Entity Framework

Build a Complete CRUD Application in ASP.NET Core MVC with Entity Framework Core

Step 1: Create a New Project

Open Visual Studio 2022.

  • Click Create a new project.

  • Select ASP.NET Core Web App (Model-View-Controller) → Next.

  • Name it ProductCRUD → Choose a location → Next.

  • Select .NET 7 or .NET 8 (latest installed) → Create.

  • Leave authentication as None for simplicity → Create.

Step 2: Install EF Core

  • Right-click your project in Solution Explorer → Manage NuGet Packages.

Install:

  • Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore

  • Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer

  • Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Tools

Step 3: Create the Model

  • Right-click Models → Add → Class → Name it Product.cs.

Add:

using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations;

namespace ProductCRUD.Models
{
    public class Product
    {
        public int Id { get; set; }

        [Required]
        public string Name { get; set; }

        [Range(0, 10000)]
        public decimal Price { get; set; }
    }
}

Step 4: Create the Database Context

  • Right-click Data (create folder if needed) → Add → Class → ApplicationDbContext.cs.

Add:

using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
using ProductCRUD.Models;

namespace ProductCRUD.Data
{
    public class ApplicationDbContext : DbContext
    {
        public ApplicationDbContext(DbContextOptions<ApplicationDbContext> options) : base(options) { }

        public DbSet<Product> Products { get; set; }
    }
}

Step 5: Configure the Database

Open appsettings.json and add the connection string:

"ConnectionStrings": {
  "DefaultConnection": "Server=(localdb)\\mssqllocaldb;Database=ProductDB;Trusted_Connection=True;MultipleActiveResultSets=true"
}

Open Program.cs and add:

using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
using ProductCRUD.Data;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.Services.AddControllersWithViews();
builder.Services.AddDbContext<ApplicationDbContext>(options =>
    options.UseSqlServer(builder.Configuration.GetConnectionString("DefaultConnection")));

var app = builder.Build();

if (!app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
{
    app.UseExceptionHandler("/Home/Error");
}
app.UseStaticFiles();
app.UseRouting();
app.UseAuthorization();

app.MapControllerRoute(
    name: "default",
    pattern: "{controller=Products}/{action=Index}/{id?}");

app.Run();

Step 6: Scaffold the Controller and Views

  • Right-click Controllers → Add → Controller.

  • Choose MVC Controller with views, using Entity Framework → Add.

Set:

  • Model class: Product

  • Data context: ApplicationDbContext

  • Controller name: ProductsController

Click Add.

Visual Studio will automatically generate all CRUD views and the controller.

Step 7: Create Database

Open Package Manager Console (Tools → NuGet Package Manager → Package Manager Console).

Run:

Add-Migration InitialCreate
Update-Database

This creates the database ProductDB in LocalDB.

Step 8: Run the App

  • Press F5 → Your browser will open.

  • Go to /Products → You now have a full CRUD interface:

    • Create new product

    • Read list of products

    • Edit existing product

    • Delete product

Additional Commands

Add-Migration InitialCreate
Update-Database

Views/Products/Create.cshtml

@model ProductCRUD.Models.Product

@{
    ViewData["Title"] = "Create Product";
}

<h1>Create Product</h1>

<form asp-action="Create" method="post">
    <div class="form-group">
        <label asp-for="Name"></label>
        <input asp-for="Name" class="form-control" />
        <span asp-validation-for="Name" class="text-danger"></span>
    </div>

    <div class="form-group">
        <label asp-for="Price"></label>
        <input asp-for="Price" class="form-control" />
        <span asp-validation-for="Price" class="text-danger"></span>
    </div>

    <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Create</button>
    <a asp-action="Index" class="btn btn-secondary">Cancel</a>
</form>

@section Scripts {
    @{await Html.RenderPartialAsync("_ValidationScriptsPartial");}
}

Views/Products/Edit.cshtml

@model ProductCRUD.Models.Product

@{
    ViewData["Title"] = "Edit Product";
}

<h1>Edit Product</h1>

<form asp-action="Edit" method="post">
    <input type="hidden" asp-for="Id" />

    <div class="form-group">
        <label asp-for="Name"></label>
        <input asp-for="Name" class="form-control" />
        <span asp-validation-for="Name" class="text-danger"></span>
    </div>

    <div class="form-group">
        <label asp-for="Price"></label>
        <input asp-for="Price" class="form-control" />
        <span asp-validation-for="Price" class="text-danger"></span>
    </div>

    <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Save</button>
    <a asp-action="Index" class="btn btn-secondary">Cancel</a>
</form>

@section Scripts {
    @{await Html.RenderPartialAsync("_ValidationScriptsPartial");}
}

Views/Products/Delete.cshtml

@model ProductCRUD.Models.Product

@{
    ViewData["Title"] = "Delete Product";
}

<h1>Delete Product</h1>

<h3>Are you sure you want to delete this product?</h3>

<div>
    <h4>@Model.Name</h4>
    <p>Price: @Model.Price</p>
</div>

<form asp-action="DeleteConfirmed" method="post">
    <input type="hidden" asp-for="Id" />
    <button type="submit" class="btn btn-danger">Delete</button>
    <a asp-action="Index" class="btn btn-secondary">Cancel</a>
</form>

Summary

This article walks through building a complete CRUD application using ASP.NET Core MVC and Entity Framework Core, starting from project creation to database setup and UI scaffolding. It demonstrates how to define models, configure DbContext, run migrations, and generate views, resulting in a fully functional product management system.
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