http://github.com/jbtule/diminish-dependencies

DiminishDependencies is Public Domain set of boot straping code to include compressed assemblies (including your original executable) into single unified shell application that decompresseses and runs its. It uses public domain LZMA code from 7zip to compress and thus gets very high compression ratios.

The suggested way to use this:

• Install nuget package DiminishDependencies into a NEW console application MyProgram.Minified (or MyProgram.Diminished or MyProgram.Compressed etc...) of your solution.

• Install nuget package DiminishDependencies.Tool into your solution

• Add Reference... in MyProgram.Minified referencing your MyProgram project, so Copy Local to false in Properties of reference.

• Create a postbuild script for MyProgram to copy/compress over your program and dependencies to your MyProgram.Mininifed project using DiminishDependencies.Tool ->

"$(SolutionDir)packages\DiminishDependencies.Tool.1.1.2\tools\DiminishDependencies.exe" -o "$(SolutionDir)MyProgram.Minifiedd\Diminish\refs" "$(TargetDir)MyProgram.exe" "$(TargetDir)*.dll"

in MonoDevelop it would be

mono "${SolutionDir}/packages/DiminishDependencies.Tool.1.1.2/tools/DiminishDependencies.exe" -o "$(SolutionDir)/MyProgram.Minfinified/Diminish/refs" "$(TargetDir)/MyProgram.exe" "$(TargetDir)/*.dll"

• Build it so the postbuild script runs

• In MyProgram.Minified you have a Diminish/refs folder, add existing and set to EmbeddedResource each of your newly copied and compressed dependencies, ie. MyProgram.exe.dep-lzma, MyDll.dll.dep-lzma, etc.

• In MyProgram.Minified.Program.Main() you can use the the convenince method for a latebound call/resolver setup also don't forget to make sure the main function is public in your MyProgram project.

 public class Program
    {
        public static int Main(string[] args)
        {
			return Diminish.Main<int>.Call<string[]>(assemblyName:"MyProgram", typeName:"MyProgram.Program")(args);
         }
    }

• Now any subsequent build will produce and up to date compressed and runnable exe.

###Alternatively###

you could try:

• Adding the resolve code to static constructor to MyProgram.Minified.Program (although you may need to nest calls that need to the resolver just to make sure it doesn't try too early.

     static Program()
        {
            Diminish.Setup.Resolver();
        }

• or using a module initializer with InjectModuleInitializer