Setting index.html as default page in asp.net core

Question

How can I get asp.net core to serve an index.html file from inside my wwwroot?

The reason I want to do this is because I an developing an angular 4 app using the angular CLI and it takes care of the entire build process. I have set it up to build into the wwwroot directory of my asp.net core project but asp.net core doesn't want to serve it.

At first I tried to return the html file through a controller. I tried this route:

app.UseMvc(routes =>
    {
        routes.MapRoute(
            name: "default",
            template: "{controller=Home}/{action=Index}");
    });

And then in the controller I return the html file like this:

public IActionResult Index()
{
    var webRoot = _env.WebRootPath;
    var path = System.IO.Path.Combine(webRoot, "index.html");

    return File(path, "text/html");
}

This didn't work. It returned a 404 not found exception and gave the path but the path it gave was the correct path to the index.html file (I cut and pasted it into explorer and the file opened).

I am also declaring these in startup:

app.UseStaticFiles();
app.UseDefaultFiles();

I then tried removing the default route. Now I am able to get to the index.html file but only if I type the filename in, i.e.:

localhost:58420/index.html

If I try to access the root of the domain without the "index.html" specified I get a 404 error.

What is the proper way to reference the index.html as the default page? I am guessing doing it from a controller is probably better because then it will be compatible with angular routing without rewrites.

Answer 1

Just use this in startup.cs:

app.UseFileServer();

It's shorthand for:

app.UseDefaultFiles();
app.UseStaticFiles();

... and it avoids issues with having to have those in the correct order (as shown above)

Answer 2

I needed to declare UseDefaultFiles() before UseStaticFiles().

app.UseDefaultFiles();
app.UseStaticFiles();

Answer 3

Install the NuGet package Microsoft.AspNetCore.StaticFiles.

Now, in Startup.Configure method, add:

public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IHostingEnvironment env)
{
    // Serve the files Default.htm, default.html, Index.htm, Index.html
    // by default (in that order), i.e., without having to explicitly qualify the URL.
    // For example, if your endpoint is http://localhost:3012/ and wwwroot directory
    // has Index.html, then Index.html will be served when someone hits
    // http://localhost:3012/
    app.UseDefaultFiles(); 

    // Enable static files to be served. This would allow html, images, etc. in wwwroot
    // directory to be served. 
    app.UseStaticFiles();
}

You should now get files served from wwwroot directory (use UseWebRoot if you want to change it to something else).

Source: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/fundamentals/static-files

Answer 4

app.UseDefaultFiles(new DefaultFilesOptions {
    DefaultFileNames = new List<string> { "index.html" }
});
app.UseStaticFiles();

This is optimal since the UseDefaultFiles URL rewriter will only search for index.html, and not for the legacy files: default.htm, default.html, and index.htm.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/fundamentals/static-files?view=aspnetcore-2.2#serve-a-default-document

Answer 5

If you want to use another document like foo.html for example as your default document, you can do so using the following code in Startup.Configure method.

// Specify foo.html as the default document
DefaultFilesOptions defaultFilesOptions = new DefaultFilesOptions();
defaultFilesOptions.DefaultFileNames.Clear();
defaultFilesOptions.DefaultFileNames.Add("foo.html");
// Add Default Files Middleware
app.UseDefaultFiles(defaultFilesOptions);
// Add Static Files Middleware
app.UseStaticFiles();

Approach 2:

UseFileServer combines the functionality of UseStaticFiles, UseDefaultFiles and UseDirectoryBrowser middleware. DirectoryBrowser middleware, enables directory browsing and allows users to see files within a specified directory. We could replace UseStaticFiles and UseDefaultFiles middlewares with UseFileServer Middleware.

// Use UseFileServer instead of UseDefaultFiles & UseStaticFiles

FileServerOptions fileServerOptions = new FileServerOptions();
fileServerOptions.DefaultFilesOptions.DefaultFileNames.Clear();
fileServerOptions.DefaultFilesOptions.DefaultFileNames.Add("foo.html");
app.UseFileServer(fileServerOptions);

Answer 6

You are mixing both MVC and Default files serving (useDefaultFiles). Comment out the below lines from your code

app.UseMvc(routes =>
    {
        routes.MapRoute(
            name: "default",
            template: "{controller=Home}/{action=Index}");
    });

and use only app.UseDefaultFiles();. It will start working.

Answer 7

return File(System.IO.File.OpenRead(Path.Combine(HostingEnvironment.WebRootPath + "/index.html")), "text/html");

It has to help u