dotnet not loading appsettings.json if executing dotnet outside publish folder - asp.net-core

Question

I've been hovering around this issue for quite some time now and still haven't found an answer, nor another post dealing with the same problem.
I have published a .net 5.0 Website and everything works fine if I run dotnet inside the same published folder. in this folder I also have a file called appsettings.json with all the configuration needed by the application ie:
+ path
+ to
+ karinapi
- MinosIT.Karin.API.dll
- appsettings.json
When I run dotnet inside the folder, everything works fine and the settings are read without any problem:
cd /path/to/karinapi
dotnet MinosIT.Karin.API.dll
The result is ok ie:
user#machine$ dotnet MinosIT.Karin.API.dll
info: MinosIT.Karin.API.Program[0]
Inicializando migración
info: MinosIT.Karin.Migrations.HDIKarinMigrations[0]
Verificando migraci+on
info: MinosIT.Karin.Migrations.HDIKarinMigrations[0]
Checking whether journal table exists..
info: MinosIT.Karin.Migrations.HDIKarinMigrations[0]
Fetching list of already executed scripts.
info: MinosIT.Karin.API.Program[0]
finalizando migración
but when I try to follow this guide:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/host-and-deploy/linux-nginx?view=aspnetcore-5.0
it says that you have to create a service and run the app like this
/usr/bin/dotnet /path/to/karinapi/MinosIT.Karin.API.dll
The problem is that when I try to run my app while being outside the publish folder, dotnet doesn't seem to find appsettings.json file ie:
user#mymachine$ pwd
/path/to/
user#mymachine$ /user/bin/dotnet /path/to/karinapi/MinosIT.Karin.API.dll
Application fails and throws this error:
user#mymachine$ dotnet karinapi/MinosIT.Karin.API.dll
Unhandled exception. System.ArgumentNullException: Value cannot be null. (Parameter 'implementationInstance')
at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceCollectionServiceExtensions.AddSingleton[TService](IServiceCollection services, TService implementationInstance)
at MinosIT.Karin.API.Startup.ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services) in D:\Minos IT\Karin\MinosIT.Karin\BackEnd\MinosIT.Karin.api\Startup.cs:line 72
at System.RuntimeMethodHandle.InvokeMethod(Object target, Object[] arguments, Signature sig, Boolean constructor, Boolean wrapExceptions)
at System.Reflection.RuntimeMethodInfo.Invoke(Object obj, BindingFlags invokeAttr, Binder binder, Object[] parameters, CultureInfo culture) in /_/src/coreclr/src/System.Private.CoreLib/src/System/Reflection/RuntimeMethodInfo.cs:line 399
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting.ConfigureServicesBuilder.InvokeCore(Object instance, IServiceCollection services)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting.ConfigureServicesBuilder.<>c__DisplayClass9_0.g__Startup|0(IServiceCollection serviceCollection)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting.ConfigureServicesBuilder.Invoke(Object instance, IServiceCollection services)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting.ConfigureServicesBuilder.<>c__DisplayClass8_0.b__0(IServiceCollection services)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting.GenericWebHostBuilder.UseStartup(Type startupType, HostBuilderContext context, IServiceCollection services, Object instance)
at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting.GenericWebHostBuilder.<>c__DisplayClass13_0.b__0(HostBuilderContext context, IServiceCollection services)
at Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting.HostBuilder.CreateServiceProvider()
at Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting.HostBuilder.Build()
I'm using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.
using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
public IConfiguration Configuration { get; }
...
public Startup(IConfiguration configuration)
{
Configuration = configuration;
}
and inside StartUp.ConfigureServices I'm using:
var connectionString = Configuration.GetConnectionString("ConnectionStringName");
var section = Configuration.GetSection("CustomSection").Get<CustomConfiguration>();
When I debug, my code via logging I understand that the problem might be the ASP.NET Core doesn't know where to read appsettings.json, I have looked at dotnet cli docs, environment variables, other configuration types and I can't seem to find the problem. I really don't know what else to look for, any guidance or help will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your help.

Answer 1

Found a solution, I'm posting here in case someone else is struggling with the same error:
inside Program.cs I changed from:
public static IHostBuilder CreateHostBuilder(string[] args) =>
Host.CreateDefaultBuilder(args)
.ConfigureWebHostDefaults(webBuilder =>
{
webBuilder.UseStartup<Startup>();
}
);
to
public static IHostBuilder CreateHostBuilder(string[] args) =>
Host.CreateDefaultBuilder(args)
.ConfigureAppConfiguration((context, config) =>
{
var assembly = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly();
var currentPath = System.IO.Path.GetDirectoryName(assembly.Location);
config.SetBasePath(currentPath);
config.AddJsonFile("appsettings.json", optional: false, reloadOnChange: false);
})
.ConfigureWebHostDefaults(webBuilder =>
{
webBuilder.UseStartup<Startup>();
}
);