How to get int value from enum in C#

By Tan Lee Published on Nov 20, 2024 335

In C#, you can get the integer value of an enum by using a simple type cast.

How to get int value from enum in C#?

For example:

        
              enum LicenseType
{
    Free = 1,
    Trial = 2,
    Enterprise = 3
}

Just cast the enum, e.g.

        
              LicenseType lic = LicenseType.Free;        
// Cast the enum value to int to get its integer representation
int licValue = (int)lic;

The default underlying type for enums in C# is int, so casting an enum to int will work in most cases to retrieve its integer value.

Enums in C# can have different underlying types, such as `uint`, `long`, or `ulong`. If an enum uses one of these types, it should be cast to the specific underlying type of the enum, rather than `int`.

For example: Enum of long values in C#

        
              public enum Country : long
{
    None,
    Canada,
    UnitedStates = (long)int.MaxValue + 1;
}
 
// val will be equal to the *long* value int.MaxValue + 1
long val = (long)Country.UnitedStates;