Debug ASP.NET Core on Docker with Visual Studio Code

Last Thursday I started reading the Free eBook: “Containerized Docker Application Lifecycle with Microsoft Tools and Platform” by Cesar de la Torre. The book is really easy to read and really gives the reader a glimpse on the way to approach the overall application lifecycle when using containers and Microsoft Technologies. One of the interesting things he mentions is the ability to debug your source code inside a container using Visual Studio or Visual Studio Code, so I decided to try it out and Debug ASP.NET Core on Docker with Visual Studio Code

First be aware of the following prerequisites:

Prerequisites	Command
.NET Core 1.1 SDK for Windows	Download and install: .NET Core 1.1 SDK for Windows
Docker for Windows	Download and install: Docker for Windows (stable)
Visual Studio Code and C# Plugin	Download and install from here: Code
Node.js	Download and install from here: Node.js v6.9.2
Yeoman	From a Command Prompt run the following: npm install -g yo
Generator-docker	Run the following command: npm install -g generator-docker
Bower	Run the following command: npm install -g bower
Gulp	Run the following command: npm install -g gulp

Now let’s create an ASP .NET Core application and debug it inside Docker:

Create an ASP .NET Core application

Open a command prompt and run

1    md debug.on.docker
2    cd debug.on.docker
3    dotnet new -t web
4    dotnet restore
5    code .

Change your application port in Program.cs

Let’s use port 5000 to host the application

 1   public static void Main(string[] args)
 2   {
 3            var host = new WebHostBuilder()
 4                .UseUrls("http://*:5000")
 5                .UseKestrel()
 6                .UseContentRoot(Directory.GetCurrentDirectory())
 7                .UseIISIntegration()
 8                .UseStartup<Startup>()
 9                .Build();
10
11            host.Run();
12   }

Create the artifacts needed to Debug on Docker

Run the following command in the root folder of your project.

1    yo docker

Answer the questions as follows:

1What language is your project using? .NET Core
2Which version of .NET Core is your project using? rtm
3Does your project use a web server? Yes
4Which port is your app listening to? 5000
5What do you want to name your image? debug.on.docker
6What do you want to name your service? debug.on.docker
7What do you want to name your compose project? debugondocker