Static Files in ASP.NET Core

Static files are the assets that make up the visual presentation and functionality of your web application:
HTML Files: The structure of your web pages.
CSS Stylesheets: The styling and appearance of your content.
JavaScript Files: The interactive elements and logic of your application.
Images: Visual elements that enhance the user experience.
ASP.NET Core provides the UseStaticFiles() middleware component to efficiently serve these static files directly to the browser without requiring any server-side processing.

WebRoot: The Default Location
The WebRoot property in ASP.NET Core specifies the default directory from which static files are served. By default, this directory is named “wwwroot” and is located at the root of your project. However, you can customize this location if needed.

UseStaticFiles() Middleware: Enabling Static File Serving
Basic Usage: Calling app.UseStaticFiles(); with no arguments will serve static files from the default WebRoot directory.
Customization: You can customize the behavior of UseStaticFiles() by passing a StaticFileOptions object:
FileProvider: Specify a different file provider (e.g., PhysicalFileProvider) to serve files from a custom location.
RequestPath: Configure the base URL path for your static files (e.g., /static).
ContentTypeProvider: Customize how content types are determined for different file extensions.
OnPrepareResponse: Perform additional actions on the response before it’s sent to the client.

Code
using Microsoft.Extensions.FileProviders;

// …

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(new WebApplicationOptions()
{
    WebRootPath = “myroot”
});
var app = builder.Build();

// Serve from the specified WebRoot (“myroot” in this case)
app.UseStaticFiles();

// Serve from a custom directory (“mywebroot”) located within the project’s ContentRootPath
app.UseStaticFiles(new StaticFileOptions()
{
    FileProvider = new PhysicalFileProvider(
        Path.Combine(builder.Environment.ContentRootPath, “mywebroot”)
    )
});
// … (rest of your middleware and endpoints) …

Explanation
Custom WebRoot: The WebRootPath property in WebApplicationOptions is set to “myroot”, making “myroot” the default location for static files served by the first app.UseStaticFiles().
Default Static Files: The initial app.UseStaticFiles(); call serves files directly from the “myroot” directory. For instance, a request to /styles.css would look for a file named styles.css within “myroot”.
Custom Static Files Location: The second app.UseStaticFiles call configures a PhysicalFileProvider to serve files from a custom location: “mywebroot”. This directory is located within the application’s ContentRootPath (the project’s root folder).

Environment Tag Helper in Asp.net Core

Understanding launchSettings.json in Asp.net Core

ASP.NET Core Environments

Service Lifetimes in Asp.net Core

Dependency Inversion Principle (DIP) in C#

Services (Dependency Injection) in .Net Core

Controllers in Asp.net Core

Redirect Results in Asp.net Core

Status Code Results in Asp.net Core

IActionResult in Asp.net Core

Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Environment Tag Helper in Asp.net Core

Understanding launchSettings.json in Asp.net Core

ASP.NET Core Environments

Service Lifetimes in Asp.net Core