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DotNetCoreOutputToConsole

A lightweight ASP.NET Core helper library that allows developers to output logs, variables, and errors directly into the browser console using inline <script> injection.

Ideal for Development, Debug, and UAT environments.

📥 Download

You can download the full source code from your GitHub repository once uploaded:

https://github.com/<your-account>/DotNetCoreOutputToConsole

If you need a GitHub release ZIP template, just tell me.

✨ Features

  • Write messages directly to browser DevTools console
  • Supports multiple console API functions:
    • console.log
    • console.info
    • console.warn
    • console.error
    • console.trace
    • console.table
  • Automatically JSON-encodes objects (safe for XSS)
  • Easy integration with ASP.NET Core
  • Only runs in:
    • Development
    • Staging
    • UAT
  • Works with:
    • Minimal API
    • MVC
    • Razor Pages

❗ Not Supported

This library does NOT support Blazor Web App, Blazor Server, or Blazor WebAssembly.

Blazor does NOT execute inline <script> inside its rendering pipeline.
To support Blazor, a JSInterop-based version would be required (future extension).

📦 Installation

Add the library project reference:

<ProjectReference Include="..\DotNetCoreOutputToConsole\DotNetCoreOutputToConsole.csproj" />

Or include the source project directly in your solution.

⚙ Environment Setup

Set the environment name so console output only appears in safe environments:

ConsoleOutputSettings.CurrentEnvironment = builder.Environment.EnvironmentName;

The library will ONLY output console messages when the environment is:

  • Development
  • Staging
  • UAT

In Production, all calls become no-ops (silently ignored).

🚀 Usage Examples

⭐ Minimal API Example

app.MapGet("/test", async ctx =>
{
    await BrowserConsole.Log(ctx.Response, "Hello from Minimal API");
    await BrowserConsole.Info(ctx.Response, new { User = "livecode", Time = DateTime.UtcNow });
    await BrowserConsole.Warn(ctx.Response, "This is a warning");
    await BrowserConsole.Error(ctx.Response, "This is an error");
    await BrowserConsole.Trace(ctx.Response, "Trace message");
    await BrowserConsole.Table(ctx.Response, new[] {
        new { Id = 1, Name = "Item A" },
        new { Id = 2, Name = "Item B" }
    });

    await ctx.Response.WriteAsync("<h3>Console test complete – open DevTools.</h3>");
});

⭐ MVC Example

Controller

public class HomeController : Controller
{
    public IActionResult Index()
    {
        BrowserConsole.Log(Response, "MVC HomeController loaded");
        BrowserConsole.Info(Response, new { Page = "Home/Index", Time = DateTime.UtcNow });
        BrowserConsole.Warn(Response, "This is a test warning from MVC");
        BrowserConsole.Error(Response, new { Error = "Something failed", Code = 500 });

        return View();
    }
}

View (Views/Home/Index.cshtml)

<h2>MVC Console Test Page</h2>
<p>Check your browser console.</p>

⭐ Razor Pages Example

Pages/Index.cshtml.cs

public class IndexModel : PageModel
{
    public void OnGet()
    {
        BrowserConsole.Info(Response, "Razor Page Loaded");
        BrowserConsole.Table(Response, new[] {
            new { Id = 1, Description = "Razor Row 1" },
            new { Id = 2, Description = "Razor Row 2" }
        });
    }
}

Pages/Index.cshtml

@page
@model IndexModel

<h3>Razor Pages Console Test</h3>
<p>Open browser DevTools → Console.</p>

🧩 Console API Supported

Function Method in Library Example Usage
console.log BrowserConsole.Log() await BrowserConsole.Log(Response, "msg");
console.info BrowserConsole.Info() await BrowserConsole.Info(Response, obj);
console.warn BrowserConsole.Warn() await BrowserConsole.Warn(Response, "warn");
console.error BrowserConsole.Error() await BrowserConsole.Error(Response, ex);
console.trace BrowserConsole.Trace() await BrowserConsole.Trace(Response, "trace");
console.table BrowserConsole.Table() await BrowserConsole.Table(Response, list);

All methods serialize objects to JSON and safely embed them into <script> blocks, which are then executed by the browser.

🔐 Security Notes

  • Objects are JSON-encoded before being written into the script.
  • Output is restricted to non-production environments via ConsoleOutputSettings.
  • If writing to the response fails (stream closed, headers sent, etc.), the library will silently ignore the error so it never breaks your application behavior.

📁 Project Structure

A typical solution layout:

DotNetCoreOutputToConsole/
│
├── src/
│   ├── DotNetCoreOutputToConsole/
│   │   ├── DotNetCoreOutputToConsole.csproj
│   │   ├── BrowserConsole.cs
│   │   └── Config/
│   │       └── ConsoleOutputSettings.cs
│   │
│   ├── DotNetCoreOutputToConsole.Tests/
│   │   ├── DotNetCoreOutputToConsole.Tests.csproj
│   │   ├── BrowserConsoleTests.cs
│   │   └── Config/
│   │       └── ConsoleOutputSettingsTests.cs
│   │
│   ├── MinimalApiConsoleTestApp/
│   │   ├── MinimalApiConsoleTestApp.csproj
│   │   └── Program.cs
│   │
│   ├── MvcConsoleTestApp/
│   │   ├── MvcConsoleTestApp.csproj
│   │   ├── Program.cs
│   │   ├── Controllers/
│   │   │   └── HomeController.cs
│   │   └── Views/
│   │       └── Home/
│   │           └── Index.cshtml
│   │
│   └── RazorPagesConsoleTestApp/
│       ├── RazorPagesConsoleTestApp.csproj
│       ├── Program.cs
│       └── Pages/
│           ├── Index.cshtml
│           └── Index.cshtml.cs
│
└── README.md

🧪 Unit Tests

Unit tests (in DotNetCoreOutputToConsole.Tests) may include:

  • Verifying console script injection content contains the correct function (log/info/warn/error/trace/table).
  • Ensuring no content is written when environment is Production.
  • Verifying that different message types (string, object, collections) serialize correctly to JSON.

Example snippet:

[Fact]
public async Task Log_WritesConsoleLogScriptInDev()
{
    ConsoleOutputSettings.CurrentEnvironment = "Development";

    var ctx = new DefaultHttpContext();
    ctx.Response.Body = new MemoryStream();

    await BrowserConsole.Log(ctx.Response, "Test message");

    ctx.Response.Body.Seek(0, SeekOrigin.Begin);
    var html = new StreamReader(ctx.Response.Body).ReadToEnd();

    Assert.Contains("console.log", html);
    Assert.Contains("Test message", html);
}

👤 Author

livecode

📝 License

MIT License — see LICENSE.

⭐ Support This Project

If this library makes your ASP.NET Core debugging easier, consider giving it a ⭐ on GitHub!