Middleware Patterns

ASP.NET Core Middleware Patterns

Rationale

Middleware is the backbone of ASP.NET Core request processing. Properly designed middleware enables cross-cutting concerns like logging, authentication, and caching. Understanding the pipeline order and middleware patterns is critical for building robust applications.

Pipeline Ordering

Middleware executes in the order it is registered. The order is critical -- placing middleware in the wrong position causes subtle bugs.

Recommended Order

var app = builder.Build();

// 1. Exception handling (outermost -- catches everything below)
app.UseExceptionHandler("/error");

// 2. HSTS (before any response is sent)
if (!app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
{
    app.UseHsts();
}

// 3. HTTPS redirection
app.UseHttpsRedirection();

// 4. Static files (short-circuits for static content before routing)
app.UseStaticFiles();

// 5. Routing (matches endpoints but does not execute them yet)
app.UseRouting();

// 6. CORS (must be after routing, before auth)
app.UseCors();

// 7. Authentication (identifies the user)
app.UseAuthentication();

// 8. Authorization (checks permissions against the matched endpoint)
app.UseAuthorization();

// 9. Custom middleware (runs after auth, before endpoint execution)
app.UseRequestLogging();

// 10. Endpoint execution (terminal -- executes the matched endpoint)
app.MapControllers();
app.MapRazorPages();

Why Order Matters

Pattern 1: Convention-Based Middleware

Convention-based middleware uses a constructor with RequestDelegate and an InvokeAsync method.

public sealed class RequestTimingMiddleware
{
    private readonly RequestDelegate _next;
    private readonly ILogger<RequestTimingMiddleware> _logger;

    public RequestTimingMiddleware(
        RequestDelegate next,
        ILogger<RequestTimingMiddleware> logger)
    {
        _next = next;
        _logger = logger;
    }

    public async Task InvokeAsync(HttpContext context)
    {
        var stopwatch = Stopwatch.StartNew();

        try
        {
            await _next(context);
        }
        finally
        {
            stopwatch.Stop();
            _logger.LogInformation(
                "Request {Method} {Path} completed in {ElapsedMs}ms with status {StatusCode}",
                context.Request.Method,
                context.Request.Path,
                stopwatch.ElapsedMilliseconds,
                context.Response.StatusCode);
        }
    }
}

public static class RequestTimingMiddlewareExtensions
{
    public static IApplicationBuilder UseRequestTiming(this IApplicationBuilder app)
        => app.UseMiddleware<RequestTimingMiddleware>();
}

// Usage in Program.cs
app.UseRequestTiming();

Pattern 2: Factory-Based (IMiddleware)

For middleware that requires scoped services, implement IMiddleware. This uses DI to create middleware instances per-request:

public sealed class TenantMiddleware : IMiddleware
{
    private readonly TenantDbContext _db;

    public TenantMiddleware(TenantDbContext db)
    {
        _db = db;
    }

    public async Task InvokeAsync(HttpContext context, RequestDelegate next)
    {
        var tenantId = context.Request.Headers["X-Tenant-Id"].FirstOrDefault();

        if (tenantId is not null)
        {
            var tenant = await _db.Tenants.FindAsync(tenantId);
            context.Items["Tenant"] = tenant;
        }

        await next(context);
    }
}

// IMiddleware requires explicit DI registration
builder.Services.AddScoped<TenantMiddleware>();
app.UseMiddleware<TenantMiddleware>();

Convention-Based vs IMiddleware

Pattern 3: Inline Middleware

For simple, one-off logic:

app.Use -- Pass-Through

app.Use(async (context, next) =>
{
    context.Response.Headers["X-Request-Id"] = context.TraceIdentifier;
    await next(context);
});

app.Run -- Terminal

app.Run(async context =>
{
    await context.Response.WriteAsync("Fallback response");
});

app.Map -- Branch by Path

app.Map("/api/diagnostics", diagnosticApp =>
{
    diagnosticApp.Run(async context =>
    {
        var data = new
        {
            MachineName = Environment.MachineName,
            Timestamp = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow
        };
        await context.Response.WriteAsJsonAsync(data);
    });
});

Pattern 4: Short-Circuit Logic

Middleware can short-circuit the pipeline by not calling next().

Request Validation

public sealed class ApiKeyMiddleware
{
    private readonly RequestDelegate _next;
    private readonly string _expectedKey;

    public ApiKeyMiddleware(RequestDelegate next, IConfiguration config)
    {
        _next = next;
        _expectedKey = config["ApiKey"]
            ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("ApiKey configuration is required");
    }

    public async Task InvokeAsync(HttpContext context)
    {
        if (!context.Request.Headers.TryGetValue("X-Api-Key", out var providedKey)
            || !string.Equals(providedKey, _expectedKey, StringComparison.Ordinal))
        {
            context.Response.StatusCode = StatusCodes.Status401Unauthorized;
            await context.Response.WriteAsJsonAsync(new
            {
                Error = "Invalid or missing API key"
            });
            return; // Short-circuit
        }

        await _next(context);
    }
}

Feature Flag Gate

app.UseWhen(
    context => context.Request.Path.StartsWithSegments("/beta"),
    betaApp =>
    {
        betaApp.Use(async (context, next) =>
        {
            var featureManager = context.RequestServices
                .GetRequiredService<IFeatureManager>();

            if (!await featureManager.IsEnabledAsync("BetaFeatures"))
            {
                context.Response.StatusCode = StatusCodes.Status404NotFound;
                return;
            }

            await next(context);
        });
    });

Pattern 5: Request and Response Manipulation

Reading the Request Body

public sealed class RequestLoggingMiddleware
{
    private readonly RequestDelegate _next;
    private readonly ILogger<RequestLoggingMiddleware> _logger;

    public RequestLoggingMiddleware(RequestDelegate next, ILogger<RequestLoggingMiddleware> logger)
    {
        _next = next;
        _logger = logger;
    }

    public async Task InvokeAsync(HttpContext context)
    {
        context.Request.EnableBuffering();

        if (context.Request.ContentLength > 0 && context.Request.ContentLength < 64_000)
        {
            context.Request.Body.Position = 0;
            using var reader = new StreamReader(context.Request.Body, leaveOpen: true);
            var body = await reader.ReadToEndAsync();
            _logger.LogDebug("Request body for {Path}: {Body}", context.Request.Path, body);
            context.Request.Body.Position = 0;
        }

        await _next(context);
    }
}

Modifying the Response

public async Task InvokeAsync(HttpContext context)
{
    var originalBodyStream = context.Response.Body;

    using var responseBody = new MemoryStream();
    context.Response.Body = responseBody;

    await _next(context);

    context.Response.Body.Seek(0, SeekOrigin.Begin);
    var responseText = await new StreamReader(context.Response.Body).ReadToEndAsync();
    context.Response.Body.Seek(0, SeekOrigin.Begin);

    await responseBody.CopyToAsync(originalBodyStream);
}

Caution: Response body replacement adds memory overhead. Use only for diagnostics.

Pattern 6: Exception Handling Middleware

Built-in Exception Handler

app.UseExceptionHandler(exceptionApp =>
{
    exceptionApp.Run(async context =>
    {
        context.Response.StatusCode = StatusCodes.Status500InternalServerError;
        context.Response.ContentType = "application/json";

        var exceptionFeature = context.Features.Get<IExceptionHandlerFeature>();

        var logger = context.RequestServices.GetRequiredService<ILogger<Program>>();
        logger.LogError(exceptionFeature?.Error, "Unhandled exception for {Path}", context.Request.Path);

        await context.Response.WriteAsJsonAsync(new
        {
            Error = "An internal error occurred",
            TraceId = context.TraceIdentifier
        });
    });
});

IExceptionHandler (.NET 8+)

Multiple handlers can be registered and are invoked in order:

public sealed class ValidationExceptionHandler : IExceptionHandler
{
    public async ValueTask<bool> TryHandleAsync(
        HttpContext context,
        Exception exception,
        CancellationToken ct)
    {
        if (exception is not ValidationException validationException)
            return false;

        context.Response.StatusCode = StatusCodes.Status400BadRequest;
        await context.Response.WriteAsJsonAsync(new
        {
            Error = "Validation failed",
            Details = validationException.Errors
        }, ct);

        return true;
    }
}

public sealed class GlobalExceptionHandler(ILogger<GlobalExceptionHandler> logger) : IExceptionHandler
{
    public async ValueTask<bool> TryHandleAsync(
        HttpContext context,
        Exception exception,
        CancellationToken ct)
    {
        logger.LogError(exception, "Unhandled exception");

        context.Response.StatusCode = StatusCodes.Status500InternalServerError;
        await context.Response.WriteAsJsonAsync(new
        {
            Error = "An internal error occurred",
            TraceId = context.TraceIdentifier
        }, ct);

        return true;
    }
}

builder.Services.AddExceptionHandler<ValidationExceptionHandler>();
builder.Services.AddExceptionHandler<GlobalExceptionHandler>();
builder.Services.AddProblemDetails();

app.UseExceptionHandler();

StatusCodePages for Non-Exception Errors

app.UseStatusCodePagesWithReExecute("/error/{0}");

app.UseStatusCodePages(async context =>
{
    context.HttpContext.Response.ContentType = "application/json";
    await context.HttpContext.Response.WriteAsJsonAsync(new
    {
        Error = $"HTTP {context.HttpContext.Response.StatusCode}",
        TraceId = context.HttpContext.TraceIdentifier
    });
});

Pattern 7: Conditional Middleware

UseWhen -- Conditional Branch (Rejoins Pipeline)

app.UseWhen(
    context => context.Request.Path.StartsWithSegments("/api"),
    apiApp =>
    {
        apiApp.UseRateLimiter();
    });

MapWhen -- Conditional Branch (Does Not Rejoin)

app.MapWhen(
    context => context.WebSockets.IsWebSocketRequest,
    wsApp =>
    {
        wsApp.Run(async context =>
        {
            using var ws = await context.WebSockets.AcceptWebSocketAsync();
        });
    });

Environment-Specific Middleware

if (app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
{
    app.UseDeveloperExceptionPage();
    app.UseSwagger();
    app.UseSwaggerUI();
}
else
{
    app.UseExceptionHandler("/error");
    app.UseHsts();
}

Pattern 8: Branching Middleware

Create completely separate pipelines for different route prefixes:

app.Map("/api", apiApp =>
{
    apiApp.UseExceptionHandler("/api/error");
    apiApp.UseHttpsRedirection();
    apiApp.UseAuthentication();
    apiApp.UseAuthorization();
    apiApp.UseRateLimiter();
    apiApp.MapControllers();
});

app.Map("/webhooks", webhookApp =>
{
    webhookApp.UseMiddleware<WebhookSignatureValidation>();
    webhookApp.UseMiddleware<WebhookIdempotency>();
    webhookApp.MapRazorPages();
});

app.UseExceptionHandler("/Error");
app.UseHttpsRedirection();
app.UseStaticFiles();
app.UseRouting();
app.UseAuthentication();
app.UseAuthorization();
app.MapRazorPages();

Pattern 9: Middleware with Options

public class RateLimitingMiddlewareOptions
{
    public int MaxRequestsPerSecond { get; set; } = 10;
    public int BurstSize { get; set; } = 20;
    public TimeSpan BlockDuration { get; set; } = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(1);
}

public class RateLimitingMiddleware(
    RequestDelegate next,
    IOptions<RateLimitingMiddlewareOptions> options,
    IMemoryCache cache)
{
    private readonly RateLimitingMiddlewareOptions _options = options.Value;

    public async Task Invoke(HttpContext context)
    {
        var clientId = GetClientIdentifier(context);
        var cacheKey = $"ratelimit:{clientId}";

        if (!await TryAcquireTokenAsync(cacheKey))
        {
            context.Response.StatusCode = StatusCodes.Status429TooManyRequests;
            context.Response.Headers.RetryAfter = _options.BlockDuration.TotalSeconds.ToString();
            await context.Response.WriteAsync("Rate limit exceeded");
            return;
        }

        await next(context);
    }

    private string GetClientIdentifier(HttpContext context)
    {
        return context.User.Identity?.Name ??
               context.Connection.RemoteIpAddress?.ToString() ??
               "anonymous";
    }

    private async Task<bool> TryAcquireTokenAsync(string cacheKey) => true;
}

builder.Services.Configure<RateLimitingMiddlewareOptions>(options =>
{
    options.MaxRequestsPerSecond = 5;
    options.BurstSize = 10;
});

app.UseMiddleware<RateLimitingMiddleware>();

Pattern 10: Middleware Testing

public class MiddlewareTests
{
    [Fact]
    public async Task SecurityHeadersMiddleware_AddsRequiredHeaders()
    {
        var middleware = new SecurityHeadersMiddleware(async (context) =>
        {
            await Task.CompletedTask;
        });

        var context = new DefaultHttpContext();

        await middleware.Invoke(context);

        Assert.Equal("nosniff", context.Response.Headers["X-Content-Type-Options"].ToString());
        Assert.Equal("DENY", context.Response.Headers["X-Frame-Options"].ToString());
    }

    [Fact]
    public async Task ApiKeyMiddleware_Returns401_WhenKeyMissing()
    {
        var config = new ConfigurationBuilder()
            .AddInMemoryCollection(new[] { new KeyValuePair<string, string?>("ApiKey", "test-key") })
            .Build();

        var middleware = new ApiKeyMiddleware(async (context) =>
        {
            await Task.CompletedTask;
        }, config);

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

        await middleware.Invoke(context);

        Assert.Equal(401, context.Response.StatusCode);
    }
}

Anti-Patterns

Calling Next After Response Started

// BAD: Calling next after response has started
public async Task Invoke(HttpContext context)
{
    await context.Response.WriteAsync("Before");
    await next(context); // May fail
    await context.Response.WriteAsync("After"); // Won't work
}

// GOOD: Only modify response before calling next
public async Task Invoke(HttpContext context)
{
    var originalBody = context.Response.Body;
    context.Response.Body = new MemoryStream();

    await next(context);

    context.Response.Body.Position = 0;
    await context.Response.Body.CopyToAsync(originalBody);
}

Not Restoring Context

// BAD: Not restoring HttpContext state
public async Task Invoke(HttpContext context)
{
    var originalUser = context.User;
    context.User = new ClaimsPrincipal();
    await next(context);
    // Missing: context.User = originalUser;
}

// GOOD: Always restore state
public async Task Invoke(HttpContext context)
{
    var originalUser = context.User;
    try
    {
        context.User = new ClaimsPrincipal();
        await next(context);
    }
    finally
    {
        context.User = originalUser;
    }
}

Key Principles

• Order is everything -- middleware executes top-to-bottom for requests and bottom-to-top for responses
• Exception handler goes first -- UseExceptionHandler must be outermost
• Prefer classes over inline for reusable middleware -- testable, composable, single-responsibility
• Use IMiddleware for scoped dependencies -- convention-based is singleton
• Short-circuit intentionally -- always document why a middleware does not call next()
• Avoid response body manipulation in hot paths -- doubles memory usage per request

Agent Gotchas

1. Do not place UseAuthorization() before UseRouting() -- authorization requires endpoint metadata.
2. Do not place UseCors() after UseAuthorization() -- CORS preflight requests lack auth tokens.
3. Do not forget to call next() in pass-through middleware -- silently short-circuits the pipeline.
4. Do not read Request.Body without EnableBuffering() -- the body is forward-only by default.
5. Do not register IMiddleware without DI registration -- requires explicit services.AddScoped<T>().
6. Do not write to Response.Body after calling next() if downstream has started response -- check context.Response.HasStarted.

References

• ASP.NET Core middleware
• Write custom ASP.NET Core middleware
• Factory-based middleware activation
• Handle errors in ASP.NET Core
• IExceptionHandler in .NET 8
• Exploring ASP.NET Core (Andrew Lock)