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ASP.NET Core code generator tool (aspnet-codegenerator)

  • Article

The dotnet aspnet-codegenerator command runs the ASP.NET Core scaffolding engine. Running the dotnet aspnet-codegenerator command is required to scaffold from the command line or when using Visual Studio Code. The command isn't required to use scaffolding with Visual Studio, which includes the scaffolding engine by default.

Install and update the code generator tool

Install the .NET SDK.

dotnet aspnet-codegenerator is a global tool that must be installed. The following command installs the latest stable version of the ASP.NET Core code generator tool:

dotnet tool install -g dotnet-aspnet-codegenerator

Note

By default the architecture of the .NET binaries to install represents the currently running OS architecture. To specify a different OS architecture, see dotnet tool install, --arch option. For more information, see GitHub issue dotnet/AspNetCore.Docs #29262.

If the tool is already installed, the following command updates the tool to the latest stable version available from the installed .NET Core SDKs:

dotnet tool update -g dotnet-aspnet-codegenerator

Uninstall the code generator tool

It may be necessary to uninstall the ASP.NET Core code generator tool to resolve problems. For example, if you installed a preview version of the tool, uninstall it before installing the released version.

The following commands uninstall the ASP.NET Core code generator tool and install the latest stable version:

dotnet tool uninstall -g dotnet-aspnet-codegenerator
dotnet tool install -g dotnet-aspnet-codegenerator

Synopsis

dotnet aspnet-codegenerator [arguments] [-b|--build-base-path] [-c|--configuration] [-n|--nuget-package-dir] [--no-build] [-p|--project] [-tfm|--target-framework]
dotnet aspnet-codegenerator [-h|--help]

Description

The dotnet aspnet-codegenerator global command runs the ASP.NET Core code generator and scaffolding engine.

Arguments

generator

The code generator to run. The available generators are shown in the following table.

Generator Operation
area Scaffolds an area.
blazor Scaffolds Blazor create, read, update, delete, and list pages.
blazor-identity Generates Blazor Identity files.
controller Scaffolds a controller.
identity Scaffolds Identity.
minimalapi Generates an endpoints file (with CRUD API endpoints) given a model and optional database context.
razorpage Scaffolds Razor Pages.
view Scaffolds a view.

Options

-b|--build-base-path

The build base path.

-c|--configuration {Debug|Release}

Defines the build configuration. The default value is Debug.

-h|--help

Prints out a short help for the command.

-n|--nuget-package-dir

Specifies the NuGet package directory.

--no-build

Doesn't build the project before running. Passing --no-build also implicitly sets the --no-restore flag.

-p|--project <PATH>

Specifies the path of the project file to run (folder name or full path). If not specified, the tool defaults to the current directory.

-tfm|--target-framework

The target framework to use.

Generator options

The following sections detail the options available for the supported generators:

Area options

Usage: dotnet aspnet-codegenerator area {AREA NAME}

The {AREA NAME} placeholder is the name of the area to generate.

The preceding command generates the following folders:

  • Areas
    • {AREA NAME}
      • Controllers
      • Data
      • Models
      • Views

Use the -h|--help option for help:

dotnet aspnet-codegenerator area -h

Blazor options

Razor components can be individually scaffolded for Blazor apps by specifying the name of the template to use. The supported templates are:

  • Empty
  • Create
  • Edit
  • Delete
  • Details
  • List
  • CRUD: CRUD is an acronym for Create, Read, Update, and Delete. The CRUD template produces Create, Edit, Delete, Details, and Index (List) components for the app.

The options for the blazor generator are shown in the following table.

Option Description
-dbProvider|--databaseProvider Database provider to use. Options include sqlserver (default), sqlite, cosmos, or postgres.
-dc|--dataContext Database context class to use.
-m|--model Model class to use.
-ns|--namespaceName Specify the name of the namespace to use for the generated Endpoints file.
--relativeFolderPath|-outDir Relative output folder path. If not specified, files are generated in the project folder.

The following example:

  • Uses the Edit template to generate an Edit component (Edit.razor) in the Components/Pages/MoviePages folder of the app. If the MoviePages folder doesn't exist, the tool creates the folder automatically.
  • Uses the SQLite database provider.
  • Uses BlazorWebAppMovies.Data.BlazorWebAppMoviesContext for the database context.
  • Uses the Movie model.
dotnet aspnet-codegenerator blazor Edit -dbProvider sqlite -dc BlazorWebAppMovies.Data.BlazorWebAppMoviesContext -m Movie -outDir Components/Pages

Use the -h|--help option for help:

dotnet aspnet-codegenerator blazor -h

For more information, see ASP.NET Core Blazor QuickGrid component.

Blazor Identity options

Scaffold Identity Razor components into a Blazor app with the blazor-identity generator.

The options for the blazor-identity template are shown in the following table.

Option Description
-dbProvider|--databaseProvider Database provider to use. Options include sqlserver (default) and sqlite.
-dc|--dataContext Database context class to use.
-f|--force Use this option to overwrite existing files.
-fi|--files List of semicolon separated files to scaffold. Use the -lf|--listFiles option to see the available options.
-lf|--listFiles Lists the files that can be scaffolded by using the -fi|--files option.
-rn|--rootNamespace Root namespace to use for generating Identity code.
-u|--userClass Name of the user class to generate.

Use the -h|--help option for help:

dotnet aspnet-codegenerator blazor-identity -h

Controller options

General options are shown in the following table.

Option Description
-b|--bootstrapVersion Specifies the bootstrap version and creates a wwwroot folder for the Bootstrap assets if the folder isn't present.
-dbProvider|--databaseProvider Database provider to use. Options include sqlserver (default), sqlite, cosmos, postgres.
-dc|--dataContext The database context class to use or the name of the class to generate.
-f|--force Overwrite existing files.
-l|--layout Custom layout page to use.
-m|--model Model class to use.
-outDir|--relativeFolderPath Relative output folder path. If not specified, files are generated in the project folder.
-scripts|--referenceScriptLibraries Reference script libraries in the generated views. Adds _ValidationScriptsPartial to Edit and Create pages.
-sqlite|--useSqlite Flag to specify if the database context should use SQLite instead of SQL Server.
-udl|--useDefaultLayout Use the default layout for the views.

The options unique to controller are shown in the following table.

Option Description
-actions|--readWriteActions Generate controller with read/write actions without a model.
-api|--restWithNoViews Generate a controller with REST style API. noViews is assumed and any view related options are ignored.
-async|--useAsyncActions Generate asynchronous controller actions.
-name|--controllerName Name of the controller.
-namespace|--controllerNamespace Specify the name of the namespace to use for the generated controller.
-nv|--noViews Generate no views.

Use the -h|--help option for help:

dotnet aspnet-codegenerator controller -h

For an example that uses the controller generator, see Part 4, add a model to an ASP.NET Core MVC app.

Identity options

For more information, see Scaffold Identity in ASP.NET Core projects.

Minimal API options

Scaffold a Minimal API backend with the minimalapi template.

The options for minimalapi are shown in the following table.

Option Description
-dbProvider|--databaseProvider Database provider to use. Options include sqlserver (default), sqlite, cosmos, or postgres.
-dc|--dataContext Database context class to use.
-e|--endpoints Endpoints class to use (not the file name).
-m|--model Model class to use.
-namespace|--endpointsNamespace Specify the name of the namespace to use for the generated endpoints file.
-o|--open Use this option to enable OpenAPI.
-outDir|--relativeFolderPath Relative output folder path. If not specified, files are generated in the project folder.
-sqlite|--useSqlite Flag to specify if the database context should use SQLite instead of SQL Server.

The following example:

  • Generates an endpoints class named SpeakersEndpoints with API endpoints that map to database operations using the ApplicationDbContext database context class and the BackEnd.Models.Speaker model.
  • Adds app.MapSpeakerEndpoints(); to the Program file (Program.cs) to register the endpoints class.
dotnet aspnet-codegenerator minimalapi -dc ApplicationDbContext -e SpeakerEndpoints -m BackEnd.Models.Speaker -o

Use the -h|--help option for help:

dotnet aspnet-codegenerator minimalapi -h

Razor page options

Razor Pages can be individually scaffolded by specifying the name of the new page and the template to use. The supported templates are:

  • Empty
  • Create
  • Edit
  • Delete
  • Details
  • List

Typically, the template and generated file name isn't specified, which creates the following templates:

  • Create
  • Edit
  • Delete
  • Details
  • List

General options are shown in the following table.

Option Description
-b|--bootstrapVersion Specifies the bootstrap version and creates a wwwroot folder for the Bootstrap assets if the folder isn't present.
-dbProvider|--databaseProvider Database provider to use. Options include sqlserver (default), sqlite, cosmos, postgres.
-dc|--dataContext The database context class to use or the name of the class to generate.
-f|--force Overwrite existing files.
-l|--layout Custom layout page to use.
-m|--model Model class to use.
-outDir|--relativeFolderPath Relative output folder path. If not specified, files are generated in the project folder.
-scripts|--referenceScriptLibraries Reference script libraries in the generated views. Adds _ValidationScriptsPartial to Edit and Create pages.
-sqlite|--useSqlite Flag to specify if the database context should use SQLite instead of SQL Server.
-udl|--useDefaultLayout Use the default layout for the views.

The options unique to razorpage are shown in the following table.

Option Description
-namespace|--namespaceName The name of the namespace to use for the generated PageModel class.
-npm|--noPageModel Don't generate a PageModel class for the Empty template.
-partial|--partialView Generate a partial view. Layout options -l and -udl are ignored if this is specified.

The following example uses the Edit template to generate CustomEditPage.cshtml and CustomEditPage.cshtml.cs in the Pages/Movies folder:

dotnet aspnet-codegenerator razorpage CustomEditPage Edit -dc RazorPagesMovieContext -m Movie -outDir Pages/Movies

Use the -h|--help option for help:

dotnet aspnet-codegenerator razorpage -h

For an example that uses the razorpage generator, see Part 2, add a model.

View options

Views can be individually scaffolded by specifying the name of the view and the template. The supported templates are:

  • Empty
  • Create
  • Edit
  • Delete
  • Details
  • List

General options are shown in the following table.

Option Description
-b|--bootstrapVersion Specifies the bootstrap version and creates a wwwroot folder for the Bootstrap assets if the folder isn't present.
-dbProvider|--databaseProvider Database provider to use. Options include sqlserver (default), sqlite, cosmos, postgres.
-dc|--dataContext The database context class to use or the name of the class to generate.
-f|--force Overwrite existing files.
-l|--layout Custom layout page to use.
-m|--model Model class to use.
-outDir|--relativeFolderPath Relative output folder path. If not specified, files are generated in the project folder.
-scripts|--referenceScriptLibraries Reference script libraries in the generated views. Adds _ValidationScriptsPartial to Edit and Create pages.
-sqlite|--useSqlite Flag to specify if the database context should use SQLite instead of SQL Server.
-udl|--useDefaultLayout Use the default layout for the views.

The options unique to view are shown in the following table.

Option Description
-namespace|--controllerNamespace Specify the name of the namespace to use for the generated controller.
-partial|--partialView Generate a partial view. Other layout options (-l and -udl) are ignored if this is specified.

The following example uses the Edit template to generate CustomEditView.cshtml in the Views/Movies folder:

dotnet aspnet-codegenerator view CustomEditView Edit -dc MovieContext -m Movie -outDir Views/Movies

Use the -h|--help option for help:

dotnet aspnet-codegenerator view -h