6 Steps for Setting Up a New .NET Project the Right Way

Set up a new .NET project in six steps: an .editorconfig for code style, Directory.Build.props for shared build settings, and Directory.Packages.props for central package management. Then add static analysis with SonarAnalyzer, Docker Compose or .NET Aspire for local orchestration, and a GitHub Actions build. The whole setup happens before you write any business logic.

Starting a new .NET project is always exciting. But it's also easy to skip the groundwork that makes a project scalable and maintainable.

Before you write your first line of business logic, there are a few key setup steps that make your life (and your teammates) much easier later on.

Here's how I usually set up a new .NET project in six simple steps.

1. Enforce a Consistent Code Style

The first thing I add is an .editorconfig file.

This file ensures everyone on your team uses the same formatting and naming conventions, reducing inconsistent indents or random naming rules.

You can create one directly in Visual Studio:

The default configuration is a great start. But you can customize it further to fit your team's preferences.

Place it at the solution root so all projects follow the same rules. You can still override specific settings in subfolders if needed by placing an .editorconfig file there.

Here are two sample .editorconfig files you can use:

• From the .NET runtime repo
• Created by me for general .NET projects

2. Centralize Build Configuration

Next, I add a Directory.Build.props file to the solution root. This file lets you define build settings that apply to every project in the solution.

Here's an example:

<Project>
  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFramework>net10.0</TargetFramework>
    <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
    <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
    <TreatWarningsAsErrors>true</TreatWarningsAsErrors>
  </PropertyGroup>
</Project>

This keeps your .csproj files clean and consistent, since there's no need to repeat these properties in every project.

If you later want to enable static analyzers or tweak build options, you can do it once here.

What's cool about this is your .csproj files become basically empty, with only NuGet package references most of the time.

3. Centralize Package Management

As your solution grows, managing NuGet package versions across multiple projects gets painful.

That's where central package management helps.

Create a file named Directory.Packages.props at the root:

<Project>
  <PropertyGroup>
    <ManagePackageVersionsCentrally>true</ManagePackageVersionsCentrally>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageVersion Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.OpenApi" Version="10.0.0" />
    <PackageVersion Include="SonarAnalyzer.CSharp" Version="10.15.0.120848" />
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>

Now, when you reference a NuGet package in your project, you don't specify the version. You can only use the package name like this:

<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.OpenApi" />

All versioning is handled centrally. This makes dependency upgrades trivial and avoids version drift between projects.

You can still override versions in individual projects if needed.

4. Add Static Code Analysis

Static code analysis helps catch potential bugs and maintain code quality. .NET has a set of built-in analyzers, but I like to add SonarAnalyzer.CSharp for more comprehensive checks.

Let's install SonarAnalyzer.CSharp to catch potential code issues early:

Install-Package SonarAnalyzer.CSharp

Add it as a global package reference inside your Directory.Build.props:

<ItemGroup>
  <PackageReference Include="SonarAnalyzer.CSharp" />
</ItemGroup>

Combine this with:

<Project>
  <PropertyGroup>
    <TreatWarningsAsErrors>true</TreatWarningsAsErrors>
    <AnalysisLevel>latest</AnalysisLevel>
    <AnalysisMode>All</AnalysisMode>
    <CodeAnalysisTreatWarningsAsErrors>true</CodeAnalysisTreatWarningsAsErrors>
    <EnforceCodeStyleInBuild>true</EnforceCodeStyleInBuild>
  </PropertyGroup>
</Project>

…and your build will fail on serious code quality issues. This can be a great safety net.

But it can also be noisy at first. If some rules don't fit your context, you can adjust or suppress them in .editorconfig by setting the rule severity to none.

5. Set Up Local Orchestration

For a consistent local environment across your team, you'll want container orchestration.

You have two main options:

Option 1: Docker Compose

Add Docker Compose support in Visual Studio. It will scaffold a docker-compose.yml file where you can define services like:

services:
  webapi:
    build: .
  postgres:
    image: postgres:18
    environment:
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password

This lets every developer spin up the same stack locally with one command.

Option 2: .NET Aspire

.NET Aspire takes orchestration a step further. It provides service discovery, telemetry, and streamlined configuration, all integrated with your .NET projects. It's become a personal favorite of mine.

You can add a .NET project and a Postgres resource with a few lines of code:

var postgres = builder.AddPostgres("demo-db");

builder.AddProject<WebApi>("webapi")
       .WithReference(postgres)
       .WaitFor(postgres);

builder.Build().Run();

Aspire still uses Docker under the hood but provides a richer developer experience.

Whether you pick Docker Compose or Aspire, the goal is the same: a repeatable, reliable local setup that works the same on every machine.

6. Automate Builds with CI

Finally, I set up a simple GitHub Actions workflow to validate each commit.

Example .github/workflows/build.yml:

name: Build

on:
  push:
    # Filter to only run on main branch
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v5
        with:
          dotnet-version: 10.0.x
      - run: dotnet restore
      - run: dotnet build --no-restore --configuration Release
      - run: dotnet test --no-build --configuration Release

This ensures your project always builds and passes tests, and it catches issues before they reach production. If the CI build fails, you know something's wrong right away.

When it comes to testing, I highly recommend exploring:

• Architecture testing to enforce architectural rules in your codebase
• Integration testing with Testcontainers to spin up real dependencies in Docker during tests (you can run this locally and in CI)

This will give you confidence that your code works as expected in an (as close as possible) production-like environment.

Wrapping Up

That's a wrap. Your new .NET project is now set up with:

• consistent code style
• centralized build and package management
• code quality enforcement
• reproducible local orchestration
• continuous integration

These small setup steps save countless hours down the road and keep your codebase clean, predictable, and ready to scale.

Once your project setup is solid, the next step is designing scalable boundaries. In my Modular Monolith Architecture course, I show how to grow a .NET application without turning it into a tangled mess, through clear module boundaries, messaging, and domain isolation.

If you're looking for a practical walkthrough of these steps, check out this video.

Thanks for reading.

And stay awesome!