Quickstart: Create a .NET app with App Configuration

Article
11/01/2024

In this quickstart, you incorporate Azure App Configuration into a .NET console app to centralize storage and management of application settings separate from your code.

Prerequisites

An Azure account with an active subscription. Create a trial subscription.
An App Configuration store. Create a store.
.NET Core SDK.

Add a key-value

Add the following key-value to the App Configuration store and leave Label and Content Type with their default values. For more information about how to add key-values to a store using the Azure portal or the CLI, go to Create a key-value.

Key	Value
TestApp:Settings:Message	Data from Azure App Configuration

Create a .NET console app

You use the .NET command-line interface (CLI) to create a new .NET console app project. The advantage of using the .NET CLI over Visual Studio is that it's available across the Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms.

Create a new folder for your project.
In the new folder, run the following command to create a new .NET console app project:
```
dotnet new console
```

Connect to an App Configuration store

You can connect to your App Configuration store using Microsoft Entra ID (recommended), or a connection string.

Add NuGet package references by running the following command:

Microsoft Entra ID (recommended)
Connection string

dotnet add package Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.AzureAppConfiguration
dotnet add package Azure.Identity

dotnet add package Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.AzureAppConfiguration

Run the following command to restore packages for your project:
```
dotnet restore
```

Open the Program.cs file, and add the following namespaces:

Microsoft Entra ID (recommended)
Connection string

using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.AzureAppConfiguration;
using Azure.Identity;

using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.AzureAppConfiguration;

Connect to your App Configuration store by calling the AddAzureAppConfiguration method in the Program.cs file.

Microsoft Entra ID (recommended)
Connection string

You use the DefaultAzureCredential to authenticate to your App Configuration store. Follow the instructions to assign your credential the App Configuration Data Reader role. Be sure to allow sufficient time for the permission to propagate before running your application.

var builder = new ConfigurationBuilder();
builder.AddAzureAppConfiguration(options =>
{
    string endpoint = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("Endpoint");
    options.Connect(new Uri(endpoint), new DefaultAzureCredential());
});

var config = builder.Build();
Console.WriteLine(config["TestApp:Settings:Message"] ?? "Hello world!");

var builder = new ConfigurationBuilder();
builder.AddAzureAppConfiguration(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("ConnectionString"));

var config = builder.Build();
Console.WriteLine(config["TestApp:Settings:Message"] ?? "Hello world!");

Build and run the app locally

Set an environment variable.
- Microsoft Entra ID (recommended)
- Connection string
Set the environment variable named Endpoint to the endpoint of your App Configuration store found under the Overview of your store in the Azure portal.

If you use the Windows command prompt, run the following command and restart the command prompt to allow the change to take effect:
```
setx Endpoint "endpoint-of-your-app-configuration-store"
```
If you use PowerShell, run the following command:
```
$Env:Endpoint = "endpoint-of-your-app-configuration-store"
```
If you use macOS or Linux, run the following command:
```
export Endpoint='endpoint-of-your-app-configuration-store'
```
Set the environment variable named ConnectionString to the read-only connection string of your App Configuration store found under Access keys of your store in the Azure portal.

If you use the Windows command prompt, run the following command and restart the command prompt to allow the change to take effect:
```
setx ConnectionString "connection-string-of-your-app-configuration-store"
```
If you use PowerShell, run the following command:
```
$Env:ConnectionString = "connection-string-of-your-app-configuration-store"
```
If you use macOS or Linux, run the following command:
```
export ConnectionString='connection-string-of-your-app-configuration-store'
```
Run the following command to build the console app:
```
dotnet build
```
After the build successfully completes, run the following command to run the app locally:
```
dotnet run
```

Clean up resources

If you don't want to continue using the resources created in this article, delete the resource group you created here to avoid charges.

Important

Deleting a resource group is irreversible. The resource group and all the resources in it are permanently deleted. Ensure that you don't accidentally delete the wrong resource group or resources. If you created the resources for this article inside a resource group that contains other resources you want to keep, delete each resource individually from its respective pane instead of deleting the resource group.

Sign in to the Azure portal, and select Resource groups.
In the Filter by name box, enter the name of your resource group.
In the result list, select the resource group name to see an overview.
Select Delete resource group.
You're asked to confirm the deletion of the resource group. Enter the name of your resource group to confirm, and select Delete.

After a few moments, the resource group and all its resources are deleted.

Next steps

In this quickstart, you created a new App Configuration store and used it with a .NET console app via the App Configuration provider. To learn how to configure your .NET app to dynamically refresh configuration settings, continue to the next tutorial.

Enable dynamic configuration