How to Get the Current User in ASP.NET Core

This article explains an easy approach on how to get the Current User in ASP.NET Core.

You may find a need to get a logged-in username using your application in the IIS or Cloud-hosted app.

One can easily get the current user name from HttpContext in ASP.NET Core provided user details are transferred for the given session using cookies or other means. etc.

Today in this article, we will cover below aspects,

Below are the basic steps which need to be followed.

Using HTTPContext metadata

HTTPContext lets you access its metadata configured when the request reaches ASP.NET Core API.

This HttpContext sets the various headers including Username and password etc.

This context however also depends on the type of Authentication and Authorization schemes being used to validate the Users.

Getting Current UserName in Controller

Getting UserName in Controller is easy as you can directly access the HttpContext object within Controller.

You need to access HttpContext.User.Identity.Name the property to access the username.

Update Get method for the below code,

Access current UserName in Repository or other Custom Components

Access the current Username in Repository or other Custom modules using HttpContextAccessor .

HttpContextAccessor lets you access HTTPContext and its metadata in any other module.

Update ConfigureServices() in Startup.cs as below,

.NET Core 3.1 and Above( .NET 5 or .NET6 )

For the .NET Core version 3.1 and above and lower, please register the service for IHttpContextAccessor as below.

.NET Core 3.0 and lower version

For the lower version of .NET Core like .NET Core 2.2 and lower, please register the service for IHttpContextAccessor as below.

Dependency Inject ( DI ) interface IHttpContextAccessor in the Constructor as below,

Getting UserName in API Middleware

Similarly if needed you can read UserName in the middleware component by accessing HttpContext .

Note :

If you are trying to get a user name using the user identity then please follow the below configuration and the set authentication mode as Windows.

Below configuration let HttpContext.Current.User.Identity.Name set using the usernames logged in.

If Hosting in IIS Server – Set Authentication mode as Windows

This is the preferred setting for IIS-hosted services also where anonymousAuthentication needs to be set as false .

And Set the WindowsAuthentication as true .

"windowsAuthentication": true,
"anonymousAuthentication": false
If Debugging locally
If debugging locally to verify, Please update the launchSettings.json file for the Windows authentication setting as true in the ‘iisSettings’ section as below. 
 windowsAuthentication”: true, 
“anonymousAuthentication”: false 
HttpContext.User.Identity.Name is empty 
If the above-discussed setting is not followed then you will get HttpContext.User.Identity.Name as empty or null.
Cloud-hosted app Windows authentication will also work if enabled with Windows Authentication using the Active Directory (AD group) or by following other security policy with in the enterprise infrastructure which let you sync up your User IDs with Server/Cloud.
Most enterprise Application uses secured cookies and session token details (with the help of redirection from their intranet sites to the cloud hosted web applicaiton) to send the actual user name logged in to an application.
HttpContext is not threadsafe so please follow the below additional guidelines for its proper usage,
References: 
HttpContext Threadsafety and Usage Guidelines
Do you have any comments or ideas or any better suggestions to share?
Please sound off your comments below.
Happy Coding !!
References:
HttpClientFactory in ASP.NET Core with examples
API Versioning in ASP.NET Core with Examples
Getting started with NCache In ASP.NET Core
Set up ASP.NET Core Environment for Publish
Filters in ASP.NET Core – Best Practices


Please bookmark this page and share it with your friends.                                                    Please Subscribe to the blog to receive notifications on freshly published best practices and guidelines for software design and development.
Growing by Sharing	

 
 
     
 
     
 
     
 
     
 
  
 You might be interested :
HttpClientFactory in ASP.NET Core with examples
How to Use SqlClient in ASP.NET Core
How to Enable CORS in ASP.NET Core

Necessary							
  Necessary
Always Enabled

 Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. 
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Functional							
  Functional

 Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.

Performance							
  Performance

 Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

Analytics							
  Analytics

 Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

Advertisement							
  Advertisement

 Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.

Others							
  Others

 Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.

 SAVE & ACCEPT