Programmatically how to retrieve the Content Sources from Search Service application in SharePoint 2010

In this article we will be seeing how to retrieve all the content sources from search service application in SharePoint 2010.

If you go to Central Administration => Application Management => Manage service applications => Search Service Application => Crawling => Content Sources you could see all the content sources.



C# code:

• Open Visual Studio 2010.
• Go to File => New => Project.
• Select Console Application from the installed templates.
• Enter the Name and click Ok.
• Add the following references.
  
  o Microsoft.SharePoint.dll
  o Microsoft.Office.Server.dll
  o Microsoft.Office.Server.Search.dll
   
• Add the following namespaces.
  
  o using Microsoft.Office.Server.Search.Administration;
  o using Microsoft.Office.Server;
  o using Microsoft.SharePoint;
   
• Replace the code with the following.
  
  //  search service application name   
              string ssaName = "Search Service Application";
              SearchContext context = SearchContext.GetContext(ssaName);
  Content ssaContent = new Content(context);
              ContentSourceCollection ssaContentSources = ssaContent.ContentSources;
              foreach (ContentSource cs in ssaContentSources)
              {
                  Console.WriteLine("Content Source Name: " + cs.Name + "  ID: " + cs.Id);
                  Console.ReadLine();
              }
   
• Build the solution.
• Hit F5.