This file is part of: Net-Core-Template Stack Copyright (c) 2025 Nico Jan Eelhart This source code is licensed under the MIT License found in the ‘LICENSE.md’ file in the root directory of this source tree.

.NET 8 Development Container Setup Guide

🚀 In a hurry? Jump to the Quick Start Guide for immediate setup.

Setup
Quick Start Guide

Setup

Create and Use a .NET Container

To start the container in Docker Desktop, execute this command from the .\Net8-Service> directory:

Prerequisites

External network Because this service uses an external network, you must ensure that the network is created before you create the container. All commands can be found in the .env file. The command to create the network is displayed below for convenience:
```
 docker network create --subnet=172.40.0.0/24 dev1-net 
```
If you get an error message that the network already exists, you’re probably good to go!

Create the container

 docker-compose -f compose_netcore_cont.yml up -d
 docker-compose -f compose_netcore_cont.yml up -d --build --force-recreate

After that, you should have a Docker Desktop container called: net8-service-net-core8-img-1.

To start a CLI in this container:

 docker exec -it net8-service-net-core8-img-1 bash

Troubleshooting

Container Issues

When the container is not starting or exiting unexpectedly, check the logs:

# Get ID of container
docker ps           # Only returns running containers!
docker ps -a        # Includes stopped containers! (-a => all)
docker logs [ID]    # See what's going on

Verify .NET Installation

To check which version of .NET is available, start a CLI in the container and run these commands:

docker exec -it net8-service-net-core8-img-1 bash

Then inside the container:

dotnet --list-sdks
dotnet --list-runtimes

Creating Applications in the Container with CLI

Quick Start with Script Templates

This container includes 11 ready-to-use script templates for creating different types of .NET 8 applications. When you start the container CLI, you automatically enter the host mount workspace (/hostmount/workspace).

To access the scripts:
Note: the scripts will create the application directory: /hostmount/workspace

cd scripts                   # Navigate to script templates
ls -la                       # List all available scripts

Available Script Templates

Script	Creates	Use For
`create_console.sh`	Console Application	CLI tools, utilities, learning
`create_webapi.sh`	REST API Service	Backend services, microservices
`create_webapiaot.sh`	High-Performance API	Ultra-fast APIs, cloud-native
`create_mvc.sh`	MVC Web Application	Traditional websites, admin panels
`create_webapp.sh`	Razor Pages App	Content-heavy sites, blogs
`create_blazorserver.sh`	Blazor Server App	Interactive web apps (server-side)
`create_blazorwasm.sh`	Blazor WebAssembly	Client-side web apps (browser)
`create_grpc.sh`	gRPC Service	High-performance service communication
`create_worker.sh`	Background Service	Scheduled tasks, message processing
`create_classlib.sh`	Class Library (DLL)	Reusable code, NuGet packages
`create_xunit.sh`	Unit Test Project	Testing your applications

Using the Scripts

Basic Usage:

cd scripts
./create_console.sh                    # Creates 'app-console' in workspace
./create_webapi.sh my-api              # Creates 'my-api' in workspace  
./create_mvc.sh my-site /custom/path   # Creates 'my-site' in custom location

Script Parameters:

First parameter: Application name (optional, uses default if omitted)
Second parameter: Target directory (optional, defaults to /hostmount/workspace)

Why Applications are Created in Host Workspace

By default, all applications are created in /hostmount/workspace because:

✅ Accessible from both Windows host and container
✅ Persistent - survives container restarts
✅ Easy editing - use Windows tools (VS Code, Visual Studio)
✅ Source control - git repositories work seamlessly

Performance Note: For CPU-intensive builds, you can copy projects to the container:

cp -r ./my-app /cworkspace/

Manual Application Creation

If your preferred template isn’t scripted, use the official .NET CLI:

ASP.NET Core Example: To create an ASP.NET Core program manually, follow these steps:

Note: The resulting application will be created in the host mount folder: /hostmount/workspace

Create the app

dotnet new web -n MyAspNetApp

Get the NuGet packages required

cd MyAspNetApp
dotnet restore

Run the app

# Start the application server
dotnet run --urls "http://0.0.0.0:5000" &

Access the app on the host Because in the previous command we specified 0.0.0.0 as the listening IP address, we can reach the web page on the host via localhost! (see also ‘Note 1’ below) So from the host, open a browser and navigate to:

http://localhost:5000/

Note 1: Getting Container IP Address If you need the IP address of the container to access the page via the host:

Get the name or ID of the container:
 docker ps
 
Execute this to get the IP:
 
 docker inspect -f '{{range .NetworkSettings.Networks}}{{.IPAddress}}{{end}}' [container_id_or_name]
# For this specific container:
docker inspect -f '{{range .NetworkSettings.Networks}}{{.IPAddress}}{{end}}' net8-service-net-core8-img-1 
 
 
Use the found IP to access the web page on the host. Start your browser on the host and navigate to:
http://[found_IP]:5000

Appendix I Quick Start Guide

🚀 Get up and running with .NET 8 development in under 5 minutes!

Prerequisites (2 minutes)

Create network:

docker network create --subnet=172.40.0.0/24 dev1-net

Start container:

docker-compose -f compose_netcore_cont.yml up -d

Create Your First App (1 minute)

Enter container:

docker exec -it net8-service-net-core8-img-1 bash

Create an application (choose one):

cd scripts
./create_console.sh my-first-app      # Console application
./create_webapi.sh my-api             # REST API
./create_mvc.sh my-website            # Web application
./create_blazorwasm.sh my-spa         # Single Page App

Run your application:

cd ../my-first-app    # or whatever you named it
dotnet run

That’s It! 🎉

Your code is in: /hostmount/workspace/ (accessible from Windows)
Available scripts: 11 different .NET 8 project templates
Need help? Check the full documentation above

Quick Reference - All Available Templates

Command	Creates	Perfect For
`create_console.sh`	Console App	Learning, CLI tools
`create_webapi.sh`	REST API	Backend services
`create_mvc.sh`	Web App	Traditional websites
`create_blazorwasm.sh`	SPA	Modern web apps
`create_classlib.sh`	Library	Reusable code
`create_xunit.sh`	Tests	Testing your apps

Docker Template Stack .NET 8

A Docker container for .NET 8 projects