AddHttpClient fails with DefaultHttpClientFactory

Question

At startup of my API, I declare a client for an external API in ConfigureServices :

services.AddTransient<ApiBearerTokenHandler>();
services.AddHttpClient<IExternalApi, ExternalApi>(client =>
{
    client.BaseAddress = new Uri(settings.ApiUrl);
    client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("Accept", "application/json");
}).AddHttpMessageHandler<ApiBearerTokenHandler>();

At injection time, I get the folowing error:

System.InvalidOperationException: ValueFactory attempted to access the Value property of this instance

It seems that the DefaultHttpClientFactory doesn't manage to create an HttpClient.

Am I meant to provide a way to create this client or should it be automatically created?

If I declare the client without th handler, injection doesn't fail, but I don't have a token:

        services.AddHttpClient<IExternalApi, ExternalApi>(client =>
        {
            client.BaseAddress = new Uri(settings.ApiUrl);
            client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("Accept", "application/json");
        });

Pretty stack:

System.InvalidOperationException: ValueFactory attempted to access the Value property of this instance.
   at System.Lazy`1.ViaFactory(LazyThreadSafetyMode mode)
   at System.Lazy`1.ExecutionAndPublication(LazyHelper executionAndPublication, Boolean useDefaultConstructor)
   at System.Lazy`1.CreateValue()
   at System.Lazy`1.get_Value()
   at Microsoft.Extensions.Http.DefaultHttpClientFactory.CreateHandler(String name)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.Http.DefaultHttpClientFactory.CreateClient(String name)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.HttpClientBuilderExtensions.<>c__DisplayClass12_0`2.<AddTypedClientCore>b__0(IServiceProvider s)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteRuntimeResolver.VisitFactory(FactoryCallSite factoryCallSite, RuntimeResolverContext context)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteVisitor`2.VisitCallSiteMain(ServiceCallSite callSite, TArgument argument)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteRuntimeResolver.VisitDisposeCache(ServiceCallSite transientCallSite, RuntimeResolverContext context)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteVisitor`2.VisitCallSite(ServiceCallSite callSite, TArgument argument)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteRuntimeResolver.VisitConstructor(ConstructorCallSite constructorCallSite, RuntimeResolverContext context)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteVisitor`2.VisitCallSiteMain(ServiceCallSite callSite, TArgument argument)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteRuntimeResolver.VisitDisposeCache(ServiceCallSite transientCallSite, RuntimeResolverContext context)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteVisitor`2.VisitCallSite(ServiceCallSite callSite, TArgument argument)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteRuntimeResolver.Resolve(ServiceCallSite callSite, ServiceProviderEngineScope scope)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.DynamicServiceProviderEngine.<>c__DisplayClass1_0.<RealizeService>b__0(ServiceProviderEngineScope scope)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.ServiceProviderEngine.GetService(Type serviceType, ServiceProviderEngineScope serviceProviderEngineScope)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.ServiceProviderEngineScope.GetService(Type serviceType)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceProviderServiceExtensions.GetRequiredService(IServiceProvider provider, Type serviceType)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceProviderServiceExtensions.GetRequiredService[T](IServiceProvider provider)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.HttpClientBuilderExtensions.<>c__4`1.<AddHttpMessageHandler>b__4_1(HttpMessageHandlerBuilder b)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.Http.DefaultHttpClientFactory.<>c__DisplayClass17_0.<CreateHandlerEntry>g__Configure|0(HttpMessageHandlerBuilder b)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.Http.LoggingHttpMessageHandlerBuilderFilter.<>c__DisplayClass2_0.<Configure>b__0(HttpMessageHandlerBuilder builder)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.Http.DefaultHttpClientFactory.CreateHandlerEntry(String name)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.Http.DefaultHttpClientFactory.<>c__DisplayClass14_0.<.ctor>b__1()
   at System.Lazy`1.ViaFactory(LazyThreadSafetyMode mode)
   at System.Lazy`1.ExecutionAndPublication(LazyHelper executionAndPublication, Boolean useDefaultConstructor)
   at System.Lazy`1.CreateValue()
   at System.Lazy`1.get_Value()
   at Microsoft.Extensions.Http.DefaultHttpClientFactory.CreateHandler(String name)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.Http.DefaultHttpClientFactory.CreateClient(String name)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.HttpClientBuilderExtensions.<>c__DisplayClass12_0`2.<AddTypedClientCore>b__0(IServiceProvider s)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteRuntimeResolver.VisitFactory(FactoryCallSite factoryCallSite, RuntimeResolverContext context)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteVisitor`2.VisitCallSiteMain(ServiceCallSite callSite, TArgument argument)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteRuntimeResolver.VisitDisposeCache(ServiceCallSite transientCallSite, RuntimeResolverContext context)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteVisitor`2.VisitCallSite(ServiceCallSite callSite, TArgument argument)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteRuntimeResolver.VisitConstructor(ConstructorCallSite constructorCallSite, RuntimeResolverContext context)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteVisitor`2.VisitCallSiteMain(ServiceCallSite callSite, TArgument argument)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteRuntimeResolver.VisitCache(ServiceCallSite callSite, RuntimeResolverContext context, ServiceProviderEngineScope serviceProviderEngine, RuntimeResolverLock lockType)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteRuntimeResolver.VisitScopeCache(ServiceCallSite singletonCallSite, RuntimeResolverContext context)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteVisitor`2.VisitCallSite(ServiceCallSite callSite, TArgument argument)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteRuntimeResolver.Resolve(ServiceCallSite callSite, ServiceProviderEngineScope scope)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.DynamicServiceProviderEngine.<>c__DisplayClass1_0.<RealizeService>b__0(ServiceProviderEngineScope scope)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.ServiceProviderEngine.GetService(Type serviceType, ServiceProviderEngineScope serviceProviderEngineScope)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.ServiceProviderEngineScope.GetService(Type serviceType)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ActivatorUtilities.GetService(IServiceProvider sp, Type type, Type requiredBy, Boolean isDefaultParameterRequired)
   at lambda_method(Closure , IServiceProvider , Object[] )
   at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Controllers.ControllerActivatorProvider.<>c__DisplayClass4_0.<CreateActivator>b__0(ControllerContext controllerContext)
   at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Controllers.ControllerFactoryProvider.<>c__DisplayClass5_0.<CreateControllerFactory>g__CreateController|0(ControllerContext controllerContext)
   at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Infrastructure.ControllerActionInvoker.Next(State& next, Scope& scope, Object& state, Boolean& isCompleted)
   at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Infrastructure.ControllerActionInvoker.InvokeInnerFilterAsync()
--- End of stack trace from previous location where exception was thrown ---
   at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Infrastructure.ResourceInvoker.<InvokeNextResourceFilter>g__Awaited|24_0(ResourceInvoker invoker, Task lastTask, State next, Scope scope, Object state, Boolean isCompleted)
   at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Infrastructure.ResourceInvoker.Rethrow(ResourceExecutedContextSealed context)
   at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Infrastructure.ResourceInvoker.Next(State& next, Scope& scope, Object& state, Boolean& isCompleted)
   at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Infrastructure.ResourceInvoker.InvokeFilterPipelineAsync()
--- End of stack trace from previous location where exception was thrown ---
   at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Infrastructure.ResourceInvoker.<InvokeAsync>g__Awaited|17_0(ResourceInvoker invoker, Task task, IDisposable scope)
   at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Routing.EndpointMiddleware.<Invoke>g__AwaitRequestTask|6_0(Endpoint endpoint, Task requestTask, ILogger logger)
   at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Diagnostics.ExceptionHandlerMiddleware.<Invoke>g__Awaited|6_0(ExceptionHandlerMiddleware middleware, HttpContext context, Task task)

Answer 1

In my case, a single API provides authentication and other services.

But I can't use the same HttpClient for both as services need an authentication to get instanciated. So I had to split the HttpClient in two parts:

// 1 - authentication
services.AddHttpClient<IAuthApi, AuthApi>(client =>
{
    client.BaseAddress = new Uri(settings.ApiUrl);
    client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("Accept", "application/json");
});

// 2 - other services
services.AddTransient<ApiBearerTokenHandler>();
services.AddHttpClient<IExternalApi, ExternalApi>(client =>
{
    client.BaseAddress = new Uri(settings.ApiUrl);
    client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("Accept", "application/json");
}).AddHttpMessageHandler<ApiBearerTokenHandler>();

Where ApiBearerTokenHandler uses IAuthApi to get a token.

Great resource: https://blog.joaograssi.com/typed-httpclient-with-messagehandler-getting-accesstokens-from-identityserver/