ASP.NET Core routing - mapping only specific controllers

Question

Per documentation it seems like it's only possible to add either single routes, one by one, or add all routes in annotated (attribute routing) controllers

DOCS: Routing to controller actions in ASP.NET Core

Is it possible to add only all routes belonging to single Controller?

Using UseEndpoints(e => e.MapControllers()) will add all controllers that are annotated, using UseEndpoints(e => e.MapControllerRoute(...)) seems to be able to add only single controller/action route, not all routes that are annotated in given controller

Sample controller:

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;

[ApiController]
[Route("[controller]")]
public class MyApiController
{

  [Route("/")]
  [Route("[action]")]
  [HttpGet]
  public ResponseType Index()
  {
    // ...
  }

  [Route("[action]")]
  public ResponseType GetListing()
  {
    // ...
  }

}

Marek Sebera · Accepted Answer · 2021-07-28 18:10:39Z

7

One solution I found is to build a custom MVC feature provider and implement an extension method that allows you to specify exactly which controllers you want registered.

 public static class MvcExtensions
 {
    /// <summary>
    /// Finds the appropriate controllers
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="partManager">The manager for the parts</param>
    /// <param name="controllerTypes">The controller types that are allowed. </param>
    public static void UseSpecificControllers(this ApplicationPartManager partManager, params Type[] controllerTypes)
    {
       partManager.FeatureProviders.Add(new InternalControllerFeatureProvider());
       partManager.ApplicationParts.Clear();
       partManager.ApplicationParts.Add(new SelectedControllersApplicationParts(controllerTypes));
    }
 
    /// <summary>
    /// Only allow selected controllers
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="mvcCoreBuilder">The builder that configures mvc core</param>
    /// <param name="controllerTypes">The controller types that are allowed. </param>
    public static IMvcCoreBuilder UseSpecificControllers(this IMvcCoreBuilder mvcCoreBuilder, params Type[] controllerTypes) => mvcCoreBuilder.ConfigureApplicationPartManager(partManager => partManager.UseSpecificControllers(controllerTypes));
 
    /// <summary>
    /// Only instantiates selected controllers, not all of them. Prevents application scanning for controllers. 
    /// </summary>
    private class SelectedControllersApplicationParts : ApplicationPart, IApplicationPartTypeProvider
    {
       public SelectedControllersApplicationParts()
       {
          Name = "Only allow selected controllers";
       }

       public SelectedControllersApplicationParts(Type[] types)
       {
          Types = types.Select(x => x.GetTypeInfo()).ToArray();
       }
 
       public override string Name { get; }
 
       public IEnumerable<TypeInfo> Types { get; }
    }
 
    /// <summary>
    /// Ensure that internal controllers are also allowed. The default ControllerFeatureProvider hides internal controllers, but this one allows it. 
    /// </summary>
    private class InternalControllerFeatureProvider : ControllerFeatureProvider
    {
       private const string ControllerTypeNameSuffix = "Controller";
 
       /// <summary>
       /// Determines if a given <paramref name="typeInfo"/> is a controller. The default ControllerFeatureProvider hides internal controllers, but this one allows it. 
       /// </summary>
       /// <param name="typeInfo">The <see cref="TypeInfo"/> candidate.</param>
       /// <returns><code>true</code> if the type is a controller; otherwise <code>false</code>.</returns>
       protected override bool IsController(TypeInfo typeInfo)
       {
          if (!typeInfo.IsClass)
          {
             return false;
          }
 
          if (typeInfo.IsAbstract)
          {
             return false;
          }
 
          if (typeInfo.ContainsGenericParameters)
          {
             return false;
          }
 
          if (typeInfo.IsDefined(typeof(Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.NonControllerAttribute)))
          {
             return false;
          }
 
          if (!typeInfo.Name.EndsWith(ControllerTypeNameSuffix, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
                     !typeInfo.IsDefined(typeof(Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.ControllerAttribute)))
          {
             return false;
          }
 
          return true;
       }
    }
 }

Put the extensions class wherever in your project, and use like this

public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
{
  // put this line before services.AddControllers()
  services.AddMvcCore().UseSpecificControllers(typeof(MyApiController), typeof(MyOtherController));
}

Source: https://gist.github.com/damianh/5d69be0e3004024f03b6cc876d7b0bd3

Courtesy of Damian Hickey.

edited Jul 28, 2021 at 18:10

Marek Sebera

40.8k37 gold badges166 silver badges251 bronze badges

answered Jul 27, 2021 at 20:59

silkfire

26.3k17 gold badges92 silver badges116 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

12 Comments

silkfire Over a year ago

@MarekSebera I found something that might be what you're looking for if you're willing to implement some custom methods: gist.github.com/damianh/5d69be0e3004024f03b6cc876d7b0bd3

Marek Sebera Over a year ago

well damn, it works, could you please post the code from gist as an answer along with the usage (i went with services.AddMvcCore().UseSpecificControllers(typeof(MyApiController));). Thank you!

Marek Sebera Over a year ago

Also it might be necessary to use UseSpecificControllers before using AddControllers, i'm not really sure.

Marek Sebera Over a year ago

Thank you, I've added the usage example and code formatting to your answer

silkfire Over a year ago

@Medinoc In practice probably not, but you it could be good to have a guard there in case you provide an interface or a struct by accident.

|

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

ASP.NET Core routing - mapping only specific controllers

1 Answer 1

12 Comments

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

1 Answer 1

12 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related