C#•2d ago

Issues using `.json5` files for `appsettings.json`

I wanted support for trailing commas and comments in my appsettings.json, so I decided to go with JSON5. But here's the weird thing. I can add trailing commas and comments to appsettings.json and everything works perfectly fine. So far so good, but Rider complains that you can't have them in a json file. No biggie, Rider supports .json5 so I renamed the file to appsettings.json5 and changed

Configuration = new ConfigurationBuilder()
    .AddConfiguration(configuration)
    .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json")

Configuration = new ConfigurationBuilder()
    .AddConfiguration(configuration)
    .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json")

Configuration = new ConfigurationBuilder()
    .AddConfiguration(configuration)
    .AddEnvironmentVariables("ogma_")
    .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json5")

Configuration = new ConfigurationBuilder()
    .AddConfiguration(configuration)
    .AddEnvironmentVariables("ogma_")
    .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json5")

And... now I'm getting NRE on one of the segments of the config. Everything starts working again as soon as I rename it back to .json. I tried to be sneaky and use .5.json with a file association in Rider, but no cigar, also getting NREs.

9 Replies

Unknown User•2d ago

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AngiusOP•2d ago

Oh, cool, I can't reproduce it in a basic console project :KEKW:

AngiusOP•2d ago

Seems like the json file type is hardcoded somehow...?

AngiusOP•2d ago

Yeah

Unknown User•2d ago

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AngiusOP•2d ago

It needn't have guessed, I told it what files I want:

.AddJsonFile("appsettings.json5")
.AddJsonFile($"appsettings.{builder.Environment.EnvironmentName}.json5", true)

.AddJsonFile("appsettings.json5")
.AddJsonFile($"appsettings.{builder.Environment.EnvironmentName}.json5", true)

I think the issue was, somehow, the layer of indirection I had The project was updated from before the single-file config days, and the configuration was using a builder So

public Startup(IConfiguration configuration, IWebHostEnvironment env)
{
    Configuration = new ConfigurationBuilder()
        .AddConfiguration(configuration)
        .AddEnvironmentVariables("ogma_")
        .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json5")
        .AddJsonFile($"appsettings.{env.EnvironmentName}.json5", true)
        .AddEnvironmentVariables()
        .AddUserSecrets(Assembly.GetAssembly(GetType()) ?? throw new NullReferenceException("The assembly was, somehow, null"))
        .Build();
}

public Startup(IConfiguration configuration, IWebHostEnvironment env)
{
    Configuration = new ConfigurationBuilder()
        .AddConfiguration(configuration)
        .AddEnvironmentVariables("ogma_")
        .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json5")
        .AddJsonFile($"appsettings.{env.EnvironmentName}.json5", true)
        .AddEnvironmentVariables()
        .AddUserSecrets(Assembly.GetAssembly(GetType()) ?? throw new NullReferenceException("The assembly was, somehow, null"))
        .Build();
}

with

var startup = new Startup(builder.Configuration, builder.Environment);
startup.ConfigureServices(builder.Services);

var startup = new Startup(builder.Configuration, builder.Environment);
startup.ConfigureServices(builder.Services);

I moved this config directly to Program.cs now,

builder.Configuration
    .AddEnvironmentVariables("ogma_")
    .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json5")
    .AddJsonFile($"appsettings.{builder.Environment.EnvironmentName}.json5", true)
    .AddEnvironmentVariables()
    .AddUserSecrets(Assembly.GetAssembly(typeof(Program)) ?? throw new NullReferenceException("The assembly was, somehow, null"));

builder.Configuration
    .AddEnvironmentVariables("ogma_")
    .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json5")
    .AddJsonFile($"appsettings.{builder.Environment.EnvironmentName}.json5", true)
    .AddEnvironmentVariables()
    .AddUserSecrets(Assembly.GetAssembly(typeof(Program)) ?? throw new NullReferenceException("The assembly was, somehow, null"));

And everything seems to work

Unknown User•2d ago

Message Not Public

AngiusOP•2d ago

Nah, it works just fine now

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Issues using `.json5` files for `appsettings.json`

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