PART 1: Creating the Most Basic ASP.NET Core 8 Website

This tutorial begins with the smallest possible ASP.NET Core 8 website. Razor Pages, Bootstrap, Home and Privacy pages will be added progressively in later parts.

1. Check the .NET SDK

dotnet --version

The result should begin with 8, for example 8.0.412.

2. Create the project

mkdir mydotnet
cd mydotnet
dotnet new web -n basicdotnet --framework net8.0
cd basicdotnet

The command uses the web template deliberately. It creates a minimal ASP.NET Core application, not the more complete Razor Pages template.

3. Examine the initial structure

basicdotnet/
├── Properties/
│   └── launchSettings.json
├── appsettings.Development.json
├── appsettings.json
├── basicdotnet.csproj
└── Program.cs

There is no Pages directory yet because Razor Pages has not been enabled.

4. Examine the project file

Open basicdotnet.csproj:

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Web">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
    <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
    <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
  </PropertyGroup>
</Project>

5. Examine `Program.cs`

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

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

app.Run();

MapGet associates the root URL, /, with a response. app.Run() starts the web server.

6. Run the application

dotnet run

Open the address printed after Now listening on:. The browser should display Hello World!.

7. Change the message

Stop the server with Ctrl+C, then change the endpoint:

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

app.MapGet("/", () => "Welcome to basicdotnet");

app.Run();

Run dotnet run again and refresh the browser.

What has been achieved?

A working ASP.NET Core 8 server
One root route
A plain-text response

The project still has no HTML structure, CSS, navigation, Privacy page or Razor Pages.

Next: PART 2 converts the plain-text response into a proper HTML page.

Creating the Most Basic ASP.NET Core 8 Website