Authored by LazyChief_117, this post highlights an integration testing issue in .NET 8 Web APIs, where configuration files intermittently fail to load after certain server updates.

Loading Configurations for Integration Tests

Overview

LazyChief_117 describes encountering an inconsistent issue with .NET 8 Web API integration tests. After operating system (OS) patching on some server nodes, the tests fail to load the appsettings.json configuration file, while other nodes remain unaffected. The problem is linked to microservices developed in C# 10, and restarting the affected containers resolves the issue.

Technical Details

  • Issue:
    • Integration tests for a .NET 8 Web API intermittently fail to load the appsettings.json file.
    • This is only observed after OS patching on select server nodes.
    • The issue resolves upon container restart, suggesting a transient or system-level root cause.
  • Context:
    • The microservice is implemented using C# version 10.

    • Configuration retrieval relies on the Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.IConfiguration interface:

      Configuration.GetSection(APP_SETTING_KEY).Bind(AppSettings);

Discussion Points

  • The post invites speculation and troubleshooting suggestions from the community regarding possible causes of the configuration loading failure.
  • Potential causes (not explicitly stated but typically relevant):
    • File-locking or resource contention post-OS update.
    • Environment variable issues or path reference differences after patching.
    • Container or process-level caching or permission issues that get reset when the container restarts.

Community Engagement

  • Readers are asked to contribute their insights and troubleshooting steps for resolving such configuration issues in .NET integration tests, especially after system-level changes like OS patching.

This post appeared first on “Reddit DotNet”. Read the entire article here