service call, with a dynamically assigned new open TCP port.

I know that TcpClient will assign a new client side port when I open a connection to a given server.

Is there a simple way to find the next open TCP port in .NET?

I need the actual number, so that I can build the string above. 0 does not work, since I need to pass that string to another process, so that I can call back on that new channel.

Here is what I was looking for:

static int FreeTcpPort()
{
  TcpListener l = new TcpListener(IPAddress.Loopback, 0);
  l.Start();
  int port = ((IPEndPoint)l.LocalEndpoint).Port;
  l.Stop();
  return port;
}

Use a port number of 0. The TCP stack will allocate the next free one.

It's a solution comparable to the accepted answer of TheSeeker. Though I think it's more readable:

using System;
using System.Net;
using System.Net.Sockets;

	private static readonly IPEndPoint DefaultLoopbackEndpoint = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Loopback, port: 0);

	public static int GetAvailablePort()
	{
	    using (var socket = new Socket(AddressFamily.InterNetwork, SocketType.Stream, ProtocolType.Tcp))
	    {
		    socket.Bind(DefaultLoopbackEndpoint);
		    return ((IPEndPoint)socket.LocalEndPoint).Port;
	    }
	}

I found the following code from Selenium.WebDriver DLL

Namespace: OpenQA.Selenium.Internal

Class: PortUtility

public static int FindFreePort()
{
    int port = 0;
    Socket socket = new Socket(AddressFamily.InterNetwork, SocketType.Stream, ProtocolType.Tcp);
    try
    {
        IPEndPoint localEP = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Any, 0);
        socket.Bind(localEP);
        localEP = (IPEndPoint)socket.LocalEndPoint;
        port = localEP.Port;
    }
    finally
    {
        socket.Close();
    }
    return port;
}

If you just want to give a starting port, and let it return to you the next TCP port available, use code like this:

public static int GetAvailablePort(int startingPort)
{
    var portArray = new List<int>();

    var properties = IPGlobalProperties.GetIPGlobalProperties();

    // Ignore active connections
    var connections = properties.GetActiveTcpConnections();
    portArray.AddRange(from n in connections
                        where n.LocalEndPoint.Port >= startingPort
                        select n.LocalEndPoint.Port);

    // Ignore active tcp listners
    var endPoints = properties.GetActiveTcpListeners();
    portArray.AddRange(from n in endPoints
                        where n.Port >= startingPort
                        select n.Port);

    // Ignore active UDP listeners
    endPoints = properties.GetActiveUdpListeners();
    portArray.AddRange(from n in endPoints
                        where n.Port >= startingPort
                        select n.Port);

    portArray.Sort();

    for (var i = startingPort; i < UInt16.MaxValue; i++)
        if (!portArray.Contains(i))
            return i;

    return 0;
}

First open the port, then give the correct port number to the other process.

Otherwise it is still possible that some other process opens the port first and you still have a different one.

Here's a more abbreviated way to implement this if you want to find the next available TCP port within a given range:

private int GetNextUnusedPort(int min, int max)
{
	if (max < min)
		throw new ArgumentException("Max cannot be less than min.");

	var ipProperties = IPGlobalProperties.GetIPGlobalProperties();

	var usedPorts =
		ipProperties.GetActiveTcpConnections()
			.Where(connection => connection.State != TcpState.Closed)
			.Select(connection => connection.LocalEndPoint)
			.Concat(ipProperties.GetActiveTcpListeners())
			.Concat(ipProperties.GetActiveUdpListeners())
			.Select(endpoint => endpoint.Port)
			.ToArray();

	var firstUnused =
		Enumerable.Range(min, max - min)
			.Where(port => !usedPorts.Contains(port))
			.Select(port => new int?(port))
			.FirstOrDefault();

	if (!firstUnused.HasValue)
		throw new Exception($"All local TCP ports between {min} and {max} are currently in use.");

	return firstUnused.Value;
}

If you want to get a free port in a specific range in order to use it as local port / end point:

private int GetFreePortInRange(int PortStartIndex, int PortEndIndex)
{
    DevUtils.LogDebugMessage(string.Format("GetFreePortInRange, PortStartIndex: {0} PortEndIndex: {1}", PortStartIndex, PortEndIndex));
    try
    {
        IPGlobalProperties ipGlobalProperties = IPGlobalProperties.GetIPGlobalProperties();

        IPEndPoint[] tcpEndPoints = ipGlobalProperties.GetActiveTcpListeners();
        List<int> usedServerTCpPorts = tcpEndPoints.Select(p => p.Port).ToList<int>();

        IPEndPoint[] udpEndPoints = ipGlobalProperties.GetActiveUdpListeners();
        List<int> usedServerUdpPorts = udpEndPoints.Select(p => p.Port).ToList<int>();

        TcpConnectionInformation[] tcpConnInfoArray = ipGlobalProperties.GetActiveTcpConnections();
        List<int> usedPorts = tcpConnInfoArray.Where(p=> p.State != TcpState.Closed).Select(p => p.LocalEndPoint.Port).ToList<int>();

        usedPorts.AddRange(usedServerTCpPorts.ToArray());
        usedPorts.AddRange(usedServerUdpPorts.ToArray());

        int unusedPort = 0;

        for (int port = PortStartIndex; port < PortEndIndex; port++)
        {
            if (!usedPorts.Contains(port))
            {
                unusedPort = port;
                break;
            }
        }
        DevUtils.LogDebugMessage(string.Format("Local unused Port:{0}", unusedPort.ToString()));

        if (unusedPort == 0)
        {
            DevUtils.LogErrorMessage("Out of ports");
            throw new ApplicationException("GetFreePortInRange, Out of ports");
        }

        return unusedPort;
    }
    catch (Exception ex)
    {
        string errorMessage = ex.Message;
        DevUtils.LogErrorMessage(errorMessage);
        throw;
    }
}


private int GetLocalFreePort()
{
    int hemoStartLocalPort = int.Parse(DBConfig.GetField("Site.Config.hemoStartLocalPort"));
    int hemoEndLocalPort = int.Parse(DBConfig.GetField("Site.Config.hemoEndLocalPort"));
    int localPort = GetFreePortInRange(hemoStartLocalPort, hemoEndLocalPort);
    DevUtils.LogDebugMessage(string.Format("Local Free Port:{0}", localPort.ToString()));
    return localPort;
}


public void Connect(string host, int port)
{
    try
    {
        // Create socket
        Socket socket = new Socket(AddressFamily.InterNetwork, SocketType.Stream, ProtocolType.Tcp);
        //socket.SetSocketOption(SocketOptionLevel.Socket, SocketOptionName.ReuseAddress, true);

        var localPort = GetLocalFreePort();
        // Create an endpoint for the specified IP on any port
        IPEndPoint bindEndPoint = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Any, localPort);

        // Bind the socket to the endpoint
        socket.Bind(bindEndPoint);

        // Connect to host
        socket.Connect(IPAddress.Parse(host), port);

        socket.Dispose();
    }
    catch (SocketException ex)
    {
        // Get the error message
        string errorMessage = ex.Message;
        DevUtils.LogErrorMessage(errorMessage);
    }
}


public void Connect2(string host, int port)
{
    try
    {
        // Create socket

        var localPort = GetLocalFreePort();

        // Create an endpoint for the specified IP on any port
        IPEndPoint bindEndPoint = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Any, localPort);

        var client = new TcpClient(bindEndPoint);
        //client.Client.SetSocketOption(SocketOptionLevel.Socket, SocketOptionName.ReuseAddress, true); //will release port when done

        // Connect to the host
        client.Connect(IPAddress.Parse(host), port);

        client.Close();
    }
    catch (SocketException ex)
    {
        // Get the error message
        string errorMessage = ex.Message;
        DevUtils.LogErrorMessage(errorMessage);
    }
}