Setting Up a Minimal API in .NET 6.0+ using Console Application

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Create a Console Application

1. Open Visual Studio.

2. Click on "Create a new project".

3. Choose "Console App (C#)".

4. Description: A project for creating a command-line application that can run on .NET on Windows, Linux, macOS.

5. Click "Next", configure your project, and create it.

Step 2: Edit .csproj File

Edit the .csproj file and change the project SDK to Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Web:

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Web">

  <PropertyGroup>
    <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
    <TargetFramework>net6.0</TargetFramework>
  </PropertyGroup>

</Project>

Step 3: Add DotNetEnv Package

1. Install the DotNetEnv package by running the following command in the terminal:

dotnet add package DotNetEnv

Step 4: Create a .env File

Create a .env file in the root of your project directory and add your environment variables. For example:

PORT=8080

Step 5: Create an Example API

1. Open the Program.cs file.

2. Replace the existing code with the following to create a minimal API with a dynamic port:

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Builder;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting;
using DotNetEnv;

// Load environment variables from .env file
Env.Load();

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
var app = builder.Build();

// Map the example GET endpoint
app.MapGet("/api/example", () => "Hello, World!");

// Get the port number from environment variable or use a default
var port = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("PORT") ?? "5000";

// Start the application on the specified port
app.Urls.Add($"http://*:{port}");

app.Run();

Step 6: Run the API

1. Run the API:

   • Execute the following command to run your application:

     dotnet run

2. Test the API:

   • Open your browser or a tool like Postman.

   • Navigate to http://localhost:<port>/api/example to see the response from the HttpGet endpoint. Replace <port> with the port number specified in your .env file.

Summary

This guide covers setting up a minimal API using a .NET 6.0+ console application. It includes steps for creating the project, configuring it to use the Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Web SDK, adding the DotNetEnv package for environment variable management, and implementing a simple HttpGet endpoint. Additionally, it details how to dynamically set the port number using a .env file, providing flexibility for different deployment environments. By following these steps, you can quickly set up and test a minimal API with a dynamic port configuration.