EndpointHelpers 1.0.0

EndpointHelpers

EndpointHelpers is a Roslyn source generator that creates strongly-typed helpers for ASP.NET Core MVC URL generation. It generates:

• IUrlHelper helpers with action methods per controller.
• LinkGenerator helpers with Get{Action}Path methods, including HttpContext overloads.
• Extension properties on IUrlHelper and LinkGenerator to access the helpers.
• Attribute types used to control generation.

This package ships only a source generator and generated code. There is no runtime dependency.

Example

Without the generator

<a href="@Url.Action(
        action: "Details",
        controller: "Orders",
        values: new { orderId = 123, source = "dashboard" }
    )">
    View order
</a>

With the generator enabled

<a href="@Url.Orders.Details(123, "dashboard")">
View order
</a>

Install

Add the NuGet package as an analyzer reference:

<ItemGroup>
  <PackageReference Include="EndpointHelpers" Version="1.0.0" OutputItemType="Analyzer" ReferenceOutputAssembly="false" />
</ItemGroup>

Quick Start

Enable generation at the assembly level:

using EndpointHelpers;

[assembly: GenerateUrlHelper]
[assembly: GenerateLinkGenerator]

Or apply to a specific controller:

using EndpointHelpers;

[GenerateUrlHelper]
[GenerateLinkGenerator]
public class HomeController : Controller
{
    public IActionResult Index() => View();
    public IActionResult Privacy() => View();
}

Or only to a specific action:

using EndpointHelpers;

public class HomeController : Controller
{
    [GenerateUrlHelper]
    public IActionResult Index() => View();
    public IActionResult Privacy() => View();
}

Attributes and Scope

Generation can be enabled at different scopes:

• Assembly: [assembly: GenerateUrlHelper] or [assembly: GenerateLinkGenerator].
• Controller: [GenerateUrlHelper] or [GenerateLinkGenerator] on the controller class.
• Action: [GenerateUrlHelper] or [GenerateLinkGenerator] on a specific action method.

You can exclude methods using:

• [UrlHelperIgnore]
• [LinkGeneratorIgnore]
• [NonAction] (standard ASP.NET Core MVC attribute)

Behavior

• Controllers are discovered by name: non-abstract classes ending with Controller.
• Only public, ordinary methods are included.
• Generated helpers are placed in the EndpointHelpers namespace.
• Extension properties use the controller name without the Controller suffix.

Controller and action discovery

[GenerateUrlHelper]
[GenerateLinkGenerator]
public class OrdersController : Controller
{
    public IActionResult Index() => View();
    
    public IActionResult Details(int orderId, string? source) => View();
}

Generated surface

Url.Orders.Index();
Url.Orders.Details(orderId: 123, source: "dashboard");
LinkGenerator.Orders.GetDetailsPath(123, "dashboard");
LinkGenerator.Orders.GetIndexPath();
LinkGenerator.Orders.GetDetailsPath(httpContext, 123, "dashboard");

Example Project

See example/EndpointHelpers.Sample for a minimal MVC app using both generators.

License

GNU General Public License