ConsoleMVC.Framework 1.9.0

ConsoleMVC

An MVC framework for console applications, inspired by ASP.NET Core MVC.

ConsoleMVC brings the familiar Controller-ViewModel pattern to console apps, with convention-based routing, reflection-based auto-discovery, and Razor-like .cvw view templates powered by a C# source generator.

Quick Start

# Install the template
dotnet new install ConsoleMVC.Template

# Create a new project
dotnet new consolemvc -n MyApp
cd MyApp
dotnet run

How It Works

Program.cs: familiar ASP.NET-style builder:

var builder = MvcApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
builder.Services.AddSingleton<IGreetingService, GreetingService>(); // optional
using var app = builder.Build();
await app.RunAsync();

Controllers: inherit from Controller, return ActionResult:

public class HomeController : Controller
{
    public ActionResult Index()
    {
        var model = new HomeViewModel { Title = "Hello!" };
        return View(model);
    }
}

Views: .cvw files with an @model directive and C-View Markup, no class boilerplate:

@model MyApp.Models.HomeViewModel

<box title="@Model.Title" border="rounded" color="cyan">
    <text>@Model.Message</text>
</box>

<input name="Name" label="Your name: " required />

<menu>
    <option key="1" nav="Greet/Result" post>Greet me</option>
    <option key="q" quit>Exit</option>
</menu>

Models: simple DTOs:

public class HomeViewModel
{
    public string Title { get; set; } = "";
}

Features

• Convention-based routing: Controllers and Views are auto-discovered via reflection and namespace conventions
• Razor-like view engine: .cvw files are compiled into ConsoleView<TModel> classes at build time by a source generator
• No boilerplate: Views are plain C# code with an @model directive, no class inheritance required
• C-View Markup: <box>, <text>, <separator>, <br> and <table> elements with colours, borders, alignment and word wrapping, plus @ expressions and @if/@foreach; validated at compile time with errors pointing at the .cvw file
• Layout and themes: <columns> (stacking on narrow terminals), min-width/max-width, and theme classes with class="title"
• Partial views: reusable markup in Views/Shared/{Name}.cvw, rendered with <partial name="Header" model="@Model.Title" /> and checked at build time
• Declarative input and navigation: <input> fields (required, default, masked) collect a Form, and <menu> reads the choice and navigates
• Secure output: model values are sanitised so they cannot inject terminal escape sequences
• Reusable rendering engine: the ConsoleMVC.Rendering namespace can draw elements in any console app
• Familiar API: View(), RedirectToAction(), ViewData, all the patterns you know from ASP.NET Core MVC
• Navigation: Views return NavigationResult to control app flow (NavigationResult.To(), NavigationResult.Quit())
• Validation: posted forms are checked with DataAnnotations ([Required], [Range], [EmailAddress], …) before the action runs; use ModelState.IsValid, View("Form", model) and <errors /> as in ASP.NET Core MVC
• Dependency injection: builder.Services (Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection); constructor injection into controllers, @inject Type Name in views, one scope per screen
• Async actions and middleware: Task<ActionResult> actions, RunAsync(token), and app.Use(...) / UseMiddleware<T>() around every action
• Live reload: dotnet watch applies .cvw and C# edits to the running app from the next screen; new pages are discovered automatically
• Form data posting: Views collect user input via Console.ReadLine() and post it to controller actions using NavigationResult.To("Controller", "Action", formData). The framework automatically binds the data to action method parameters, either as individual simple types (int, string, etc.) or as a complex model class with matching property names

IDE Support

For .cvw file recognition, syntax highlighting, and icon support in JetBrains Rider, install the ConsoleMVC CVWSupport plugin:

• JetBrains Marketplace
• Plugin Source Code

Documentation

For full documentation and source code, visit the GitHub repository.