Configuration is empty

Question

I'm trying to read config data from appsettings.json, which looks like this:

{
    Owner: {
        Name: "Dave",
        City: "Dusseldorf"
    }
}

In Startup.cs I have:

public Startup(IConfiguration configuration)
{
    var builder = new ConfigurationBuilder()
        .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json");
    Configuration = builder.Build();
}

In my class I have

private readonly IConfiguration _configuration;

public MyClass(
    IConfiguration configuration
    )
{
    _configuration = configuration;
}

...and later in the same class

string name= _configuration["Owner.Name"];

But this is always empty. However, if I add a breakpoint on that line and expand the _configuration class I can see a list of Providers (Count = 5) including one for appsettings.json, and if I expand this I can see my setting values, including Name.

However these don't seem to be accessible from code.

Am I using the wrong class/namespace? How should I read these values?

Answer 1

One of the worst reasons this can happen is that your appsettings.json is not built (copied into the bin folder). Try right-clicking the file -> select properties and set to Copy if newer or Copy Always. That would make sure the file is properly copied and found by the configuration logic.