Optional appsettings.local.json in (new format) visual studio project

user_246568 0
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My app uses appsettings.json for some settings. If appsettings.local.json is present, that should override appsettings.json for whatever settings it contains. So far, no problem.

But I use git for version control. Obviously, I don't want other users pulling down my local settings. So I git ignore appsettings.json.

Furthermore, there are a lot of projects in the solution. They share the same settings. So there is an appsettings.json at the solution level, and all the projects include it as a link.

Still fine, except for one thing. In order to be usable, I have to copy appsettings.local.json over to the output directory. But it shouldn't be in version control. So if someone clones the solution fresh they won't have it. That ought to be fine, but it isn't. VS. says "this file should be linked, but where the heck is it?" build error.

How can I deal with that?

local-files visual-studio-2017 appsettings git c#
6 Answers

For .Net Core >2.1 you can simply chain the extension method ConfigureAppConfiguration(Action<WebHostBuilderContext, IConfigurationBuilder> configureDelegate) to your WebHost. Here is an example:

WebHost.CreateDefaultBuilder(args)
    .ConfigureAppConfiguration((hostingContext, config) =>
    {
        config.AddJsonFile(
            "appsettings.Local.json",
             optional: true,
             reloadOnChange: true);
    })
    // ...

And of course ignore the appsettings.Local.json in your .gitignore.

user_47633760

For .NET 6, you can use this.

Also make sure, you git ignore appsettings.local.json to avoid check-in sensitive information like password and secrets.

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Add configurations
builder.Host.ConfigureAppConfiguration((hostingContext, config) =>
{
    config.Sources.Clear();

    var env = hostingContext.HostingEnvironment;

    config.SetBasePath(env.ContentRootPath)
            .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json", optional: false, reloadOnChange: true) //load base settings
            .AddJsonFile("appsettings.local.json", optional: true, reloadOnChange: true) //load local settings
            .AddJsonFile($"appsettings.{env.EnvironmentName}.json", optional: true) //load environment settings
            .AddEnvironmentVariables();

    if (args != null)
    {
        config.AddCommandLine(args);
    }
});
user_12738820

Can't say I like adding this a environment specific thing into the source code, It seems cleaner to add it as a file like appsetting.local.json, then inside your launchSettings.json make sure to add environment variable as local.

{
  "profiles": {
      "environmentVariables": {
        "ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT": "local"
      }
    }
  }
}

public class Startup
{
    public IConfigurationRoot Configuration { get; }

    public Startup(IHostingEnvironment env)
    {
        var builder = new ConfigurationBuilder()
            .SetBasePath(env.ContentRootPath)
            .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json", optional: false, reloadOnChange: true) //load base settings
            // Avoid this nasty code in your codebase, its oddly specific for a particular environment.
            //.AddJsonFile("appsettings.local.json", optional: true, reloadOnChange: true) //load local settings
            .AddJsonFile($"appsettings.{env.EnvironmentName}.json", optional: true) //load environment settings
            .AddEnvironmentVariables();

        Configuration = builder.Build();
    }

    /*
     * rest of your startup.cs
     */
}
user_59638880

Seems like this stuff is changing so fast, it's hard to keep track of "the right way" Microsoft wants these things handled.

In ASP.NET Core 2, I believe the expected way for developers to handle per-developer configuration values is with the Secret Manager.

Short summary: In Visual Studio 2019, right-click the project and choose Manage User Secrets. This creates a JSON file in %APPDATA%\Microsoft\UserSecrets\... that is picked up automatically by WebHost.CreateDefaultBuilders() (which is called implicitly in default ASP.NET core projects).

user_278460
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