Welcome to Minimal API with .NET 10 and C#, the most comprehensive and practical course available for mastering modern API development using Microsoft’s streamlined Minimal API architecture.

In this hands-on, project-driven course, you will build a fully functional, production-ready API used to manage fictional research sites, artifacts, catalog records, media files, and user accounts inside the Aeon Registry system.

Whether you are new to .NET or transitioning from MVC controllers, this course guides you step-by-step through designing, structuring, building, documenting, and deploying a real application following industry best practices.

Why This Course Stands Out

This is not a basic demo API. You will architect a complete multi-layered system with:

• Authentication and role-based authorization

• Identity API endpoints (with custom overrides)

• Fully designed Site and Artifact management systems

• Public and private endpoint architecture

• Media upload, validation, and binary image delivery

• PostgreSQL integration through Entity Framework Core

• Production-level error handling and filters

• Branded Swagger documentation

• Deployment to Railway using Docker

• Static file hosting, maps, and a homepage

Every feature is taught through real implementation, not theory.

What You Will Learn

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to build professional-grade Minimal API applications, including:

Minimal API Architecture

• Organize projects using entities, DTOs, services, filters, and endpoint groups

• Implement consistent CRUD endpoint patterns

• Apply projection and mapping techniques for response models

Authentication and Authorization

• Add ASP.NET Identity through the minimal API approach

• Map built-in Identity endpoints (register, login, password reset, etc.)

• Configure custom policies and role-based access

• Override the default registration endpoint for admin-controlled onboarding

• Generate and send password reset links to new users

Real Application Features

• Build dozens of endpoints across Sites, Artifacts, and MediaFiles

• Return public vs. private versions of the same data

• Design nested endpoints such as retrieving artifacts by site

• Separate concerns across service and routing layers

Database Integration with PostgreSQL

• Configure EF Core DbContext for PostgreSQL

• Understand navigation properties and one-to-many relationships

• Use asynchronous queries, projections, and eager loading

Secure Media Uploads

• Process multipart file uploads

• Validate MIME types, file extensions, and magic bytes

• Enforce file size limits

• Serve binary images with caching headers

Production-Grade API Practices

• Implement a centralized exception handling filter

• Add custom Swagger branding and documentation

• Organize endpoint groups with shared metadata

• Host static files and build a lightweight front-end entry page

Cloud Deployment and DevOps

• Containerize your API with Docker

• Deploy to Railway using GitHub integration

• Handle Railway’s DATABASE_URL using dynamic connection-string generation

• Publish Swagger in production environments

• Configure environment variables and static hosting

What You Will Build

Throughout the course, you will create the complete Aeon Registry Minimal API, a real-world backend designed to manage research and artifact cataloging.

Site Management API

• Create, update, delete, and retrieve research sites

• Return both public summaries and private research narratives

• Build nested routes for artifacts belonging to a site

Artifact Cataloging System

• Create and manage artifact records

• Support relationships between artifacts, sites, media files, and catalog notes

• Provide public and private endpoints with different response models

Media Upload and Retrieval System

• Upload and store image files

• Validate image content, size, and type

• Serve binary image data publicly

• Manage primary image selection for artifacts

Identity and User Management

• Implement ASP.NET Core Identity using Minimal APIs

• Add custom registration logic for administrators

• Assign roles such as “Researcher”

• Send password-setup links via email

Cloud Deployment with Docker and Railway

• Build and deploy a Dockerized application

• Add and configure a PostgreSQL database in Railway

• Manage environment variables and automatic connection strings

• Host static files and map viewers

• Set up CI/CD with GitHub

Topics Covered in Depth

Minimal API Concepts

• Endpoint groups

• Handler design

• Typed results

• Exception filters

• Service abstraction

Identity and Security

• JWT authentication

• Role-based policies

• Custom onboarding flows

Entity Framework Core

• Entities, foreign keys, navigation properties

• Eager loading with Include

• Projections with LINQ

• Asynchronous database operations

Media Handling

• Safe multipart file processing

• Header-byte inspection

• File size and type validation

• Binary response formatting

Cloud Deployment

• Dockerfile configuration

• Railway hosting

• Production Swagger

• Static file hosting

Who This Course Is For

• Developers learning Minimal APIs for the first time

• ASP.NET MVC developers wanting to adopt modern patterns

• Students building their first complete backend application

• Engineers preparing for backend or full-stack roles

• Anyone who wants hands-on experience deploying a real .NET API to the cloud

Your Final Project

Upon completing the course, you will have a fully deployed, production-ready API featuring:

• A complete authentication and authorization system

• Public and private data separation

• A secure media upload system with validation

• End-to-end CRUD operations for multiple resources

• PostgreSQL integration through EF Core

• A custom-branded Swagger dashboard

• A deployed Railway application

• A static homepage and interactive map viewer

• CI/CD automation through GitHub

This is a portfolio-quality project demonstrating practical, modern backend development skills.