OutWit.Common.Configuration 1.1.0

OutWit.Common.Configuration

Overview

OutWit.Common.Configuration provides a fluent API for building and binding Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration settings in .NET applications. It simplifies loading JSON configuration files with environment-specific overrides and binding entire configuration trees to strongly-typed settings classes via a single call.

Built on top of Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration, the library adds two things the standard API does not provide out of the box:

1. Assembly-relative file resolution � configuration files are resolved relative to the assembly directory, not Environment.CurrentDirectory. This is especially useful for plugin architectures and test runners.
2. [ConfigSection] attribute � allows mapping individual properties of a settings class to arbitrary configuration section names, so the POCO shape does not have to mirror the JSON structure.

Install

Install-Package OutWit.Common.Configuration

or

dotnet add package OutWit.Common.Configuration

Target Frameworks

Features

1. Fluent Configuration Builder

Build an IConfiguration instance from JSON files with optional environment-specific overrides using a fluent API:

using OutWit.Common.Configuration;

// Minimal � loads appsettings.json from the assembly directory
var config = ConfigurationUtils
    .For(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly())
    .Build();

The full builder chain:

var config = ConfigurationUtils
    .For(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly())   // base path = assembly directory
    .WithFileName("mysettings")             // default is "appsettings"
    .WithEnvironment(ConfigurationEnvironment.Development)
    .Build();

This resolves two files from the directory where the calling assembly DLL is located:

1. mysettings.json (optional, reloadOnChange: true)
2. mysettings.Development.json (optional, reloadOnChange: true)

Values from the environment file override the base file, following the standard Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration layering convention.

The environment can also be specified as a plain string:

var config = ConfigurationUtils
    .For(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly())
    .WithEnvironment("Staging")
    .Build();

2. Attribute-Based Section Binding

The BindSettings<T>() extension method creates a new T and populates each public read-write property from the corresponding IConfigurationSection. By default, the section name equals the property name. Use the [ConfigSection] attribute to override it:

public class AppSettings
{
    // Binds from section "AppName" (matches property name)
    public string AppName { get; set; }

    // Binds from section "ConnectionStrings" instead of "Database"
    [ConfigSection("ConnectionStrings")]
    public ConnectionDetails Database { get; set; }

    // Binds from section "Logging:LogLevel" (nested path)
    [ConfigSection("Logging:LogLevel")]
    public string LogLevel { get; set; }
}

public class ConnectionDetails
{
    public string DefaultConnection { get; set; }
}

Usage:

var settings = config.BindSettings<AppSettings>();

Console.WriteLine(settings.AppName);                    // from "AppName" section
Console.WriteLine(settings.Database.DefaultConnection); // from "ConnectionStrings" section
Console.WriteLine(settings.LogLevel);                   // from "Logging:LogLevel" section

How it works under the hood:

1. Creates a new instance of T via the parameterless constructor.
2. Enumerates all public instance properties with both a getter and a setter.
3. For each property, reads the [ConfigSection("...")] attribute; falls back to the property name.
4. Calls IConfiguration.GetSection(name).Get(propertyType) to bind the section.
5. Properties whose sections do not exist in the configuration are left at their default values.

3. Supported Environments

The ConfigurationEnvironment enum provides the standard set of well-known environment names:

These can be passed directly to WithEnvironment():

.WithEnvironment(ConfigurationEnvironment.Production)

API Reference

License

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See LICENSE.

Attribution (optional)

If you use OutWit.Common.Configuration in a product, a mention is appreciated (but not required), for example: "Powered by OutWit.Common.Configuration (https://ratner.io/)".

Trademark / Project name

"OutWit" and the OutWit logo are used to identify the official project by Dmitry Ratner.

You may:

• refer to the project name in a factual way (e.g., "built with OutWit.Common.Configuration");
• use the name to indicate compatibility (e.g., "OutWit.Common.Configuration-compatible").

You may not:

• use "OutWit.Common.Configuration" as the name of a fork or a derived product in a way that implies it is the official project;
• use the OutWit.Common.Configuration logo to promote forks or derived products without permission.