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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/Andrespeerez/porfolio-blog/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Configuration in the Porfolio & Blog CMS follows ASP.NET Core’s standard layered settings system. The base appsettings.json file defines values that apply across all environments, while appsettings.{Environment}.json layers environment-specific overrides on top. The three key knobs you’ll interact with are the SQLite connection string, logging verbosity levels, and — in the Development environment only — the seed credentials used to bootstrap the first admin user.

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appsettings.json

This file is always loaded regardless of environment. It sets the shared baseline for logging and database access.
appsettings.json
{
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information",
      "Microsoft.AspNetCore": "Warning"
    }
  },
  "AllowedHosts": "*",
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "Default": "Data Source=blog.db"
  }
}
KeyDescription
ConnectionStrings.DefaultPath to the SQLite database file. The default value Data Source=blog.db places the database in the project root directory. In production, update this to a persistent absolute path outside the application directory.
Logging.LogLevel.DefaultMinimum log level applied to all log categories that don’t have a more specific rule. Information means informational messages, warnings, and errors are all captured.
Logging.LogLevel.Microsoft.AspNetCoreOverrides the log level specifically for ASP.NET Core framework internals. Set to Warning to suppress the high volume of request-routing and middleware trace messages that would otherwise flood your logs.
AllowedHostsA semicolon-delimited list of hostnames the server will respond to. The wildcard * accepts every hostname. In production, replace this with your actual domain (e.g., "yourdomain.com") to prevent host-header injection attacks.

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appsettings.Development.json

When ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT is Development, ASP.NET Core merges this file on top of appsettings.json. It extends logging configuration and introduces the Seed section consumed exclusively by AdminUserSeeder at startup.
appsettings.Development.json
{
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information",
      "Microsoft.AspNetCore": "Warning"
    }
  },
  "Seed": {
    "AdminEmail": "admin@andresblog.com",
    "AdminPassword": "Admin123!"
  }
}
The Seed section provides the credentials that AdminUserSeeder uses to create the first admin account. AdminEmail becomes the login username and AdminPassword is hashed before being stored in the database. Because AdminUserSeeder checks IWebHostEnvironment.IsDevelopment() before doing anything, these values are completely ignored in Production — you do not need to strip them from the file when deploying, but it is best practice to do so. See the Seeding page for a full walkthrough of how the seeder works.

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Launch profiles

The Properties/launchSettings.json file defines two run profiles that the dotnet run command and IDEs can use. Both profiles set ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Development automatically, so appsettings.Development.json is always active during local development.
ProfileURL(s)Notes
httphttp://localhost:5058HTTP only; simplest option for local development
httpshttps://localhost:7140 and http://localhost:5058Enables TLS; requires a trusted development certificate
# Start with the HTTP profile
dotnet run --launch-profile http

# Start with the HTTPS profile
dotnet run --launch-profile https
Both profiles set "launchBrowser": true, so your default browser opens automatically on startup. To disable this behaviour, set "launchBrowser": false in the relevant profile inside launchSettings.json.

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Cookie authentication configuration

Authentication is handled via ASP.NET Core’s built-in cookie middleware, registered in Program.cs as follows:
Program.cs
builder.Services.AddAuthentication(CookieAuthenticationDefaults.AuthenticationScheme)
    .AddCookie(o =>
    {
        o.LoginPath = "/login";
    });
Setting LoginPath = "/login" tells the cookie middleware where to redirect unauthenticated users when they attempt to access a protected resource. Any request that arrives without a valid authentication cookie is automatically redirected to /login with the original URL preserved in a ReturnUrl query parameter, so the user lands back on the page they requested after a successful sign-in.
The cookie authentication scheme is set as the default scheme via CookieAuthenticationDefaults.AuthenticationScheme, meaning you don’t need to specify it explicitly on individual [Authorize] attributes.

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Production checklist

Before deploying to a public environment, work through the following items:
Do not skip these steps. Deploying with Development defaults exposes your application to unnecessary risk.
  • Change AllowedHosts — replace "*" with your actual domain name (e.g., "yourdomain.com") to prevent host-header injection attacks.
  • Update ConnectionStrings.Default — point the SQLite data source to a persistent absolute path outside the application directory so the database survives redeployments (e.g., "Data Source=/var/data/blog.db").
  • Remove or override Seed:AdminEmail / Seed:AdminPassword — the seeder only runs in Development, but removing these values from any production config files reduces the risk of credential exposure in version control or environment dumps.
  • Set ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Production — this disables the developer exception page, enables HSTS, and ensures the appsettings.Development.json overlay is never loaded.

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