Understanding Project Folders and Files in ASP.NET Core

👋 Introduction

Hey hey! 👋
You just created a new ASP.NET Core project and boom 💥 — a bunch of folders and files you’ve never seen before. You’re like…

“Umm… what even is ‘Connected Services’? And where did my Controllers go?” 😅

Don’t worry, my friend. You’re in the right place. Today, we’ll explore the real project structure of ASP.NET Core — without MVC, in its cleanest and simplest form.

Let’s make sense of it together! 🎯

📚 What You Are Going to Learn in This Lesson

✔️ What the default project structure of ASP.NET Core looks like
✔️ What each folder and file does
✔️ Real-life code to show how it all connects
✔️ A simple way to explore and experiment
✔️ Clarity on how ASP.NET Core apps start and run

🗂️ Breaking Down the Project Structure of ASP.NET Core

So here’s what you’ll typically see in your new ASP.NET Core Web App (without MVC):

				
					MyWebApp/
│
├── Connected Services/
├── Dependencies/
├── Properties/
├── wwwroot/
├── Pages/
├── appsettings.json
└── Program.cs

Let’s go folder-by-folder, file-by-file. ✨
This is your new playground. Let’s make it feel like home.

🌐 Connected Services

This section is where you can connect your app to external services — like Azure, databases, APIs, etc.

It’s like the “Add a buddy” zone. You bring in helpers here. 🤝
Not always used at first, but super handy later.

📦 Dependencies

This is where all your packages and NuGet libraries live.
Think of it as your app’s backpack 🎒 — it carries all the tools you install.

It includes:

.NET libraries
Third-party packages
Framework references

Nothing to edit here, just know what’s inside. 😉

🏠 Properties

Inside this, you’ll find a file called launchSettings.json.

This file controls how your app runs during development. Like which browser opens or what port to use.

				
					"profiles": {
  "MyWebApp": {
    "commandName": "Project",
    "launchBrowser": true,
    "applicationUrl": "https://localhost:5001"
  }
}

⚙️ Basically, it’s a comfy cushion for your app to launch the way you like.

📁 wwwroot

Here’s your public folder. 💡
Everything in wwwroot is accessible to the outside world.

Use it for:

CSS
JavaScript
Images
Static files

If you put a file here, users can access it directly in the browser.
Example: wwwroot/css/site.css → opens at /css/site.css

📁 Pages

Here comes the star of the show — the Pages folder. 🌟
This is where your Razor Pages live.

Each .cshtml file here is a self-contained page.

				
					Pages/
├── Index.cshtml
├── Index.cshtml.cs
├── Error.cshtml

Example: Index.cshtml (your homepage):

				
					@page
<h1>Welcome to My Web App!</h1>

Code-behind file (Index.cshtml.cs):

				
					public class IndexModel : PageModel
{
    public void OnGet()
    {
        // Runs on GET request
    }
}

It’s all in one place — HTML + logic = easy life. 🍕

And yep — this is a key player in the project structure of ASP.NET Core.

⚙️ appsettings.json

Your app’s config file. Stores settings like logging, connection strings, and more.

				
					{
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information"
    }
  }
}

Tip: You can add environment-specific versions too like appsettings.Development.json.

🚀 Program.cs

This is where your app boots up. No Startup.cs anymore (in .NET 6+). Everything starts here.

Here’s how a simple one looks:

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

app.MapRazorPages(); // Enables Razor Pages

app.Run();

💥 One file. One purpose. It brings your app to life!

✨ Recap – Project Structure of ASP.NET Core

So just to jog your memory:

Connected Services/ – external buddies
Dependencies/ – packages and libraries
Properties/ – launch settings
wwwroot/ – static files
Pages/ – your UI with Razor Pages
appsettings.json – configuration store
Program.cs – where everything starts

Understanding the project structure of ASP.NET Core will make building apps so much smoother. No more guessing. Just confidence. 💪

🧪 Try it Yourself!

Try this in your terminal or VS:

				
					dotnet new webapp -n HelloWebApp

Then open it up and explore all the folders.
Click, peek, break stuff, laugh, fix it again. That’s learning. 😄

🧠 Feeling Confused?

Totally normal! It’s like moving into a new house — everything’s unfamiliar at first.
But once you know where the fridge and coffee maker are, you’re good. ☕🏠

Need a refresher? Scroll up. Or message me anytime. 💬

👉 Next What?

Alright, now you’ve mastered the project structure of ASP.NET Core (👏 high five!).
So what’s next?

👉 In the next chapter, we’re gonna dive into Building Web Applications using ASP.NET Core.
Yup, real stuff. Real apps. Real fun. 😄

We’ll make things work. Build pages. Add features. You’ll see your code come to life. Can’t wait to show you!

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