Microservices .NET Template

An opinionated .NET 9 boilerplate for API-first microservices (User, Guest) with an API Gateway, Redis, RabbitMQ, PostgreSQL, and optional n8n automation. Infrastructure is codified with Terraform so you can deploy either to AWS ECS/Fargate or to AWS EKS with Kubernetes manifests.

Quickstart (fresh clone)

1. Clone: git clone https://github.com/VKev/Microservices-Dot-Net-Template.git && cd Microservices-Dot-Net-Template.
2. Create private tfvars: copy files from Terraform-vars/ to terraform-var/ (same names) and fill real values (AWS account ID in ECR URLs, DB passwords, Cloudflare/CloudFront settings, etc.). Keep terraform-var/ uncommitted.
3. Choose platform:
   • ECS/Fargate: set use_eks = false in terraform-var/common.auto.tfvars.
   • EKS: set use_eks = true and keep k8s.auto.tfvars in sync; secrets live only in terraform-var/k8s.auto.tfvars while Terraform-vars/k8s.auto.tfvars stays redacted.
4. Local smoke test: docker compose up -d --build then call services on 5001/5002/8080.
5. Terraform deploy (example):

   terraform -chdir=Terraform init
   terraform -chdir=Terraform apply `
     -var-file=../terraform-var/common.auto.tfvars `
     -var-file=../terraform-var/k8s.auto.tfvars `
     -var-file=../terraform-var/guest-service.auto.tfvars `
     -var-file=../terraform-var/user-service.auto.tfvars `
     -var-file=../terraform-var/apigateway-service.auto.tfvars `
     -var-file=../terraform-var/rabbitmq-service.auto.tfvars `
     -var-file=../terraform-var/redis-service.auto.tfvars

   Omit k8s.auto.tfvars when deploying ECS-only.

Stack

• .NET 9 WebAPI services: User, Guest, API Gateway (reverse proxy/aggregator)
• Data plane: PostgreSQL, Redis, RabbitMQ
• Optional: n8n + nginx sidecar, service discovery via ECS Service Connect
• AWS: VPC, ALB/CloudFront/Cloudflare, ECR, RDS, ECS/Fargate, EKS
• Tooling: Docker/Compose, Terraform, GitHub Actions

Repository Layout

• Backend/ - microservice source (Application/Domain/Infrastructure/WebApi for each service).
• docker-compose-production.yml - sample compose to run the stack locally (DB, Redis, RabbitMQ, services).
• Terraform/ - Terraform root, modules, and helper scripts.
• Terraform-vars/ - sanitized tfvars templates (redacted secrets) used for CI/reference.

Prerequisites

• .NET 9 SDK
• Docker and Docker Compose
• Terraform >= 1.6
• AWS CLI configured with an account that can create VPC/ECR/RDS/ALB/ECS/EKS
• Python 3 (for helper scripts in Terraform/scripts)

Local Development

1. Restore and build: dotnet restore then dotnet build from repo root.
2. Run tests: dotnet test.
3. Start local dependencies/services: docker compose -f docker-compose.yml up -d --build.
4. Run a service: dotnet run --project Backend/Microservices/User.Microservice/src/WebApi/WebApi.csproj (repeat for others).
5. Apply EF Core migrations (example, replace placeholders):

   $env:ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT="Development"; dotnet ef migrations add Initial `
     -p Backend/Microservices/User.Microservice/src/Infrastructure/Infrastructure.csproj `
     -s Backend/Microservices/User.Microservice/src/Infrastructure/Infrastructure.csproj `
     -c MyDbContext --msbuildprojectextensionspath Backend/Microservices/User.Microservice/src/Infrastructure/Build/obj `
     -- --connection-string="Host=<db-host>;Port=<port>;Database=<db>;Username=<user>;Password=<password>;SslMode=Require"

   Run dotnet ef database update with the same args to apply the migration.

Infrastructure (AWS)

tfvars model

• Authoritative secrets live in terraform-var/*.auto.tfvars (keep private).
• Redacted templates live in Terraform-vars/*.auto.tfvars for sharing/CI.
• Toggle platform with use_eks in common.auto.tfvars:
  • true -> provision EKS and apply k8s_microservices_manifest from k8s.auto.tfvars.
  • false -> deploy microservices to ECS/Fargate with ALB + Service Connect.
• When using EKS, keep the manifest structure identical to terraform-var/k8s.auto.tfvars but replace secrets with placeholders in the sanitized copy.

Deploy with Terraform CLI

# from repo root
terraform -chdir=Terraform init
terraform -chdir=Terraform plan `
  -var-file=../terraform-var/common.auto.tfvars `
  -var-file=../terraform-var/k8s.auto.tfvars `
  -var-file=../terraform-var/guest-service.auto.tfvars `
  -var-file=../terraform-var/user-service.auto.tfvars `
  -var-file=../terraform-var/apigateway-service.auto.tfvars `
  -var-file=../terraform-var/rabbitmq-service.auto.tfvars `
  -var-file=../terraform-var/redis-service.auto.tfvars
terraform -chdir=Terraform apply <same var-files>

• For ECS-only deployments set use_eks = false and omit k8s.auto.tfvars.
• Destroy with the same var files: terraform -chdir=Terraform destroy ....

GitHub Actions (CI/CD)

• Workflows:
  • Full Infrastructure Deploy: builds and pushes images to ECR, merges tfvars from environment secrets, runs Terraform plan/apply/destroy.
  • Deploy Infrastructure with Terraform: Terraform plan/apply/destroy only (no image build).
  • Build and Push Microservices to ECR: builds all microservice images and pushes to AWS ECR.
  • Build and Push Microservices to Docker Hub: builds/pushes to Docker Hub (optional alt registry).
  • Bootstrap Terraform Backend: creates the S3/DynamoDB backend for Terraform state/locks.
  • Request ACM Certificate (Cloudflare DNS): provisions ACM cert via Cloudflare DNS-01.
  • Nuke ECR Repositories: deletes ECR repositories (cleanup).
  • Nuke AWS (except ECR): tears down AWS resources except ECR (safety valve).
• Environment vars: AWS_REGION, PROJECT_NAME.
• Secrets: AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, plus tfvars payloads (e.g., TERRAFORM_VARS_COMMON, TERRAFORM_VARS_K8S, TERRAFORM_VARS_GUEST, TERRAFORM_VARS_USER, TERRAFORM_VARS_APIGATEWAY, TERRAFORM_VARS_REDIS, TERRAFORM_VARS_RABBITMQ, TERRAFORM_VARS_N8N, TERRAFORM_VARS_NGINX, TERRAFORM_VARS_ECS_GROUPS). Paste contents from your private terraform-var files.

GitHub Environment setup (step-by-step)

1. Settings -> Environments -> New environment (e.g., infrastructure-prod).
2. Add environment variables: AWS_REGION, PROJECT_NAME.
3. Add environment secrets:
   • AWS creds: AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY.
   • Terraform tfvars payloads: create secrets named above (COMMON, K8S, GUEST, USER, APIGATEWAY, REDIS, RABBITMQ, N8N, NGINX, ECS_GROUPS as needed). Paste the full contents of each matching file from your private terraform-var/.
4. Run the workflow: Actions -> Full Infrastructure Deploy -> Run workflow -> select your environment -> choose plan or apply.

What gets deployed (platform toggle)

• use_eks = true (default): provisions an EKS cluster (t3.small nodes, desired=4 by default) and applies the k8s_microservices_manifest to namespace microservices. Workloads: Redis (+ PVC + Secret), RabbitMQ (+ PVC + Secret), n8n, nginx proxy for n8n, Guest microservice, User microservice, API Gateway, plus their services/NodePorts.
• use_eks = false: provisions ECS on EC2 with 3 container instances (server-1/2/3). Task groups: server-1 runs redis + rabbitmq + user with host-path data volumes; server-2 runs guest + apigateway; server-3 runs n8n + nginx proxy. Uses ALB and Service Connect for traffic and discovery.

Cleanup

• Local: docker compose down -v.
• Cloud: terraform -chdir=Terraform destroy with the same var files used for apply.