Skip to main content

ASP.NET Web API: HttpContext.Current is null inside Task

A few days ago, a colleague asked my help to solve an issue he had with ASP.NET Web API. His code looked like the following:

The problem was that HttpContext.Current was always null after switching to another task.

When I tried to reproduce the issue by building a similar sample on my computer, it just worked. The only difference between his code and mine was that I created an ASP.NET Web API 4.5 application, where he was still using ASP.NET 4.

So switching to .NET 4.5 solved the problem. But why? It seems that in ASP.NET 4.5, a task friendly synchronization context got introduced. This synchronization context ensures that the originel context is restored after leaving the await block.

So make sure that you either:

  • Set httpRuntime.targetFramework to 4.5, or
  • In your appSettings, set aspnet:UseTaskFriendlySynchronizationContext to true.

Some more information can be found here.

Popular posts from this blog

Azure DevOps/ GitHub emoji

I’m really bad at remembering emoji’s. So here is cheat sheet with all emoji’s that can be used in tools that support the github emoji markdown markup: All credits go to rcaviers who created this list.

Kubernetes–Limit your environmental impact

Reducing the carbon footprint and CO2 emission of our (cloud) workloads, is a responsibility of all of us. If you are running a Kubernetes cluster, have a look at Kube-Green . kube-green is a simple Kubernetes operator that automatically shuts down (some of) your pods when you don't need them. A single pod produces about 11 Kg CO2eq per year( here the calculation). Reason enough to give it a try! Installing kube-green in your cluster The easiest way to install the operator in your cluster is through kubectl. We first need to install a cert-manager: kubectl apply -f https://github.com/cert-manager/cert-manager/releases/download/v1.14.5/cert-manager.yaml Remark: Wait a minute before you continue as it can take some time before the cert-manager is up & running inside your cluster. Now we can install the kube-green operator: kubectl apply -f https://github.com/kube-green/kube-green/releases/latest/download/kube-green.yaml Now in the namespace where we want t

DevToys–A swiss army knife for developers

As a developer there are a lot of small tasks you need to do as part of your coding, debugging and testing activities.  DevToys is an offline windows app that tries to help you with these tasks. Instead of using different websites you get a fully offline experience offering help for a large list of tasks. Many tools are available. Here is the current list: Converters JSON <> YAML Timestamp Number Base Cron Parser Encoders / Decoders HTML URL Base64 Text & Image GZip JWT Decoder Formatters JSON SQL XML Generators Hash (MD5, SHA1, SHA256, SHA512) UUID 1 and 4 Lorem Ipsum Checksum Text Escape / Unescape Inspector & Case Converter Regex Tester Text Comparer XML Validator Markdown Preview Graphic Color B