.NET Core how to specify environment to run application in

Question

I have a Development, Staging, and Production server for my project. However when I run the project on my Development server it runs in Production mode. I can tell because it is using values from my appsettings.Production.json.

How do I specify that my project should run in development mode from this particular server? I've tried setting the environment variable ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT = Development but that hasn't worked.

Please help. I have no idea how this is deciding to use the production environment. Any insight will help.

Answer 1

The environment settings are set in the operating system's environment variables, ie the bash profile. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/fundamentals/environments?view=aspnetcore-2.1

But you can isolate the environment settings at launch time by setting up profiles. The dotnet run command with the --launchprofile parameter lets you specify which profile to use. This is what Visual Studio also uses when launching the app.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/fundamentals/environments?view=aspnetcore-2.1

The variable set set in the launchSettings.json, you would need to build and publish with the appropriate 'launch' profile.

{
  "iisSettings": {
    "windowsAuthentication": false,
    "anonymousAuthentication": true,
    "iisExpress": {
      "applicationUrl": "http://localhost:54339/",
      "sslPort": 0
    }
  },
  "profiles": {
    "IIS Express-local": {
      "commandName": "IISExpress",
      "launchBrowser": true,
      "environmentVariables": {
        "ASPNETCORE_My_Environment": "1",
        "ASPNETCORE_DETAILEDERRORS": "1",
        "ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT": "Development"
      }
    },
    "EnvironmentsSample-staging": {
      "commandName": "Project",
      "launchBrowser": true,
      "environmentVariables": {
        "ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT": "Staging"
      },
      "applicationUrl": "http://localhost:54340/"
    }
  }
}