.NET Core Cheat Sheet (Middleware + DI Lifetimes)

Sandhiya Priya
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Article

What is Middleware?

A component in ASP.NET Core that processes HTTP requests and responses in a pipeline.

Runs in sequence → Can handle/modify request → Call next → Return response

Middleware Pipeline Flow

Request → [Exception Handler]
       → [Routing]
       → [Authentication]
       → [Authorization]
       → [Custom Middleware]
       → [Endpoints]
Response ←──────────────────────────

Registering Middleware

app.UseMiddleware<CustomMiddleware>();
app.Use(async (context, next) =>
{
    // before next middleware
    await next();  
    // after next middleware
});

Built-In Middleware (Order Matters)

Category	Examples
Error Handling	UseExceptionHandler(), UseDeveloperExceptionPage()
Routing	UseRouting()
Security	UseAuthentication(), UseAuthorization(), UseCors()
Performance	UseResponseCompression()
Session	UseSession()
Static Files	UseStaticFiles()
Endpoint Mapping	UseEndpoints()

Middleware Rules

1. Must call await next() to continue

2. Order is very important

3. Do not run time-heavy logic

4. Avoid database calls unless required

Custom Middleware Example

public class RequestLogMiddleware
{
    private readonly RequestDelegate _next;

    public RequestLogMiddleware(RequestDelegate next) => _next = next;

    public async Task Invoke(HttpContext context)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Request: " + context.Request.Path);
        await _next(context);
    }
}

Register

app.UseMiddleware<RequestLogMiddleware>();

Dependency Injection (DI) Cheat Sheet

What is DI?

Design pattern where dependencies are injected instead of being hard-coded.

.NET Core has a built-in DI container

DI Service Lifetimes

Lifetime	Scope	Best For
Singleton	App lifetime	Config, Cache, Logging
Scoped	Per request	DbContext, business services
Transient	New instance	Lightweight services, helpers

Registering Services

builder.Services.AddSingleton<ILogger, Logger>();
builder.Services.AddScoped<IUserService, UserService>();
builder.Services.AddTransient<INotifier, NotificationService>();

DI Best Practices

Good	Avoid
Inject interfaces	Inject concrete classes
Use IOptions<> for config	Inject IConfiguration everywhere
Dispose unmanaged resources	Singleton using scoped DB context
Use factory pattern when needed	Constructor with 10+ parameters

Common DI Mistake

Singleton depends on scoped

// WRONG: scoped inside singleton leads to memory leaks
builder.Services.AddSingleton<ServiceA>();
builder.Services.AddScoped<ServiceB>(); // ServiceA depends on this

Inject in Controller

public class UserController : ControllerBase
{
    private readonly IUserService _svc;
    public UserController(IUserService svc) => _svc = svc;

    [HttpGet]
    public string GetUser() => _svc.GetUser();
}

Trick Interview Answers (Short & Strong)

Question	Best Answer
Why Middleware?	Central processing pipeline for requests
Order Importance?	Security & routing break if wrong order
Why DI?	Loose coupling, testability, maintenance
Difference between AddScoped vs AddSingleton	Scoped per request, Singleton per app
Memory leak cause in DI?	Singleton holding scoped instance

Quick Diagrams

Middleware Flow

app.Use1 → app.Use2 → app.Use3 → Endpoint
    ↑         ↑         ↑         ↑
 Response ←───┘─────────┘─────────┘

DI Lifetime Visual

Singleton:    One instance forever
Scoped:       One instance per request
Transient:    Fresh instance everytime

Bonus Mnemonics

Concept	Trick
Middleware Order	Ex-Route-Auth-End (Exception → Routing → Auth → Endpoints)
DI Lifetimes	SST (Singleton-Scoped-Transient) = Stable-Session-Short

Conclusion

Mastering Middleware + DI = clean, scalable, high-performance ASP.NET Core apps.