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This guide covers building and running TechCore Mini ERP on your local development environment.

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Prerequisites

Before running the application, ensure you have:

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Building the Application

TechCore requires building both the .NET application and Tailwind CSS assets.

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Building CSS Assets

The project uses Tailwind CSS 4.2.1 with DaisyUI 5.5.19 for styling. CSS is built automatically during the .NET build process via a pre-build target. To manually build CSS: 
npm run css:build
This runs: 
npx tailwindcss -i ./wwwroot/css/site.css -o ./wwwroot/css/styles.css --minify

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Building the .NET Application

1

Navigate to project directory

cd TechCore
2

Build the project

dotnet build
This will:
  • Restore NuGet packages if needed
  • Run the Tailwind CSS build (via the pre-build target)
  • Compile the application
  • Output binaries to bin/Debug/net10.0/
The build process automatically triggers npm run css:build before compilation, as defined in the Tailwind target in TechCore.csproj.

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Running Database Migrations

Before running the application for the first time, create the database:
1

Ensure SQL Server is running

Verify that your SQL Server instance is running and accessible.
2

Apply migrations

dotnet ef database update
This creates the TechCore database and all required tables based on your Entity Framework Core 10.0.3 migrations.
3

Verify database creation

Connect to your SQL Server and confirm the TechCore database exists.

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Creating New Migrations

When you modify entity models, create a new migration: 
dotnet ef migrations add MigrationName
Then apply it: 
dotnet ef database update

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Running the Application

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Using .NET CLI

1

Navigate to project directory

cd TechCore
2

Run the application

dotnet run
The application will:
  • Build the project (including CSS assets)
  • Start the Kestrel web server
  • Display the URLs where the app is listening
3

Check the output

You should see output similar to:
info: Microsoft.Hosting.Lifetime[14]
      Now listening on: https://localhost:5001
info: Microsoft.Hosting.Lifetime[14]
      Now listening on: http://localhost:5000

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Using Visual Studio

1

Open solution

Open TechCore.sln in Visual Studio 2022.
2

Set startup project

Ensure TechCore is set as the startup project (right-click project > Set as Startup Project).
3

Run

Press F5 to run with debugging, or Ctrl+F5 to run without debugging.The application will build and launch in your default browser.

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Using Visual Studio Code

1

Open project folder

Open the TechCore folder in VS Code.
2

Install C# Dev Kit

Ensure you have the C# Dev Kit extension installed.
3

Run

Press F5 or use the Run menu > Start Debugging.VS Code will use the launch configuration from .vscode/launch.json if present.

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Accessing the Application

Once running, access TechCore at:
  • HTTPS: https://localhost:5001
  • HTTP: http://localhost:5000
The default route is configured as {controller=Home}/{action=Index}/{id?}, so navigating to the root URL will load the Home controller’s Index action.

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Development vs Production Mode

The application behavior changes based on the environment:

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Development Mode

Program.cs:22-27
if (!app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
{
    app.UseExceptionHandler("/Home/Error");
    app.UseHsts();
}
In Development:
  • Detailed error pages are shown
  • HSTS is disabled
  • appsettings.Development.json overrides are applied

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Production Mode

In Production:
  • Errors are handled by the /Home/Error endpoint
  • HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security) is enabled with a 30-day max-age
  • Only appsettings.json is used

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Hot Reload

.NET 10.0 supports hot reload for rapid development: 
dotnet watch run
This will:
  • Run the application
  • Watch for file changes
  • Automatically rebuild and refresh when you save changes
CSS changes require a manual rebuild (npm run css:build) or restarting dotnet watch to take effect.

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Troubleshooting

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Port Already in Use

If ports 5000 or 5001 are already in use, you can specify different ports: 
dotnet run --urls "https://localhost:7001;http://localhost:7000"

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CSS Not Loading

If styles are not appearing:
  1. Verify npm packages are installed: 
    npm install
  2. Manually build CSS: 
    npm run css:build
  3. Check that wwwroot/css/styles.css was generated

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Database Connection Failed

If you see database connection errors:
  1. Verify SQL Server is running
  2. Check your connection string in appsettings.json or user secrets
  3. Ensure the database exists: 
    dotnet ef database update

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Entity Framework Tools Not Found

If dotnet ef commands fail: 
dotnet tool install --global dotnet-ef
Or update to the latest version: 
dotnet tool update --global dotnet-ef

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Development Workflow

Recommended workflow for local development:
1

Create feature branch

git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
2

Run with hot reload

dotnet watch run
3

Make changes and test

Edit code, save, and test the automatically reloaded application.
4

Commit changes

git add .
git commit -m "Descriptive commit message"
5

Push to remote

git push -u origin feature/your-feature-name

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Next Steps

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