Running ASP.NET Core MVC as a Console Application Project without .NET Core SDK

Question

Problem Background

I'm creating a tool, tha generates MVC solutions(*.sln) and building(with msbuild) them so they could be deployed. Tool requires .NET Framework 4.5.2.

Now I want to generate ASP.NET Core MVC application. Such applications could be run under 4.5.X, but I'm unsure if msbuild could handle project.json(so i'm using packages.config) and I cannot install .NET Core as every tutorial indicate as prerequisite for developing ASP.NET Core. Currently I'm planning to deploy generated applications on Windows.

The Problem:

So instead of .NET Core project I've created a simple console application: There I've installed there all packages needed, like:

  <package id="Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc" version="1.0.1" targetFramework="net452" />

And SelfHosted the application using Kestrel:

    public class Program {
    static void Main() {
        var host = new WebHostBuilder()
            .UseKestrel()
            .UseIISIntegration()
            .UseStartup<Startup>()
            .Build();

        host.Run();
    }
}

I've added Controller with a View. When I do a request, controller is hit, but View cannot be compiled in runtime:

Is this behavior related to the fact I'm using Console Application and not ASP.NET Core Web Application? Is it possible to create a full-featured MVC application as a simple console application?

UPDATE:

I think I've found a workaround inspired from reading github issues:

 public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services) {
        services.AddMvc()
                .AddRazorOptions(options => {
                                     var previous = options.CompilationCallback;
                                     options.CompilationCallback = context => {
                                                                       previous?.Invoke(context);
                                                                       var refs = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.GetAssemblies()
                                                                                           .Where(x => !x.IsDynamic)
                                                                                           .Select(x => MetadataReference.CreateFromFile(x.Location))
                                                                                           .ToList();
                                                                       context.Compilation = context.Compilation.AddReferences(refs);
                                                                   };
                                 });
    }

That seems to make Razor to render my view. But I'm not sure yet if it can be accepted as a solution.

Answer 1

Right now, it's not possible to build a .NET Core app using MSBuild, but it's possible to create a console application (not .NET Core) and add the same packages using NuGet (step-by-step below).

According to this road map, it will be possible in the near future.

Info from the link above:

Q4 2016 / Q1 2017

This will be the first minor update, mainly focused on replacing .xproj/project.json with .csproj/MSBuild. Project format update should be automatic. Just opening a 1.0 project will update it to the new project format. There will also be new functionality and improvements in the runtime and libraries.*

EDIT (steps to create a console app with Kestrel):

I created a Console application (not .NET Core console) and I was able to run Kestrel with a simple MVC API.

Here's what I did:

• I saw the dependencies I use in an existing .NET Core app, then, I added them as a NuGet reference:

  "Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc": "1.0.0",
  "Microsoft.AspNetCore.Server.IISIntegration": "1.0.0",
  "Microsoft.AspNetCore.Server.Kestrel": "1.0.0",
  "Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.EnvironmentVariables": "1.0.0",
  "Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.FileExtensions": "1.0.0",
  "Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Json": "1.0.0",
  "Microsoft.Extensions.Options.ConfigurationExtensions": "1.0.0"
  

• Modified the main method:

  static void Main(string[] args) {
    var host = new WebHostBuilder()
              .UseKestrel()
              .UseContentRoot(Directory.GetCurrentDirectory())
              .UseIISIntegration()
              .UseStartup<Startup>()
              .Build();
    host.Run();
  }
  

• Created a Startup.cs (UPDATED with the workaround provided in the question):

  public class Startup {
    public Startup(IHostingEnvironment env) {
      var builder = new ConfigurationBuilder()
          .SetBasePath(env.ContentRootPath)
          .AddEnvironmentVariables();
      Configuration = builder.Build();
    }
  
    private IHostingEnvironment CurrentEnvironment { get; set; }
    private IConfigurationRoot Configuration { get; }
  
    public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services) {
            services.AddMvc().AddRazorOptions(options => {
             var previous = options.CompilationCallback;
             options.CompilationCallback = context => {
               previous?.Invoke(context);
               var refs = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.GetAssemblies()
                      .Where(x => !x.IsDynamic)
                      .Select(x => MetadataReference.CreateFromFile(x.Location))
                      .ToList();
             context.Compilation = context.Compilation.AddReferences(refs);
            };
          });
    }
  
    public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app) {
      app.UseStaticFiles();
  
      app.UseMvc(routes => {
        routes.MapRoute(
          name: "default",
          template: "{controller=Home}/{action=Index}/{id?}");
      });
    }
  }
  

• Add a class to be my MVC Controller:

  [Route("api/[controller]")]
  public class ValuesController : Controller {
  
    // GET api/values
    [HttpGet]
    public IEnumerable<string> Get() {
      return new string[] { "value1", "value2" };
    }
  

• I had to copy manually the libuv.dll file to the bin folder because I was getting an error.

With these steps, I was able to run my console application. In the image below, you can see my project structure and Kestrel running: