Minimal APIs quick reference

This document:

• Provides a quick reference for minimal APIs.
• Is intended for experienced developers. For an introduction, see Tutorial: Create a minimal API with ASP.NET Core.

The minimal APIs consist of:

• WebApplication and WebApplicationBuilder
• Route Handlers

WebApplication

The following code is generated by an ASP.NET Core template:

C#

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

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello World!");

app.Run();

The preceding code can be created via dotnet new web on the command line or selecting the Empty Web template in Visual Studio.

The following code creates a WebApplication (app) without explicitly creating a WebApplicationBuilder:

C#

var app = WebApplication.Create(args);

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello World!");

app.Run();

WebApplication.Create initializes a new instance of the WebApplication class with preconfigured defaults.

Working with ports

When a web app is created with Visual Studio or dotnet new, a Properties/launchSettings.json file is created that specifies the ports the app responds to. In the port setting samples that follow, running the app from Visual Studio returns an error dialog Unable to connect to web server 'AppName'. Visual Studio returns an error because it's expecting the port specified in Properties/launchSettings.json, but the app is using the port specified by app.Run("http://localhost:3000"). Run the following port changing samples from the command line.

The following sections set the port the app responds to.

C#

var app = WebApplication.Create(args);

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello World!");

app.Run("http://localhost:3000");

In the preceding code, the app responds to port 3000.

Multiple ports

In the following code, the app responds to port 3000 and 4000.

C#

var app = WebApplication.Create(args);

app.Urls.Add("http://localhost:3000");
app.Urls.Add("http://localhost:4000");

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello World");

app.Run();

Set the port from the command line

The following command makes the app respond to port 7777:

.NET CLI

dotnet run --urls="https://localhost:7777"

If the Kestrel endpoint is also configured in the appsettings.json file, the appsettings.json file specified URL is used. For more information, see Kestrel endpoint configuration

Read the port from environment

The following code reads the port from the environment:

C#

var app = WebApplication.Create(args);

var port = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("PORT") ?? "3000";

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello World");

app.Run($"http://localhost:{port}");

The preferred way to set the port from the environment is to use the ASPNETCORE_URLS environment variable, which is shown in the following section.

Set the ports via the ASPNETCORE_URLS environment variable

The ASPNETCORE_URLS environment variable is available to set the port:

ASPNETCORE_URLS=http://localhost:3000

ASPNETCORE_URLS supports multiple URLs:

ASPNETCORE_URLS=http://localhost:3000;https://localhost:5000

Listen on all interfaces

The following samples demonstrate listening on all interfaces

http://*:3000

C#

var app = WebApplication.Create(args);

app.Urls.Add("http://*:3000");

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello World");

app.Run();

http://+:3000

C#

var app = WebApplication.Create(args);

app.Urls.Add("http://+:3000");

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello World");

app.Run();

http://0.0.0.0:3000

C#

var app = WebApplication.Create(args);

app.Urls.Add("http://0.0.0.0:3000");

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello World");

app.Run();

Listen on all interfaces using ASPNETCORE_URLS

The preceding samples can use ASPNETCORE_URLS

ASPNETCORE_URLS=http://*:3000;https://+:5000;http://0.0.0.0:5005

Listen on all interfaces using ASPNETCORE_HTTPS_PORTS

The preceding samples can use ASPNETCORE_HTTPS_PORTS and ASPNETCORE_HTTP_PORTS.

ASPNETCORE_HTTP_PORTS=3000;5005
ASPNETCORE_HTTPS_PORTS=5000

For more information, see Configure endpoints for the ASP.NET Core Kestrel web server

Specify HTTPS with development certificate

C#

var app = WebApplication.Create(args);

app.Urls.Add("https://localhost:3000");

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello World");

app.Run();

For more information on the development certificate, see Trust the ASP.NET Core HTTPS development certificate on Windows and macOS.

Specify HTTPS using a custom certificate

The following sections show how to specify the custom certificate using the appsettings.json file and via configuration.

Specify the custom certificate with appsettings.json

JSON

{
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information",
      "Microsoft.AspNetCore": "Warning"
    }
  },
  "AllowedHosts": "*",
  "Kestrel": {
    "Certificates": {
      "Default": {
        "Path": "cert.pem",
        "KeyPath": "key.pem"
      }
    }
  }
}

Specify the custom certificate via configuration

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Configure the cert and the key
builder.Configuration["Kestrel:Certificates:Default:Path"] = "cert.pem";
builder.Configuration["Kestrel:Certificates:Default:KeyPath"] = "key.pem";

var app = builder.Build();

app.Urls.Add("https://localhost:3000");

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello World");

app.Run();

Use the certificate APIs

C#

using System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.WebHost.ConfigureKestrel(options =>
{
    options.ConfigureHttpsDefaults(httpsOptions =>
    {
        var certPath = Path.Combine(builder.Environment.ContentRootPath, "cert.pem");
        var keyPath = Path.Combine(builder.Environment.ContentRootPath, "key.pem");

        httpsOptions.ServerCertificate = X509Certificate2.CreateFromPemFile(certPath, 
                                         keyPath);
    });
});

var app = builder.Build();

app.Urls.Add("https://localhost:3000");

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello World");

app.Run();

Read the environment

C#

var app = WebApplication.Create(args);

if (!app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
{
    app.UseExceptionHandler("/oops");
}

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello World");
app.MapGet("/oops", () => "Oops! An error happened.");

app.Run();

For more information using the environment, see Use multiple environments in ASP.NET Core

Configuration

The following code reads from the configuration system:

C#

var app = WebApplication.Create(args);

var message = app.Configuration["HelloKey"] ?? "Config failed!";

app.MapGet("/", () => message);

app.Run();

For more information, see Configuration in ASP.NET Core

Logging

The following code writes a message to the log on application startup:

C#

var app = WebApplication.Create(args);

app.Logger.LogInformation("The app started");

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello World");

app.Run();

For more information, see Logging in .NET Core and ASP.NET Core

Access the Dependency Injection (DI) container

The following code shows how to get services from the DI container during application startup:

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.Services.AddControllers();
builder.Services.AddScoped<SampleService>();

var app = builder.Build();

app.MapControllers();

using (var scope = app.Services.CreateScope())
{
    var sampleService = scope.ServiceProvider.GetRequiredService<SampleService>();
    sampleService.DoSomething();
}

app.Run();

The following code shows how to access keys from the DI container using the [FromKeyedServices] attribute:

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.Services.AddKeyedSingleton<ICache, BigCache>("big");
builder.Services.AddKeyedSingleton<ICache, SmallCache>("small");

var app = builder.Build();

app.MapGet("/big", ([FromKeyedServices("big")] ICache bigCache) => bigCache.Get("date"));

app.MapGet("/small", ([FromKeyedServices("small")] ICache smallCache) => smallCache.Get("date"));

app.Run();

public interface ICache
{
    object Get(string key);
}
public class BigCache : ICache
{
    public object Get(string key) => $"Resolving {key} from big cache.";
}

public class SmallCache : ICache
{
    public object Get(string key) => $"Resolving {key} from small cache.";
}

For more information on DI, see Dependency injection in ASP.NET Core.

WebApplicationBuilder

This section contains sample code using WebApplicationBuilder.

Change the content root, application name, and environment

The following code sets the content root, application name, and environment:

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(new WebApplicationOptions
{
    Args = args,
    ApplicationName = typeof(Program).Assembly.FullName,
    ContentRootPath = Directory.GetCurrentDirectory(),
    EnvironmentName = Environments.Staging,
    WebRootPath = "customwwwroot"
});

Console.WriteLine($"Application Name: {builder.Environment.ApplicationName}");
Console.WriteLine($"Environment Name: {builder.Environment.EnvironmentName}");
Console.WriteLine($"ContentRoot Path: {builder.Environment.ContentRootPath}");
Console.WriteLine($"WebRootPath: {builder.Environment.WebRootPath}");

var app = builder.Build();

WebApplication.CreateBuilder initializes a new instance of the WebApplicationBuilder class with preconfigured defaults.

For more information, see ASP.NET Core fundamentals overview

Change the content root, app name, and environment by using environment variables or command line

The following table shows the environment variable and command-line argument used to change the content root, app name, and environment:

feature	Environment variable	Command-line argument
Application name	ASPNETCORE_APPLICATIONNAME	--applicationName
Environment name	ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT	--environment
Content root	ASPNETCORE_CONTENTROOT	--contentRoot

Add configuration providers

The following sample adds the INI configuration provider:

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.Configuration.AddIniFile("appsettings.ini");

var app = builder.Build();

For detailed information, see File configuration providers in Configuration in ASP.NET Core.

Read configuration

By default the WebApplicationBuilder reads configuration from multiple sources, including:

• appSettings.json and appSettings.{environment}.json
• Environment variables
• The command line

For a complete list of configuration sources read, see Default configuration in Configuration in ASP.NET Core.

The following code reads HelloKey from configuration and displays the value at the / endpoint. If the configuration value is null, "Hello" is assigned to message:

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

var message = builder.Configuration["HelloKey"] ?? "Hello";

var app = builder.Build();

app.MapGet("/", () => message);

app.Run();

Read the environment

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

if (builder.Environment.IsDevelopment())
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Running in development.");
}

var app = builder.Build();

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello World!");

app.Run();

Add logging providers

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Configure JSON logging to the console.
builder.Logging.AddJsonConsole();

var app = builder.Build();

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello JSON console!");

app.Run();

Add services

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Add the memory cache services.
builder.Services.AddMemoryCache();

// Add a custom scoped service.
builder.Services.AddScoped<ITodoRepository, TodoRepository>();
var app = builder.Build();

Customize the IHostBuilder

Existing extension methods on IHostBuilder can be accessed using the Host property:

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Wait 30 seconds for graceful shutdown.
builder.Host.ConfigureHostOptions(o => o.ShutdownTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30));

var app = builder.Build();

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello World!");

app.Run();

Customize the IWebHostBuilder

Extension methods on IWebHostBuilder can be accessed using the WebApplicationBuilder.WebHost property.

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Change the HTTP server implemenation to be HTTP.sys based
builder.WebHost.UseHttpSys();

var app = builder.Build();

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello HTTP.sys");

app.Run();

Change the web root

By default, the web root is relative to the content root in the wwwroot folder. Web root is where the static files middleware looks for static files. Web root can be changed with WebHostOptions, the command line, or with the UseWebRoot method:

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(new WebApplicationOptions
{
    Args = args,
    // Look for static files in webroot
    WebRootPath = "webroot"
});

var app = builder.Build();

app.Run();

Custom dependency injection (DI) container

The following example uses Autofac:

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.Host.UseServiceProviderFactory(new AutofacServiceProviderFactory());

// Register services directly with Autofac here. Don't
// call builder.Populate(), that happens in AutofacServiceProviderFactory.
builder.Host.ConfigureContainer<ContainerBuilder>(builder => builder.RegisterModule(new MyApplicationModule()));

var app = builder.Build();

Add Middleware

Any existing ASP.NET Core middleware can be configured on the WebApplication:

C#

var app = WebApplication.Create(args);

// Setup the file server to serve static files.
app.UseFileServer();

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello World!");

app.Run();

For more information, see ASP.NET Core Middleware

Developer exception page

WebApplication.CreateBuilder initializes a new instance of the WebApplicationBuilder class with preconfigured defaults. The developer exception page is enabled in the preconfigured defaults. When the following code is run in the development environment, navigating to / renders a friendly page that shows the exception.

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

var app = builder.Build();

app.MapGet("/", () =>
{
    throw new InvalidOperationException("Oops, the '/' route has thrown an exception.");
});

app.Run();

ASP.NET Core Middleware

The following table lists some of the middleware frequently used with minimal APIs.

Middleware	Description	API
Authentication	Provides authentication support.	UseAuthentication
Authorization	Provides authorization support.	UseAuthorization
CORS	Configures Cross-Origin Resource Sharing.	UseCors
Exception Handler	Globally handles exceptions thrown by the middleware pipeline.	UseExceptionHandler
Forwarded Headers	Forwards proxied headers onto the current request.	UseForwardedHeaders
HTTPS Redirection	Redirects all HTTP requests to HTTPS.	UseHttpsRedirection
HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS)	Security enhancement middleware that adds a special response header.	UseHsts
Request Logging	Provides support for logging HTTP requests and responses.	UseHttpLogging
Request Timeouts	Provides support for configuring request timeouts, global default and per endpoint.	UseRequestTimeouts
W3C Request Logging	Provides support for logging HTTP requests and responses in the W3C format.	UseW3CLogging
Response Caching	Provides support for caching responses.	UseResponseCaching
Response Compression	Provides support for compressing responses.	UseResponseCompression
Session	Provides support for managing user sessions.	UseSession
Static Files	Provides support for serving static files and directory browsing.	UseStaticFiles, UseFileServer
WebSockets	Enables the WebSockets protocol.	UseWebSockets

The following sections cover request handling: routing, parameter binding, and responses.

Routing

A configured WebApplication supports Map{Verb} and MapMethods where {Verb} is a camel-cased HTTP method like Get, Post, Put or Delete:

C#

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

app.MapGet("/", () => "This is a GET");
app.MapPost("/", () => "This is a POST");
app.MapPut("/", () => "This is a PUT");
app.MapDelete("/", () => "This is a DELETE");

app.MapMethods("/options-or-head", new[] { "OPTIONS", "HEAD" }, 
                          () => "This is an options or head request ");

app.Run();

The Delegate arguments passed to these methods are called "route handlers".

Route Handlers

Route handlers are methods that execute when the route matches. Route handlers can be a lambda expression, a local function, an instance method or a static method. Route handlers can be synchronous or asynchronous.

Lambda expression

C#

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

app.MapGet("/inline", () => "This is an inline lambda");

var handler = () => "This is a lambda variable";

app.MapGet("/", handler);

app.Run();

Local function

C#

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

string LocalFunction() => "This is local function";

app.MapGet("/", LocalFunction);

app.Run();

Instance method

C#

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

var handler = new HelloHandler();

app.MapGet("/", handler.Hello);

app.Run();

class HelloHandler
{
    public string Hello()
    {
        return "Hello Instance method";
    }
}

Static method

C#

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

app.MapGet("/", HelloHandler.Hello);

app.Run();

class HelloHandler
{
    public static string Hello()
    {
        return "Hello static method";
    }
}

Endpoint defined outside of Program.cs

Minimal APIs don't have to be located in Program.cs.

Program.cs

C#

using MinAPISeparateFile;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateSlimBuilder(args);

var app = builder.Build();

TodoEndpoints.Map(app);

app.Run();

TodoEndpoints.cs

C#

namespace MinAPISeparateFile;

public static class TodoEndpoints
{
    public static void Map(WebApplication app)
    {
        app.MapGet("/", async context =>
        {
            // Get all todo items
            await context.Response.WriteAsJsonAsync(new { Message = "All todo items" });
        });

        app.MapGet("/{id}", async context =>
        {
            // Get one todo item
            await context.Response.WriteAsJsonAsync(new { Message = "One todo item" });
        });
    }
}

See also Route groups later in this article.

Named endpoints and link generation

Endpoints can be given names in order to generate URLs to the endpoint. Using a named endpoint avoids having to hard code paths in an app:

C#

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

app.MapGet("/hello", () => "Hello named route")
   .WithName("hi");

app.MapGet("/", (LinkGenerator linker) => 
        $"The link to the hello route is {linker.GetPathByName("hi", values: null)}");

app.Run();

The preceding code displays The link to the hello route is /hello from the / endpoint.

NOTE: Endpoint names are case sensitive.

Endpoint names:

• Must be globally unique.
• Are used as the OpenAPI operation id when OpenAPI support is enabled. For more information, see OpenAPI.

Route Parameters

Route parameters can be captured as part of the route pattern definition:

C#

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

app.MapGet("/users/{userId}/books/{bookId}", 
    (int userId, int bookId) => $"The user id is {userId} and book id is {bookId}");

app.Run();

The preceding code returns The user id is 3 and book id is 7 from the URI /users/3/books/7.

The route handler can declare the parameters to capture. When a request is made to a route with parameters declared to capture, the parameters are parsed and passed to the handler. This makes it easy to capture the values in a type safe way. In the preceding code, userId and bookId are both int.

In the preceding code, if either route value cannot be converted to an int, an exception is thrown. The GET request /users/hello/books/3 throws the following exception:

BadHttpRequestException: Failed to bind parameter "int userId" from "hello".

Wildcard and catch all routes

The following catch all route returns Routing to hello from the `/posts/hello' endpoint:

C#

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

app.MapGet("/posts/{*rest}", (string rest) => $"Routing to {rest}");

app.Run();

Route constraints

Route constraints constrain the matching behavior of a route.

C#

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

app.MapGet("/todos/{id:int}", (int id) => db.Todos.Find(id));
app.MapGet("/todos/{text}", (string text) => db.Todos.Where(t => t.Text.Contains(text));
app.MapGet("/posts/{slug:regex(^[a-z0-9_-]+$)}", (string slug) => $"Post {slug}");

app.Run();

The following table demonstrates the preceding route templates and their behavior:

Route Template	Example Matching URI
/todos/{id:int}	/todos/1
/todos/{text}	/todos/something
/posts/{slug:regex(^[a-z0-9_-]+$)}	/posts/mypost

For more information, see Route constraint reference in Routing in ASP.NET Core.

Route groups

The MapGroup extension method helps organize groups of endpoints with a common prefix. It reduces repetitive code and allows for customizing entire groups of endpoints with a single call to methods like RequireAuthorization and WithMetadata which add endpoint metadata.

For example, the following code creates two similar groups of endpoints:

C#

app.MapGroup("/public/todos")
    .MapTodosApi()
    .WithTags("Public");

app.MapGroup("/private/todos")
    .MapTodosApi()
    .WithTags("Private")
    .AddEndpointFilterFactory(QueryPrivateTodos)
    .RequireAuthorization();


EndpointFilterDelegate QueryPrivateTodos(EndpointFilterFactoryContext factoryContext, EndpointFilterDelegate next)
{
    var dbContextIndex = -1;

    foreach (var argument in factoryContext.MethodInfo.GetParameters())
    {
        if (argument.ParameterType == typeof(TodoDb))
        {
            dbContextIndex = argument.Position;
            break;
        }
    }

    // Skip filter if the method doesn't have a TodoDb parameter.
    if (dbContextIndex < 0)
    {
        return next;
    }

    return async invocationContext =>
    {
        var dbContext = invocationContext.GetArgument<TodoDb>(dbContextIndex);
        dbContext.IsPrivate = true;

        try
        {
            return await next(invocationContext);
        }
        finally
        {
            // This should only be relevant if you're pooling or otherwise reusing the DbContext instance.
            dbContext.IsPrivate = false;
        }
    };
}

C#

public static RouteGroupBuilder MapTodosApi(this RouteGroupBuilder group)
{
    group.MapGet("/", GetAllTodos);
    group.MapGet("/{id}", GetTodo);
    group.MapPost("/", CreateTodo);
    group.MapPut("/{id}", UpdateTodo);
    group.MapDelete("/{id}", DeleteTodo);

    return group;
}

In this scenario, you can use a relative address for the Location header in the 201 Created result:

C#

public static async Task<Created<Todo>> CreateTodo(Todo todo, TodoDb database)
{
    await database.AddAsync(todo);
    await database.SaveChangesAsync();

    return TypedResults.Created($"{todo.Id}", todo);
}

The first group of endpoints will only match requests prefixed with /public/todos and are accessible without any authentication. The second group of endpoints will only match requests prefixed with /private/todos and require authentication.

The QueryPrivateTodos endpoint filter factory is a local function that modifies the route handler's TodoDb parameters to allow to access and store private todo data.

Route groups also support nested groups and complex prefix patterns with route parameters and constraints. In the following example, and route handler mapped to the user group can capture the {org} and {group} route parameters defined in the outer group prefixes.

The prefix can also be empty. This can be useful for adding endpoint metadata or filters to a group of endpoints without changing the route pattern.

C#

var all = app.MapGroup("").WithOpenApi();
var org = all.MapGroup("{org}");
var user = org.MapGroup("{user}");
user.MapGet("", (string org, string user) => $"{org}/{user}");

Adding filters or metadata to a group behaves the same way as adding them individually to each endpoint before adding any extra filters or metadata that may have been added to an inner group or specific endpoint.

C#

var outer = app.MapGroup("/outer");
var inner = outer.MapGroup("/inner");

inner.AddEndpointFilter((context, next) =>
{
    app.Logger.LogInformation("/inner group filter");
    return next(context);
});

outer.AddEndpointFilter((context, next) =>
{
    app.Logger.LogInformation("/outer group filter");
    return next(context);
});

inner.MapGet("/", () => "Hi!").AddEndpointFilter((context, next) =>
{
    app.Logger.LogInformation("MapGet filter");
    return next(context);
});

In the above example, the outer filter will log the incoming request before the inner filter even though it was added second. Because the filters were applied to different groups, the order they were added relative to each other does not matter. The order filters are added does matter if applied to the same group or specific endpoint.

A request to /outer/inner/ will log the following:

.NET CLI

/outer group filter
/inner group filter
MapGet filter

Parameter binding

Parameter binding is the process of converting request data into strongly typed parameters that are expressed by route handlers. A binding source determines where parameters are bound from. Binding sources can be explicit or inferred based on HTTP method and parameter type.

Supported binding sources:

• Route values
• Query string
• Header
• Body (as JSON)
• Form values
• Services provided by dependency injection
• Custom

The following GET route handler uses some of these parameter binding sources:

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Added as service
builder.Services.AddSingleton<Service>();

var app = builder.Build();

app.MapGet("/{id}", (int id,
                     int page,
                     [FromHeader(Name = "X-CUSTOM-HEADER")] string customHeader,
                     Service service) => { });

class Service { }

The following table shows the relationship between the parameters used in the preceding example and the associated binding sources.

Parameter	Binding Source
id	route value
page	query string
customHeader	header
service	Provided by dependency injection

The HTTP methods GET, HEAD, OPTIONS, and DELETE don't implicitly bind from body. To bind from body (as JSON) for these HTTP methods, bind explicitly with [FromBody] or read from the HttpRequest.

The following example POST route handler uses a binding source of body (as JSON) for the person parameter:

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

var app = builder.Build();

app.MapPost("/", (Person person) => { });

record Person(string Name, int Age);

The parameters in the preceding examples are all bound from request data automatically. To demonstrate the convenience that parameter binding provides, the following route handlers show how to read request data directly from the request:

C#

app.MapGet("/{id}", (HttpRequest request) =>
{
    var id = request.RouteValues["id"];
    var page = request.Query["page"];
    var customHeader = request.Headers["X-CUSTOM-HEADER"];

    // ...
});

app.MapPost("/", async (HttpRequest request) =>
{
    var person = await request.ReadFromJsonAsync<Person>();

    // ...
});

Explicit Parameter Binding

Attributes can be used to explicitly declare where parameters are bound from.

C#

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Added as service
builder.Services.AddSingleton<Service>();

var app = builder.Build();


app.MapGet("/{id}", ([FromRoute] int id,
                     [FromQuery(Name = "p")] int page,
                     [FromServices] Service service,
                     [FromHeader(Name = "Content-Type")] string contentType) 
                     => {});

class Service { }

record Person(string Name, int Age);

Parameter	Binding Source
id	route value with the name id
page	query string with the name "p"
service	Provided by dependency injection
contentType	header with the name "Content-Type"

Explicit binding from form values

The [FromForm] attribute binds form values:

C#

app.MapPost("/todos", async ([FromForm] string name,
    [FromForm] Visibility visibility, IFormFile? attachment, TodoDb db) =>
{
    var todo = new Todo
    {
        Name = name,
        Visibility = visibility
    };

    if (attachment is not null)
    {
        var attachmentName = Path.GetRandomFileName();

        using var stream = File.Create(Path.Combine("wwwroot", attachmentName));
        await attachment.CopyToAsync(stream);
    }

    db.Todos.Add(todo);
    await db.SaveChangesAsync();

    return Results.Ok();
});

// Remaining code removed for brevity.

An alternative is to use the [AsParameters] attribute with a custom type that has properties annotated with [FromForm]. For example, the following code binds from form values to properties of the NewTodoRequest record struct:

C#

app.MapPost("/ap/todos", async ([AsParameters] NewTodoRequest request, TodoDb db) =>
{
    var todo = new Todo
    {
        Name = request.Name,
        Visibility = request.Visibility
    };

    if (request.Attachment is not null)
    {
        var attachmentName = Path.GetRandomFileName();

        using var stream = File.Create(Path.Combine("wwwroot", attachmentName));
        await request.Attachment.CopyToAsync(stream);

        todo.Attachment = attachmentName;
    }

    db.Todos.Add(todo);
    await db.SaveChangesAsync();

    return Results.Ok();
});

// Remaining code removed for brevity.

C#

public record struct NewTodoRequest([FromForm] string Name,
    [FromForm] Visibility Visibility, IFormFile? Attachment);

For more information, see the section on AsParameters later in this article.

The complete sample code is in the AspNetCore.Docs.Samples repository.

Secure binding from IFormFile and IFormFileCollection

Complex form binding is supported using IFormFile and IFormFileCollection using the [FromForm]:

C#

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Antiforgery;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http.HttpResults;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder();

builder.Services.AddAntiforgery();

var app = builder.Build();
app.UseAntiforgery();

// Generate a form with an anti-forgery token and an /upload endpoint.
app.MapGet("/", (HttpContext context, IAntiforgery antiforgery) =>
{
    var token = antiforgery.GetAndStoreTokens(context);
    var html = MyUtils.GenerateHtmlForm(token.FormFieldName, token.RequestToken!);
    return Results.Content(html, "text/html");
});

app.MapPost("/upload", async Task<Results<Ok<string>, BadRequest<string>>>
    ([FromForm] FileUploadForm fileUploadForm, HttpContext context,
                                                IAntiforgery antiforgery) =>
{
    await MyUtils.SaveFileWithName(fileUploadForm.FileDocument!,
              fileUploadForm.Name!, app.Environment.ContentRootPath);
    return TypedResults.Ok($"Your file with the description:" +
        $" {fileUploadForm.Description} has been uploaded successfully");
});

app.Run();

Parameters bound to the request with [FromForm] include an antiforgery token. The antiforgery token is validated when the request is processed. For more information, see Antiforgery with Minimal APIs.

For more information, see Form binding in minimal APIs.

The complete sample code is in the AspNetCore.Docs.Samples repository.

Parameter binding with dependency injection

Parameter binding for minimal APIs binds parameters through dependency injection when the type is configured as a service. It's not necessary to explicitly apply the [FromServices] attribute to a parameter. In the following code, both actions return the time:

C#

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
builder.Services.AddSingleton<IDateTime, SystemDateTime>();

var app = builder.Build();

app.MapGet("/",   (               IDateTime dateTime) => dateTime.Now);
app.MapGet("/fs", ([FromServices] IDateTime dateTime) => dateTime.Now);
app.Run();

Optional parameters

Parameters declared in route handlers are treated as required:

• If a request matches the route, the route handler only runs if all required parameters are provided in the request.
• Failure to provide all required parameters results in an error.

C#

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

app.MapGet("/products", (int pageNumber) => $"Requesting page {pageNumber}");

app.Run();

URI	result
/products?pageNumber=3	3 returned
/products	BadHttpRequestException: Required parameter "int pageNumber" wasn't provided from query string.
/products/1	HTTP 404 error, no matching route

To make pageNumber optional, define the type as optional or provide a default value:

C#

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

app.MapGet("/products", (int? pageNumber) => $"Requesting page {pageNumber ?? 1}");

string ListProducts(int pageNumber = 1) => $"Requesting page {pageNumber}";

app.MapGet("/products2", ListProducts);

app.Run();

URI	result
/products?pageNumber=3	3 returned
/products	1 returned
/products2	1 returned

The preceding nullable and default value applies to all sources:

C#

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

app.MapPost("/products", (Product? product) => { });

app.Run();

The preceding code calls the method with a null product if no request body is sent.

NOTE: If invalid data is provided and the parameter is nullable, the route handler is not run.

C#

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

app.MapGet("/products", (int? pageNumber) => $"Requesting page {pageNumber ?? 1}");

app.Run();

URI	result
/products?pageNumber=3	3 returned
/products	1 returned
/products?pageNumber=two	BadHttpRequestException: Failed to bind parameter "Nullable<int> pageNumber" from "two".
/products/two	HTTP 404 error, no matching route

See the Binding Failures section for more information.

Special types

The following types are bound without explicit attributes:

• HttpContext: The context which holds all the information about the current HTTP request or response:

  C#

  app.MapGet("/", (HttpContext context) => context.Response.WriteAsync("Hello World"));
  

• HttpRequest and HttpResponse: The HTTP request and HTTP response:

  C#

  app.MapGet("/", (HttpRequest request, HttpResponse response) =>
      response.WriteAsync($"Hello World {request.Query["name"]}"));
  

• CancellationToken: The cancellation token associated with the current HTTP request:

  C#

  app.MapGet("/", async (CancellationToken cancellationToken) => 
      await MakeLongRunningRequestAsync(cancellationToken));
  

• ClaimsPrincipal: The user associated with the request, bound from HttpContext.User:

  C#

  app.MapGet("/", (ClaimsPrincipal user) => user.Identity.Name);
  

Bind the request body as a Stream or PipeReader

The request body can bind as a Stream or PipeReader to efficiently support scenarios where the user has to process data and:

• Store the data to blob storage or enqueue the data to a queue provider.
• Process the stored data with a worker process or cloud function.

For example, the data might be enqueued to Azure Queue storage or stored in Azure Blob storage.

The following code implements a background queue:

C#

using System.Text.Json;
using System.Threading.Channels;

namespace BackgroundQueueService;

class BackgroundQueue : BackgroundService
{
    private readonly Channel<ReadOnlyMemory<byte>> _queue;
    private readonly ILogger<BackgroundQueue> _logger;

    public BackgroundQueue(Channel<ReadOnlyMemory<byte>> queue,
                               ILogger<BackgroundQueue> logger)
    {
        _queue = queue;
        _logger = logger;
    }

    protected override async Task ExecuteAsync(CancellationToken stoppingToken)
    {
        await foreach (var dataStream in _queue.Reader.ReadAllAsync(stoppingToken))
        {
            try
            {
                var person = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<Person>(dataStream.Span)!;
                _logger.LogInformation($"{person.Name} is {person.Age} " +
                                       $"years and from {person.Country}");
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                _logger.LogError(ex.Message);
            }
        }
    }
}

class Person
{
    public string Name { get; set; } = String.Empty;
    public int Age { get; set; }
    public string Country { get; set; } = String.Empty;
}

The following code binds the request body to a Stream:

C#

app.MapPost("/register", async (HttpRequest req, Stream body,
                                 Channel<ReadOnlyMemory<byte>> queue) =>
{
    if (req.ContentLength is not null && req.ContentLength > maxMessageSize)
    {
        return Results.BadRequest();
    }

    // We're not above the message size and we have a content length, or
    // we're a chunked request and we're going to read up to the maxMessageSize + 1. 
    // We add one to the message size so that we can detect when a chunked request body
    // is bigger than our configured max.
    var readSize = (int?)req.ContentLength ?? (maxMessageSize + 1);

    var buffer = new byte[readSize];

    // Read at least that many bytes from the body.
    var read = await body.ReadAtLeastAsync(buffer, readSize, throwOnEndOfStream: false);

    // We read more than the max, so this is a bad request.
    if (read > maxMessageSize)
    {
        return Results.BadRequest();
    }

    // Attempt to send the buffer to the background queue.
    if (queue.Writer.TryWrite(buffer.AsMemory(0..read)))
    {
        return Results.Accepted();
    }

    // We couldn't accept the message since we're overloaded.
    return Results.StatusCode(StatusCodes.Status429TooManyRequests);
});

The following code shows the complete Program.cs file:

C#

using System.Threading.Channels;
using BackgroundQueueService;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
// The max memory to use for the upload endpoint on this instance.
var maxMemory = 500 * 1024 * 1024;

// The max size of a single message, staying below the default LOH size of 85K.
var maxMessageSize = 80 * 1024;

// The max size of the queue based on those restrictions
var maxQueueSize = maxMemory / maxMessageSize;

// Create a channel to send data to the background queue.
builder.Services.AddSingleton<Channel<ReadOnlyMemory<byte>>>((_) =>
                     Channel.CreateBounded<ReadOnlyMemory<byte>>(maxQueueSize));

// Create a background queue service.
builder.Services.AddHostedService<BackgroundQueue>();
var app = builder.Build();

// curl --request POST 'https://localhost:<port>/register' --header 'Content-Type: application/json' --data-raw '{ "Name":"Samson", "Age": 23, "Country":"Nigeria" }'
// curl --request POST "https://localhost:<port>/register" --header "Content-Type: application/json" --data-raw "{ \"Name\":\"Samson\", \"Age\": 23, \"Country\":\"Nigeria\" }"
app.MapPost("/register", async (HttpRequest req, Stream body,
                                 Channel<ReadOnlyMemory<byte>> queue) =>
{
    if (req.ContentLength is not null && req.ContentLength > maxMessageSize)
    {
        return Results.BadRequest();
    }

    // We're not above the message size and we have a content length, or
    // we're a chunked request and we're going to read up to the maxMessageSize + 1. 
    // We add one to the message size so that we can detect when a chunked request body
    // is bigger than our configured max.
    var readSize = (int?)req.ContentLength ?? (maxMessageSize + 1);

    var buffer = new byte[readSize];

    // Read at least that many bytes from the body.
    var read = await body.ReadAtLeastAsync(buffer, readSize, throwOnEndOfStream: false);

    // We read more than the max, so this is a bad request.
    if (read > maxMessageSize)
    {
        return Results.BadRequest();
    }

    // Attempt to send the buffer to the background queue.
    if (queue.Writer.TryWrite(buffer.AsMemory(0..read)))
    {
        return Results.Accepted();
    }

    // We couldn't accept the message since we're overloaded.
    return Results.StatusCode(StatusCodes.Status429TooManyRequests);
});

app.Run();

• When reading data, the Stream is the same object as HttpRequest.Body.
• The request body isn't buffered by default. After the body is read, it's not rewindable. The stream can't be read multiple times.
• The Stream and PipeReader aren't usable outside of the minimal action handler as the underlying buffers will be disposed or reused.

File uploads using IFormFile and IFormFileCollection

The following code uses IFormFile and IFormFileCollection to upload file:

C#

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

app.MapGet("/", () => "Hello World!");

app.MapPost("/upload", async (IFormFile file) =>
{
    var tempFile = Path.GetTempFileName();
    app.Logger.LogInformation(tempFile);
    using var stream = File.OpenWrite(tempFile);
    await file.CopyToAsync(stream);
});

app.MapPost("/upload_many", async (IFormFileCollection myFiles) =>
{
    foreach (var file in myFiles)
    {
        var tempFile = Path.GetTempFileName();
        app.Logger.LogInformation(tempFile);
        using var stream = File.OpenWrite(tempFile);
        await file.CopyToAsync(stream);
    }
});

app.Run();

Authenticated file upload requests are supported using an Authorization header, a client certificate, or a cookie header.

Binding to forms with IFormCollection, IFormFile, and IFormFileCollection

Binding from form-based parameters using IFormCollection, IFormFile, and IFormFileCollection is supported. OpenAPI metadata is inferred for form parameters to support integration with Swagger UI.

The following code uploads files using inferred binding from the IFormFile type:

C#

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Antiforgery;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http.HttpResults;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder();

builder.Services.AddAntiforgery();

var app = builder.Build();
app.UseAntiforgery();

string GetOrCreateFilePath(string fileName, string filesDirectory = "uploadFiles")
{
    var directoryPath = Path.Combine(app.Environment.ContentRootPath, filesDirectory);
    Directory.CreateDirectory(directoryPath);
    return Path.Combine(directoryPath, fileName);
}

async Task UploadFileWithName(IFormFile file, string fileSaveName)
{
    var filePath = GetOrCreateFilePath(fileSaveName);
    await using var fileStream = new FileStream(filePath, FileMode.Create);
    await file.CopyToAsync(fileStream);
}

app.MapGet("/", (HttpContext context, IAntiforgery antiforgery) =>
{
    var token = antiforgery.GetAndStoreTokens(context);
    var html = $"""
      <html>
        <body>
          <form action="/upload" method="POST" enctype="multipart/form-data">
            <input name="{token.FormFieldName}" type="hidden" value="{token.RequestToken}"/>
            <input type="file" name="file" placeholder="Upload an image..." accept=".jpg, 
                                                                            .jpeg, .png" />
            <input type="submit" />
          </form> 
        </body>
      </html>
    """;

    return Results.Content(html, "text/html");
});

app.MapPost("/upload", async Task<Results<Ok<string>,
   BadRequest<string>>> (IFormFile file, HttpContext context, IAntiforgery antiforgery) =>
{
    var fileSaveName = Guid.NewGuid().ToString("N") + Path.GetExtension(file.FileName);
    await UploadFileWithName(file, fileSaveName);
    return TypedResults.Ok("File uploaded successfully!");
});

app.Run();

Warning: When implementing forms, the app must prevent Cross-Site Request Forgery (XSRF/CSRF) attacks. In the preceding code, the IAntiforgery service is used to prevent XSRF attacks by generating and validation an antiforgery token:

C#

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Antiforgery;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http.HttpResults;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder();

builder.Services.AddAntiforgery();

var app = builder.Build();
app.UseAntiforgery();

string GetOrCreateFilePath(string fileName, string filesDirectory = "uploadFiles")
{
    var directoryPath = Path.Combine(app.Environment.ContentRootPath, filesDirectory);
    Directory.CreateDirectory(directoryPath);
    return Path.Combine(directoryPath, fileName);
}

async Task UploadFileWithName(IFormFile file, string fileSaveName)
{
    var filePath = GetOrCreateFilePath(fileSaveName);
    await using var fileStream = new FileStream(filePath, FileMode.Create);
    await file.CopyToAsync(fileStream);
}

app.MapGet("/", (HttpContext context, IAntiforgery antiforgery) =>
{
    var token = antiforgery.GetAndStoreTokens(context);
    var html = $"""
      <html>
        <body>
          <form action="/upload" method="POST" enctype="multipart/form-data">
            <input name="{token.FormFieldName}" type="hidden" value="{token.RequestToken}"/>
            <input type="file" name="file" placeholder="Upload an image..." accept=".jpg, 
                                                                            .jpeg, .png" />
            <input type="submit" />
          </form> 
        </body>
      </html>
    """;

    return Results.Content(html, "text/html");
});

app.MapPost("/upload", async Task<Results<Ok<string>,
   BadRequest<string>>> (IFormFile file, HttpContext context, IAntiforgery antiforgery) =>
{
    var fileSaveName = Guid.NewGuid().ToString("N") + Path.GetExtension(file.FileName);
    await UploadFileWithName(file, fileSaveName);
    return TypedResults.Ok("File uploaded successfully!");
});

app.Run();

For more information on XSRF attacks, see Antiforgery with Minimal APIs

For more information, see Form binding in minimal APIs;

Bind to collections and complex types from forms

Binding is supported for:

• Collections, for example List and Dictionary
• Complex types, for example, Todo or Project

The following code shows:

• A minimal endpoint that binds a multi-part form input to a complex object.
• How to use the antiforgery services to support the generation and validation of antiforgery tokens.

C#

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Antiforgery;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http.HttpResults;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.Services.AddAntiforgery();

var app = builder.Build();

app.UseAntiforgery();

app.MapGet("/", (HttpContext context, IAntiforgery antiforgery) =>
{
    var token = antiforgery.GetAndStoreTokens(context);
    var html = $"""
        <html><body>
           <form action="/todo" method="POST" enctype="multipart/form-data">
               <input name="{token.FormFieldName}" 
                                type="hidden" value="{token.RequestToken}" />
               <input type="text" name="name" />
               <input type="date" name="dueDate" />
               <input type="checkbox" name="isCompleted" value="true" />
               <input type="submit" />
               <input name="isCompleted" type="hidden" value="false" /> 
           </form>
        </body></html>
    """;
    return Results.Content(html, "text/html");
});

app.MapPost("/todo", async Task<Results<Ok<Todo>, BadRequest<string>>> 
               ([FromForm] Todo todo, HttpContext context, IAntiforgery antiforgery) =>
{
    try
    {
        await antiforgery.ValidateRequestAsync(context);
        return TypedResults.Ok(todo);
    }
    catch (AntiforgeryValidationException e)
    {
        return TypedResults.BadRequest("Invalid antiforgery token");
    }
});

app.Run();

class Todo
{
    public string Name { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    public bool IsCompleted { get; set; } = false;
    public DateTime DueDate { get; set; } = DateTime.Now.Add(TimeSpan.FromDays(1));
}

In the preceding code:

• The target parameter must be annotated with the [FromForm] attribute to disambiguate from parameters that should be read from the JSON body.
• Binding from complex or collection types is not supported for minimal APIs that are compiled with the Request Delegate Generator.
• The markup shows an additional hidden input with a name of isCompleted and a value of false. If the isCompleted checkbox is checked when the form is submitted, both values true and false are submitted as values. If the checkbox is unchecked, only the hidden input value false is submitted. The ASP.NET Core model-binding process reads only the first value when binding to a bool value, which results in true for checked checkboxes and false for unchecked checkboxes.

An example of the form data submitted to the preceding endpoint looks as follows:

txt

__RequestVerificationToken: CfDJ8Bveip67DklJm5vI2PF2VOUZ594RC8kcGWpTnVV17zCLZi1yrs-CSz426ZRRrQnEJ0gybB0AD7hTU-0EGJXDU-OaJaktgAtWLIaaEWMOWCkoxYYm-9U9eLV7INSUrQ6yBHqdMEE_aJpD4AI72gYiCqc
name: Walk the dog
dueDate: 2024-04-06
isCompleted: true
isCompleted: false

Bind arrays and string values from headers and query strings

The following code demonstrates binding query strings to an array of primitive types, string arrays, and StringValues:

C#

// Bind query string values to a primitive type array.
// GET  /tags?q=1&q=2&q=3
app.MapGet("/tags", (int[] q) =>
                      $"tag1: {q[0]} , tag2: {q[1]}, tag3: {q[2]}");

// Bind to a string array.
// GET /tags2?names=john&names=jack&names=jane
app.MapGet("/tags2", (string[] names) =>
            $"tag1: {names[0]} , tag2: {names[1]}, tag3: {names[2]}");

// Bind to StringValues.
// GET /tags3?names=john&names=jack&names=jane
app.MapGet("/tags3", (StringValues names) =>
            $"tag1: {names[0]} , tag2: {names[1]}, tag3: {names[2]}");

Binding query strings or header values to an array of complex types is supported when the type has TryParse implemented. The following code binds to a string array and returns all the items with the specified tags:

C#

// GET /todoitems/tags?tags=home&tags=work
app.MapGet("/todoitems/tags", async (Tag[] tags, TodoDb db) =>
{
    return await db.Todos
        .Where(t => tags.Select(i => i.Name).Contains(t.Tag.Name))
        .ToListAsync();
});

The following code shows the model and the required TryParse implementation:

C#

public class Todo
{
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public string? Name { get; set; }
    public bool IsComplete { get; set; }

    // This is an owned entity. 
    public Tag Tag { get; set; } = new();
}

[Owned]
public class Tag
{
    public string? Name { get; set; } = "n/a";

    public static bool TryParse(string? name, out Tag tag)
    {
        if (name is null)
        {
            tag = default!;
            return false;
        }

        tag = new Tag { Name = name };
        return true;
    }
}

The following code binds to an int array:

C#

// GET /todoitems/query-string-ids?ids=1&ids=3
app.MapGet("/todoitems/query-string-ids", async (int[] ids, TodoDb db) =>
{
    return await db.Todos
        .Where(t => ids.Contains(t.Id))
        .ToListAsync();
});

To test the preceding code, add the following endpoint to populate the database with Todo items:

C#

// POST /todoitems/batch
app.MapPost("/todoitems/batch", async (Todo[] todos, TodoDb db) =>
{
    await db.Todos.AddRangeAsync(todos);
    await db.SaveChangesAsync();

    return Results.Ok(todos);
});

Use a tool like HttpRepl to pass the following data to the previous endpoint:

C#

[
    {
        "id": 1,
        "name": "Have Breakfast",
        "isComplete": true,
        "tag": {
            "name": "home"
        }
    },
    {
        "id": 2,
        "name": "Have Lunch",
        "isComplete": true,
        "tag": {
            "name": "work"
        }
    },
    {
        "id": 3,
        "name": "Have Supper",
        "isComplete": true,
        "tag": {
            "name": "home"
        }
    },
    {
        "id": 4,
        "name": "Have Snacks",
        "isComplete": true,
        "tag": {
            "name": "N/A"
        }
    }
]

The following code binds to the header key X-Todo-Id and returns the Todo items with matching Id values:

C#

// GET /todoitems/header-ids
// The keys of the headers should all be X-Todo-Id with different values
app.MapGet("/todoitems/header-ids", async ([FromHeader(Name = "X-Todo-Id")] int[] ids, TodoDb db) =>
{
    return await db.Todos
        .Where(t => ids.Contains(t.Id))
        .ToListAsync();
});

Note

When binding a string[] from a query string, the absence of any matching query string value will result in an empty array instead of a null value.

Parameter binding for argument lists with [AsParameters]

AsParametersAttribute enables simple parameter binding to types and not complex or recursive model binding.

Consider the following code:

C#

using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
using TodoApi.Models;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
builder.Services.AddDatabaseDeveloperPageExceptionFilter();
builder.Services.AddDbContext<TodoDb>(opt => opt.UseInMemoryDatabase("TodoList"));
var app = builder.Build();

app.MapGet("/todoitems", async (TodoDb db) =>
    await db.Todos.Select(x => new TodoItemDTO(x)).ToListAsync());

app.MapGet("/todoitems/{id}",
                             async (int Id, TodoDb Db) =>
    await Db.Todos.FindAsync(Id)
        is Todo todo
            ? Results.Ok(new TodoItemDTO(todo))
            : Results.NotFound());
// Remaining code removed for brevity.

Consider the following GET endpoint:

C#

app.MapGet("/todoitems/{id}",
                             async (int Id, TodoDb Db) =>
    await Db.Todos.FindAsync(Id)
        is Todo todo
            ? Results.Ok(new TodoItemDTO(todo))
            : Results.NotFound());

The following struct can be used to replace the preceding highlighted parameters:

C#

struct TodoItemRequest
{
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public TodoDb Db { get; set; }
}

The refactored GET endpoint uses the preceding struct with the AsParameters attribute:

C#

app.MapGet("/ap/todoitems/{id}",
                                async ([AsParameters] TodoItemRequest request) =>
    await request.Db.Todos.FindAsync(request.Id)
        is Todo todo
            ? Results.Ok(new TodoItemDTO(todo))
            : Results.NotFound());

The following code shows additional endpoints in the app:

C#

app.MapPost("/todoitems", async (TodoItemDTO Dto, TodoDb Db) =>
{
    var todoItem = new Todo
    {
        IsComplete = Dto.IsComplete,
        Name = Dto.Name
    };

    Db.Todos.Add(todoItem);
    await Db.SaveChangesAsync();

    return Results.Created($"/todoitems/{todoItem.Id}", new TodoItemDTO(todoItem));
});

app.MapPut("/todoitems/{id}", async (int Id, TodoItemDTO Dto, TodoDb Db) =>
{
    var todo = await Db.Todos.FindAsync(Id);

    if (todo is null) return Results.NotFound();

    todo.Name = Dto.Name;
    todo.IsComplete = Dto.IsComplete;

    await Db.SaveChangesAsync();

    return Results.NoContent();
});

app.MapDelete("/todoitems/{id}", async (int Id, TodoDb Db) =>
{
    if (await Db.Todos.FindAsync(Id) is Todo todo)
    {
        Db.Todos.Remove(todo);
        await Db.SaveChangesAsync();
        return Results.Ok(new TodoItemDTO(todo));
    }

    return Results.NotFound();
});

The following classes are used to refactor the parameter lists:

C#

class CreateTodoItemRequest
{
    public TodoItemDTO Dto { get; set; } = default!;
    public TodoDb Db { get; set; } = default!;
}

class EditTodoItemRequest
{
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public TodoItemDTO Dto { get; set; } = default!;
    public TodoDb Db { get; set; } = default!;
}

The following code shows the refactored endpoints using AsParameters and the preceding struct and classes:

C#

app.MapPost("/ap/todoitems", async ([AsParameters] CreateTodoItemRequest request) =>
{
    var todoItem = new Todo
    {
        IsComplete = request.Dto.IsComplete,
        Name = request.Dto.Name
    };

    request.Db.Todos.Add(todoItem);
    await request.Db.SaveChangesAsync();

    return Results.Created($"/todoitems/{todoItem.Id}", new TodoItemDTO(todoItem));
});

app.MapPut("/ap/todoitems/{id}", async ([AsParameters] EditTodoItemRequest request) =>
{
    var todo = await request.Db.Todos.FindAsync(request.Id);

    if (todo is null) return Results.NotFound();

    todo.Name = request.Dto.Name;
    todo.IsComplete = request.Dto.IsComplete;

    await request.Db.SaveChangesAsync();

    return Results.NoContent();
});

app.MapDelete("/ap/todoitems/{id}", async ([AsParameters] TodoItemRequest request) =>
{
    if (await request.Db.Todos.FindAsync(request.Id) is Todo todo)
    {
        request.Db.Todos.Remove(todo);
        await request.Db.SaveChangesAsync();
        return Results.Ok(new TodoItemDTO(todo));
    }

    return Results.NotFound();
});

The following record types can be used to replace the preceding parameters:

C#

record TodoItemRequest(int Id, TodoDb Db);
record CreateTodoItemRequest(TodoItemDTO Dto, TodoDb Db);
record EditTodoItemRequest(int Id, TodoItemDTO Dto, TodoDb Db);

Using a struct with AsParameters can be more performant than using a record type.

The complete sample code in the AspNetCore.Docs.Samples repository.

Custom Binding

There are two ways to customize parameter binding:

1. For route, query, and header binding sources, bind custom types by adding a static TryParse method for the type.
2. Control the binding process by implementing a BindAsync method on a type.

TryParse

TryParse has two APIs:

C#

public static bool TryParse(string value, out T result);
public static bool TryParse(string value, IFormatProvider provider, out T result);

The following code displays Point: 12.3, 10.1 with the URI /map?Point=12.3,10.1:

C#

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

// GET /map?Point=12.3,10.1
app.MapGet("/map", (Point point) => $"Point: {point.X}, {point.Y}");

app.Run();

public class Point
{
    public double X { get; set; }
    public double Y { get; set; }

    public static bool TryParse(string? value, IFormatProvider? provider,
                                out Point? point)
    {
        // Format is "(12.3,10.1)"
        var trimmedValue = value?.TrimStart('(').TrimEnd(')');
        var segments = trimmedValue?.Split(',',
                StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries | StringSplitOptions.TrimEntries);
        if (segments?.Length == 2
            && double.TryParse(segments[0], out var x)
            && double.TryParse(segments[1], out var y))
        {
            point = new Point { X = x, Y = y };
            return true;
        }

        point = null;
        return false;
    }
}

BindAsync

BindAsync has the following APIs:

C#

public static ValueTask<T?> BindAsync(HttpContext context, ParameterInfo parameter);
public static ValueTask<T?> BindAsync(HttpContext context);

The following code displays SortBy:xyz, SortDirection:Desc, CurrentPage:99 with the URI /products?SortBy=xyz&SortDir=Desc&Page=99:

C#

using System.Reflection;

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

// GET /products?SortBy=xyz&SortDir=Desc&Page=99
app.MapGet("/products", (PagingData pageData) => $"SortBy:{pageData.SortBy}, " +
       $"SortDirection:{pageData.SortDirection}, CurrentPage:{pageData.CurrentPage}");

app.Run();

public class PagingData
{
    public string? SortBy { get; init; }
    public SortDirection SortDirection { get; init; }
    public int CurrentPage { get; init; } = 1;

    public static ValueTask<PagingData?> BindAsync(HttpContext context,
                                                   ParameterInfo parameter)
    {
        const string sortByKey = "sortBy";
        const string sortDirectionKey = "sortDir";
        const string currentPageKey = "page";

        Enum.TryParse<SortDirection>(context.Request.Query[sortDirectionKey],
                                     ignoreCase: true, out var sortDirection);
        int.TryParse(context.Request.Query[currentPageKey], out var page);
        page = page == 0 ? 1 : page;

        var result = new PagingData
        {
            SortBy = context.Request.Query[sortByKey],
            SortDirection = sortDirection,
            CurrentPage = page
        };

        return ValueTask.FromResult<PagingData?>(result);
    }
}

public enum SortDirection
{
    Default,
    Asc,
    Desc
}

Binding failures

When binding fails, the framework logs a debug message and returns various status codes to the client depending on the failure mode.

Failure mode	Nullable Parameter Type	Binding Source	Status code
{ParameterType}.TryParse returns false	yes	route/query/header	400
{ParameterType}.BindAsync returns null	yes	custom	400
{ParameterType}.BindAsync throws	doesn't matter	custom	500
Failure to deserialize JSON body	doesn't matter	body	400
Wrong content type (not application/json)	doesn't matter	body	415

Binding Precedence

The rules for determining a binding source from a parameter:

1. Explicit attribute defined on parameter (From* attributes) in the following order:
   1. Route values: [FromRoute]
   2. Query string: [FromQuery]
   3. Header: [FromHeader]
   4. Body: [FromBody]
   5. Form: [FromForm]
   6. Service: [FromServices]
   7. Parameter values: [AsParameters]
2. Special types
   1. HttpContext
   2. HttpRequest (HttpContext.Request)
   3. HttpResponse (HttpContext.Response)
   4. ClaimsPrincipal (HttpContext.User)
   5. CancellationToken (HttpContext.RequestAborted)
   6. IFormCollection (HttpContext.Request.Form)
   7. IFormFileCollection (HttpContext.Request.Form.Files)
   8. IFormFile (HttpContext.Request.Form.Files[paramName])
   9. Stream (HttpContext.Request.Body)
   10. PipeReader (HttpContext.Request.BodyReader)
3. Parameter type has a valid static BindAsync method.
4. Parameter type is a string or has a valid static TryParse method.
   1. If the parameter name exists in the route template for example, app.Map("/todo/{id}", (int id) => {});, then it's bound from the route.
   2. Bound from the query string.
5. If the parameter type is a service provided by dependency injection, it uses that service as the source.
6. The parameter is from the body.

Configure JSON deserialization options for body binding

The body binding source uses System.Text.Json for deserialization. It is not possible to change this default, but JSON serialization and deserialization options can be configured.

Configure JSON deserialization options globally

Options that apply globally for an app can be configured by invoking ConfigureHttpJsonOptions. The following example includes public fields and formats JSON output.

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.Services.ConfigureHttpJsonOptions(options => {
    options.SerializerOptions.WriteIndented = true;
    options.SerializerOptions.IncludeFields = true;
});

var app = builder.Build();

app.MapPost("/", (Todo todo) => {
    if (todo is not null) {
        todo.Name = todo.NameField;
    }
    return todo;
});

app.Run();

class Todo {
    public string? Name { get; set; }
    public string? NameField;
    public bool IsComplete { get; set; }
}
// If the request body contains the following JSON:
//
// {"nameField":"Walk dog", "isComplete":false}
//
// The endpoint returns the following JSON:
//
// {
//    "name":"Walk dog",
//    "nameField":"Walk dog",
//    "isComplete":false
// }

Since the sample code configures both serialization and deserialization, it can read NameField and include NameField in the output JSON.

Configure JSON deserialization options for an endpoint

ReadFromJsonAsync has overloads that accept a JsonSerializerOptions object. The following example includes public fields and formats JSON output.

C#

using System.Text.Json;

var app = WebApplication.Create();

var options = new JsonSerializerOptions(JsonSerializerDefaults.Web) { 
    IncludeFields = true, 
    WriteIndented = true
};

app.MapPost("/", async (HttpContext context) => {
    if (context.Request.HasJsonContentType()) {
        var todo = await context.Request.ReadFromJsonAsync<Todo>(options);
        if (todo is not null) {
            todo.Name = todo.NameField;
        }
        return Results.Ok(todo);
    }
    else {
        return Results.BadRequest();
    }
});

app.Run();

class Todo
{
    public string? Name { get; set; }
    public string? NameField;
    public bool IsComplete { get; set; }
}
// If the request body contains the following JSON:
//
// {"nameField":"Walk dog", "isComplete":false}
//
// The endpoint returns the following JSON:
//
// {
//    "name":"Walk dog",
//    "isComplete":false
// }

Since the preceding code applies the customized options only to deserialization, the output JSON excludes NameField.

Read the request body

Read the request body directly using a HttpContext or HttpRequest parameter:

C#

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

app.MapPost("/uploadstream", async (IConfiguration config, HttpRequest request) =>
{
    var filePath = Path.Combine(config["StoredFilesPath"], Path.GetRandomFileName());

    await using var writeStream = File.Create(filePath);
    await request.BodyReader.CopyToAsync(writeStream);
});

app.Run();

The preceding code:

• Accesses the request body using HttpRequest.BodyReader.
• Copies the request body to a local file.

Responses

Route handlers support the following types of return values:

1. IResult based - This includes Task<IResult> and ValueTask<IResult>
2. string - This includes Task<string> and ValueTask<string>
3. T (Any other type) - This includes Task<T> and ValueTask<T>

Return value	Behavior	Content-Type
IResult	The framework calls IResult.ExecuteAsync	Decided by the IResult implementation
string	The framework writes the string directly to the response	text/plain
T (Any other type)	The framework JSON-serializes the response	application/json

For a more in-depth guide to route handler return values see Create responses in Minimal API applications

Example return values

string return values

C#

app.MapGet("/hello", () => "Hello World");

JSON return values

C#

app.MapGet("/hello", () => new { Message = "Hello World" });

Return TypedResults

The following code returns a TypedResults:

C#

app.MapGet("/hello", () => TypedResults.Ok(new Message() {  Text = "Hello World!" }));

Returning TypedResults is preferred to returning Results. For more information, see TypedResults vs Results.

IResult return values

C#

app.MapGet("/hello", () => Results.Ok(new { Message = "Hello World" }));

The following example uses the built-in result types to customize the response:

C#

app.MapGet("/api/todoitems/{id}", async (int id, TodoDb db) =>
         await db.Todos.FindAsync(id) 
         is Todo todo
         ? Results.Ok(todo) 
         : Results.NotFound())
   .Produces<Todo>(StatusCodes.Status200OK)
   .Produces(StatusCodes.Status404NotFound);

JSON

C#

app.MapGet("/hello", () => Results.Json(new { Message = "Hello World" }));

Custom Status Code

C#

app.MapGet("/405", () => Results.StatusCode(405));

Text

C#

app.MapGet("/text", () => Results.Text("This is some text"));

Stream

C#

var proxyClient = new HttpClient();
app.MapGet("/pokemon", async () => 
{
    var stream = await proxyClient.GetStreamAsync("http://contoso/pokedex.json");
    // Proxy the response as JSON
    return Results.Stream(stream, "application/json");
});

See Create responses in Minimal API applications for more examples.

Redirect

C#

app.MapGet("/old-path", () => Results.Redirect("/new-path"));

File

C#

app.MapGet("/download", () => Results.File("myfile.text"));

Built-in results

Common result helpers exist in the Results and TypedResults static classes. Returning TypedResults is preferred to returning Results. For more information, see TypedResults vs Results.

Modifying Headers

Use the HttpResponse object to modify response headers:

C#

app.MapGet("/", (HttpContext context) => {
    // Set a custom header
    context.Response.Headers["X-Custom-Header"] = "CustomValue";

    // Set a known header
    context.Response.Headers.CacheControl = $"public,max-age=3600";

    return "Hello World";
});

Customizing results

Applications can control responses by implementing a custom IResult type. The following code is an example of an HTML result type:

C#

using System.Net.Mime;
using System.Text;
static class ResultsExtensions
{
    public static IResult Html(this IResultExtensions resultExtensions, string html)
    {
        ArgumentNullException.ThrowIfNull(resultExtensions);

        return new HtmlResult(html);
    }
}

class HtmlResult : IResult
{
    private readonly string _html;

    public HtmlResult(string html)
    {
        _html = html;
    }

    public Task ExecuteAsync(HttpContext httpContext)
    {
        httpContext.Response.ContentType = MediaTypeNames.Text.Html;
        httpContext.Response.ContentLength = Encoding.UTF8.GetByteCount(_html);
        return httpContext.Response.WriteAsync(_html);
    }
}

We recommend adding an extension method to Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http.IResultExtensions to make these custom results more discoverable.

C#

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

app.MapGet("/html", () => Results.Extensions.Html(@$"<!doctype html>
<html>
    <head><title>miniHTML</title></head>
    <body>
        <h1>Hello World</h1>
        <p>The time on the server is {DateTime.Now:O}</p>
    </body>
</html>"));

app.Run();

Typed results

The IResult interface can represent values returned from minimal APIs that don't utilize the implicit support for JSON serializing the returned object to the HTTP response. The static Results class is used to create varying IResult objects that represent different types of responses. For example, setting the response status code or redirecting to another URL.

The types implementing IResult are public, allowing for type assertions when testing. For example:

C#

[TestClass()]
public class WeatherApiTests
{
    [TestMethod()]
    public void MapWeatherApiTest()
    {
        var result = WeatherApi.GetAllWeathers();
        Assert.IsInstanceOfType(result, typeof(Ok<WeatherForecast[]>));
    }      
}

You can look at the return types of the corresponding methods on the static TypedResults class to find the correct public IResult type to cast to.

See Create responses in Minimal API applications for more examples.

Filters

For more information, see Filters in Minimal API apps.

Authorization

Routes can be protected using authorization policies. These can be declared via the [Authorize] attribute or by using the RequireAuthorization method:

C#

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Authorization;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Identity;
using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
using WebRPauth.Data;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
builder.Services.AddAuthorization(o => o.AddPolicy("AdminsOnly", 
                                  b => b.RequireClaim("admin", "true")));

var connectionString = builder.Configuration.GetConnectionString("DefaultConnection");
builder.Services.AddDbContext<ApplicationDbContext>(options =>
    options.UseSqlServer(connectionString));
builder.Services.AddDatabaseDeveloperPageExceptionFilter();

builder.Services.AddDefaultIdentity<IdentityUser>(options => options.SignIn.RequireConfirmedAccount = true)
    .AddEntityFrameworkStores<ApplicationDbContext>();

var app = builder.Build();

app.UseAuthorization();

app.MapGet("/auth", [Authorize] () => "This endpoint requires authorization.");
app.MapGet("/", () => "This endpoint doesn't require authorization.");
app.MapGet("/Identity/Account/Login", () => "Sign in page at this endpoint.");

app.Run();

The preceding code can be written with RequireAuthorization:

C#

app.MapGet("/auth", () => "This endpoint requires authorization")
   .RequireAuthorization();

The following sample uses policy-based authorization:

C#

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Authorization;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Identity;
using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
using WebRPauth.Data;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
builder.Services.AddAuthorization(o => o.AddPolicy("AdminsOnly", 
                                  b => b.RequireClaim("admin", "true")));

var connectionString = builder.Configuration.GetConnectionString("DefaultConnection");
builder.Services.AddDbContext<ApplicationDbContext>(options =>
    options.UseSqlServer(connectionString));
builder.Services.AddDatabaseDeveloperPageExceptionFilter();

builder.Services.AddDefaultIdentity<IdentityUser>(options => options.SignIn.RequireConfirmedAccount = true)
    .AddEntityFrameworkStores<ApplicationDbContext>();

var app = builder.Build();

app.UseAuthorization();

app.MapGet("/admin", [Authorize("AdminsOnly")] () => 
                             "The /admin endpoint is for admins only.");

app.MapGet("/admin2", () => "The /admin2 endpoint is for admins only.")
   .RequireAuthorization("AdminsOnly");

app.MapGet("/", () => "This endpoint doesn't require authorization.");
app.MapGet("/Identity/Account/Login", () => "Sign in page at this endpoint.");

app.Run();

Allow unauthenticated users to access an endpoint

The [AllowAnonymous] allows unauthenticated users to access endpoints:

C#

app.MapGet("/login", [AllowAnonymous] () => "This endpoint is for all roles.");


app.MapGet("/login2", () => "This endpoint also for all roles.")
   .AllowAnonymous();

CORS

Routes can be CORS enabled using CORS policies. CORS can be declared via the [EnableCors] attribute or by using the RequireCors method. The following samples enable CORS:

C#

const string MyAllowSpecificOrigins = "_myAllowSpecificOrigins";

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.Services.AddCors(options =>
{
    options.AddPolicy(name: MyAllowSpecificOrigins,
                      builder =>
                      {
                          builder.WithOrigins("http://example.com",
                                              "http://www.contoso.com");
                      });
});

var app = builder.Build();
app.UseCors();

app.MapGet("/",() => "Hello CORS!");

app.Run();

C#

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Cors;

const string MyAllowSpecificOrigins = "_myAllowSpecificOrigins";

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.Services.AddCors(options =>
{
    options.AddPolicy(name: MyAllowSpecificOrigins,
                      builder =>
                      {
                          builder.WithOrigins("http://example.com",
                                              "http://www.contoso.com");
                      });
});

var app = builder.Build();
app.UseCors();

app.MapGet("/cors", [EnableCors(MyAllowSpecificOrigins)] () => 
                           "This endpoint allows cross origin requests!");
app.MapGet("/cors2", () => "This endpoint allows cross origin requests!")
                     .RequireCors(MyAllowSpecificOrigins);

app.Run();

For more information, see Enable Cross-Origin Requests (CORS) in ASP.NET Core

ValidateScopes and ValidateOnBuild

ValidateScopes and ValidateOnBuild are enabled by default in the Development environment but disabled in other environments.

When ValidateOnBuild is true, the DI container validates the service configuration at build time. If the service configuration is invalid, the build fails at app startup, rather than at runtime when the service is requested.

When ValidateScopes is true, the DI container validates that a scoped service isn't resolved from the root scope. Resolving a scoped service from the root scope can result in a memory leak because the service is retained in memory longer than the scope of the request.

ValidateScopes and ValidateOnBuild are false by default in non-Development modes for performance reasons.

The following code shows ValidateScopes is enabled by default in development mode but disabled in release mode:

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.Services.AddScoped<MyScopedService>();

var app = builder.Build();

if (app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
{
    Console.WriteLine("Development environment");
}
else
{
    Console.WriteLine("Release environment");
}

app.MapGet("/", context =>
{
    // Intentionally getting service provider from app, not from the request
    // This causes an exception from attempting to resolve a scoped service
    // outside of a scope.
    // Throws System.InvalidOperationException:
    // 'Cannot resolve scoped service 'MyScopedService' from root provider.'
    var service = app.Services.GetRequiredService<MyScopedService>();
    return context.Response.WriteAsync("Service resolved");
});

app.Run();

public class MyScopedService { }

The following code shows ValidateOnBuild is enabled by default in development mode but disabled in release mode:

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.Services.AddScoped<MyScopedService>();
builder.Services.AddScoped<AnotherService>();

// System.AggregateException: 'Some services are not able to be constructed (Error
// while validating the service descriptor 'ServiceType: AnotherService Lifetime:
// Scoped ImplementationType: AnotherService': Unable to resolve service for type
// 'BrokenService' while attempting to activate 'AnotherService'.)'
var app = builder.Build();

if (app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
{
    Console.WriteLine("Development environment");
}
else
{
    Console.WriteLine("Release environment");
}

app.MapGet("/", context =>
{
    var service = context.RequestServices.GetRequiredService<MyScopedService>();
    return context.Response.WriteAsync("Service resolved correctly!");
});

app.Run();

public class MyScopedService { }

public class AnotherService
{
    public AnotherService(BrokenService brokenService) { }
}

public class BrokenService { }

The following code disables ValidateScopes and ValidateOnBuild in Development:

C#

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

if (builder.Environment.IsDevelopment())
{
    Console.WriteLine("Development environment");
    // Doesn't detect the validation problems because ValidateScopes is false.
    builder.Host.UseDefaultServiceProvider(options =>
    {
        options.ValidateScopes = false;
        options.ValidateOnBuild = false;
    });
}

See also

• Minimal APIs quick reference
• Generate OpenAPI documents
• Create responses in Minimal API applications
• Filters in Minimal API apps
• Handle errors in minimal APIs
• Authentication and authorization in minimal APIs
• Test Minimal API apps
• Short-circuit routing
• Identity API endpoints
• Keyed service dependency injection container support
• A look behind the scenes of minimal API endpoints
• Organizing ASP.NET Core Minimal APIs
• Fluent validation discussion on GitHub