Deploying an ASP.NET Core App

Learn how to publish and deploy an ASP.NET Core application, including Docker containerization.

Publishing Your App

`dotnet publish` compiles an optimized, deployment-ready build of your application.

dotnet publish -c Release -o ./publish

This produces a self-contained folder you can copy to a server and run with `dotnet YourApp.dll`.

Containerizing with Docker

Docker packages your app with everything it needs to run consistently across any environment — a standard approach for modern ASP.NET Core deployment.

Dockerfile

FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:8.0 AS base
WORKDIR /app
EXPOSE 8080

FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:8.0 AS build
WORKDIR /src
COPY . .
RUN dotnet publish -c Release -o /app/publish

FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=build /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "TaskApi.dll"]

docker build -t taskapi .
docker run -p 8080:8080 taskapi

Hosting Options

Platform	Best For
Azure App Service	Fully managed, deep integration with the .NET ecosystem
AWS / Google Cloud	Cloud-agnostic, containerized deployments
A VPS with Docker	Full control, cost-effective for smaller apps
Render / Railway	Simple, developer-friendly platforms with free tiers for learning

Production Checklist

Set ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT to Production.
Store secrets in environment variables or a secrets manager, never in source control.
Enable HTTPS and HSTS.
Run pending EF Core migrations against the production database.
Set up logging and monitoring for errors in production.

FAQs

Do I need Docker to deploy an ASP.NET Core app?

No — you can deploy the published output directly to many hosts. Docker is popular because it guarantees consistency between your local environment and production.

Summary

dotnet publish produces an optimized, deployable build.
Docker packages your app for consistent deployment anywhere.
Always separate environment-specific config and secrets from source control before going to production.

C# & .NET Course Completed!

You have successfully completed all 66 lessons — from C# fundamentals and Object-Oriented Programming through to building, securing, and deploying real ASP.NET Core web applications with Entity Framework Core. You now have a genuinely full-stack C# skill set.

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