WEB ROOT:

• The web root is the base path for public, static resource files, such as:
  • Stylesheets (.css)
  • JavaScript (.js)
  • Images (.png, .jpg)
• Static files, such as HTML, CSS, images, and JavaScript, are assets an ASP.NET Core app serves directly to clients by default.
• By default, static files are served only from the web root directory and its sub-directories.

• The web root path defaults to {content root}/wwwroot.
• It is possible to Specify a different web root by setting its path when building the host.
• In Razor .cshtml files, tilde-slash (~/) points to the web root. A path beginning with ~/ is referred to as a virtual path.

• Static files are stored within the project's web root directory.

• The default directory is {content root}/wwwroot, but it can be changed with the UseWebRoot method.

• The CreateDefaultBuilder method sets the content root to the current directory:

         public class Program
         {
             public static void Main(string[] args)
             {
                 CreateHostBuilder(args).Build().Run();
             }
  
             public static IHostBuilder CreateHostBuilder(string[] args) =>
                 Host.CreateDefaultBuilder(args)
                     .ConfigureWebHostDefaults(webBuilder =>
                     {
                         webBuilder.UseStartup<Startup>();
                     });
         }
  

• Static files are accessible via a path relative to the web root. For example, the Web Application project templates contain several folders within the wwwroot folder:

  • wwwroot
    • css
    • js
    • lib

• Consider creating the wwwroot/images folder and adding the wwwroot/images/MyImage.jpg file. The URI format to access a file in the images folder is https:///images/<image_file_name>. For example, https://localhost:5001/images/MyImage.jpg

• Serve files in web root

  • The default web app templates call the UseStaticFiles method in Startup.Configure, which enables static files to be served:

           public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IWebHostEnvironment env)
           {
               if (env.IsDevelopment())
               {
                   app.UseDeveloperExceptionPage();
               }
               else
               {
                   app.UseExceptionHandler("/Home/Error");
                   app.UseHsts();
               }
    
               app.UseHttpsRedirection();
    
               app.UseStaticFiles();
    
               app.UseRouting();
    
               app.UseAuthorization();
    
               app.UseEndpoints(endpoints =>
               {
                   endpoints.MapDefaultControllerRoute();
               });
           }
    

  • The parameterless UseStaticFiles method overload marks the files in web root as servable. The following markup references wwwroot/images/MyImage.jpg:

           <img src="~/images/MyImage.jpg" class="img" alt="My image" />
    

  • In the preceding code, the tilde character ~/ points to the web root.