I am trying to read configuration from appsettings.json but I am getting null when I run my application

Question

Here is my code:

public class YouTubeShowsServices 
{
    private IConfiguration _config;
    
    string YouTubeApiKey;
    string YoutubeAppName;
    string YoutubePlaylistId;

    public YouTubeShowsServices(IConfiguration configuration)
    {
        _config = configuration;

        YouTubeApiKey =_config["YouTube:Key"];
        YoutubeAppName = _config["YouTube:AppName"];
        YoutubePlaylistId = _config["YouTube:PlayListId"];
    }

The variables YouTubeApiKey, YouTubeAppName and YoutubePlaylistId are getting set to null.

Here is my appsettings.json:

"YouTube": 
{
    "Key": "AIzaSyDmGZCNbxkhmS5FW-FEhzK94z0J1WWVavE",
    "PlayListId": "PLwW36SAh95SUivPyG1eUxLM8v4rjwnEfT",
    "AppName": "LiveStandup"
}

I am trying to read the configuration from appsettings.json, but my variables end up being null - can anyone help me with this code?

Answer 1

1. Add NuGet Package:

   To include the required NuGet package, use the following command:

   NuGet: Install-Package Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Binder
   

2. Consolidate Controller Configuration:

   Consolidate the desired controller configuration under a single category, such as "EmailSettings", in the appsettings.json file:

   {
     "EmailSettings": {
       "EmailTemplatesPath": "EmailTemplates",
       "Email": "[email protected]"
     }
   }
   

   Step 3:

   Create a class named EmailSettings.cs within your Web API project:

   public class EmailSettings
   {
       public string EmailTemplatesPath { get; set; }
       public string Email { get; set; }
   }
   

   Step 4:

   Associate your configuration values with an instance of the EmailSettings class in Startup.cs, and inject this object into the Dependency Injection container:

   In Startup.cs:

   public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
   {
       // ...
       EmailSettings emailSettings = new EmailSettings();
       Configuration.GetSection("EmailSettings").Bind(emailSettings);
       services.AddSingleton(emailSettings);
   }
   

   Step 5:

   You can now easily include your configuration in the constructor of the API controller to make a request:

   Example controller for Web API:

   [Route("api/[controller]")]
   [ApiController]
   public class ValuesController : ControllerBase
   {
       private readonly EmailSettings _emailSettings;
   
       public ValuesController(EmailSettings emailSettings)
       {
           _emailSettings = emailSettings;
       }
   
       // Other controller methods...
   }
   

   Now, your ValuesController has access to the EmailSettings configured in your appsettings.json file.