ASP.NET Core: Sessions

Article
1/17/2024

Introduction

In this article, we will learn how to use our C# coding prowess to set up the session state in our ASP.NET Core and MVC Core Web applications.

Session state is an in-memory cache used to hold information specific to a particular user for a period of activity or session. ASP.Net Core uses a cookie that the client provides with each subsequent request. This information is not persisted, and in a web farm, requires sticky sessions to be enabled. Because sticky sessions reduces scalability, it is recommended that Redis Cache or SQL Server Distributed Cache is used instead.

Steps To Be Followed

Step 1: New project

Open Visual Studio and select File >> New Project.

The "New Project" window will pop up. Select .NET Core and select "ASP.NET Core Web Application". Name our project and click "OK".

A "New Project" window will pop up. Select Web Application and click "OK", as shown below.

Step 2: Dependencies

Once our project is ready, open Solution Explorer, right-click "dependencies", and click "Manage NuGet Packages.".

Packages Required

We need to install the stable version of "Microsoft.AspNetCore.Session" from the NuGet Package Manager. Then only we can access the session state in ASP.NET Core. Click on the "Install" button.

Step 3: HomeControllers

Now, double click "HomeControllers.cs". The following is an example of a session sharing in ASP.NET Core.

using System;  
using System.Collections.Generic;  
using System.Diagnostics;  
using System.Linq;  
using System.Threading.Tasks;  
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http;  
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;  
using Session_State.Models;  
  
namespace Session_State.Controllers  
{  
  public class  HomeController : Controller  
  {  
  
    const string  SessionName = "_Name";  
    const string  SessionAge = "_Age";  
    public IActionResult Index()  
    {  
      HttpContext.Session.SetString(SessionName, "Satya");   
      HttpContext.Session.SetInt32(SessionAge, 24);  
      return View();  
    }  
  
    public IActionResult About()  
    {  
      ViewBag.Name = HttpContext.Session.GetString(SessionName);  
      ViewBag.Age = HttpContext.Session.GetInt32(SessionAge);  
      ViewData["Message"] = "Asp.Net Core !!!.";  
  
      return View();  
    }  
  
    public IActionResult Contact()  
    {  
      ViewData["Message"] = "Your contact page.";  
  
      return View();  
    }  
  
    public IActionResult Error()  
    {  
      return View(new ErrorViewModel { RequestId = Activity.Current?.Id ?? HttpContext.TraceIdentifier });  
    }  
  }  
}

Step 4: Startup.cs

Now, double click "Startup.cs" to configure the services. The very first step we need to take is to add the session service to the container so that we can add the services in the "configureServices" function.

public void  ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)  
{  
    
  services.AddDistributedMemoryCache();  
  services.AddSession(options => {  
    options.IdleTimeout = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(1);//You can set Time  
  });  
  services.AddMvc();  
}

Configure the HTTP Request Pipeline

Now, in the same class, we add "app.Usersession()" inside the "configure" function so that it gets called by the runtime.

public void  Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IHostingEnvironment env)  
{  
  if (env.IsDevelopment())  
  {  
    app.UseDeveloperExceptionPage();  
    app.UseBrowserLink();  
  }  
  else 
  {  
    app.UseExceptionHandler("/Home/Error");  
  }  
  
  app.UseStaticFiles();  
  
  app.UseSession();  
  
  app.UseMvc(routes =>  
  {  
    routes.MapRoute(  
      name: "default",   
      template: "{controller=Home}/{action=Index}/{id?}");  
  });  
}

Output

Now, run the project. We will see the output of an Active Session, as below.

Let us set "one" minute as the Session TimeOut in the "ConfigureServices" function of the "Startup.cs" class.

services.AddSession(options => {  
  options.IdleTimeout = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(1);//You can set Time  
});

Session Expires

Summary

Session in ASP.NET Core and MVC Core Web applications.
Result before session and after session.

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