---
title: Migrating from ASP.NET MVC to ASP.NET Core MVC
author: ardalis
description: Learn how to get started migrating an ASP.NET MVC project to ASP.NET Core MVC.
manager: wpickett
ms.author: riande
ms.date: 03/07/2017
ms.prod: asp.net-core
ms.technology: aspnet
ms.topic: article
uid: migration/mvc
---
# Migrating from ASP.NET MVC to ASP.NET Core MVC
By [Rick Anderson](https://twitter.com/RickAndMSFT), [Daniel Roth](https://github.com/danroth27), [Steve Smith](https://ardalis.com/), and [Scott Addie](https://scottaddie.com)
This article shows how to get started migrating an ASP.NET MVC project to [ASP.NET Core MVC](../mvc/overview.md). In the process, it highlights many of the things that have changed from ASP.NET MVC. Migrating from ASP.NET MVC is a multiple step process and this article covers the initial setup, basic controllers and views, static content, and client-side dependencies. Additional articles cover migrating configuration and identity code found in many ASP.NET MVC projects.
> [!NOTE]
> The version numbers in the samples might not be current. You may need to update your projects accordingly.
## Create the starter ASP.NET MVC project
To demonstrate the upgrade, we'll start by creating a ASP.NET MVC app. Create it with the name *WebApp1* so the namespace will match the ASP.NET Core project we create in the next step.
*Optional:* Change the name of the Solution from *WebApp1* to *Mvc5*. Visual Studio will display the new solution name (*Mvc5*), which will make it easier to tell this project from the next project.
## Create the ASP.NET Core project
Create a new *empty* ASP.NET Core web app with the same name as the previous project (*WebApp1*) so the namespaces in the two projects match. Having the same namespace makes it easier to copy code between the two projects. You'll have to create this project in a different directory than the previous project to use the same name.
* *Optional:* Create a new ASP.NET Core app using the *Web Application* project template. Name the project *WebApp1*, and select an authentication option of **Individual User Accounts**. Rename this app to *FullAspNetCore*. Creating this project will save you time in the conversion. You can look at the template-generated code to see the end result or to copy code to the conversion project. It's also helpful when you get stuck on a conversion step to compare with the template-generated project.
## Configure the site to use MVC
* Install the `Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc` and `Microsoft.AspNetCore.StaticFiles` NuGet packages.
`Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc` is the ASP.NET Core MVC framework. `Microsoft.AspNetCore.StaticFiles` is the static file handler. The ASP.NET runtime is modular, and you must explicitly opt in to serve static files (see [Working with Static Files](../fundamentals/static-files.md)).
* Open the *.csproj* file (right-click the project in **Solution Explorer** and select **Edit WebApp1.csproj**) and add a `PrepareForPublish` target:
[!code-xml[](mvc/sample/WebApp1.csproj?range=21-23)]
The `PrepareForPublish` target is needed for acquiring client-side libraries via Bower. We'll talk about that later.
* Open the *Startup.cs* file and change the code to match the following:
[!code-csharp[](mvc/sample/Startup.cs?highlight=14,27-34)]
The `UseStaticFiles` extension method adds the static file handler. As mentioned previously, the ASP.NET runtime is modular, and you must explicitly opt in to serve static files. The `UseMvc` extension method adds routing. For more information, see [Application Startup](../fundamentals/startup.md) and [Routing](../fundamentals/routing.md).
## Add a controller and view
In this section, you'll add a minimal controller and view to serve as placeholders for the ASP.NET MVC controller and views you'll migrate in the next section.
* Add a *Controllers* folder.
* Add an **MVC controller class** with the name *HomeController.cs* to the *Controllers* folder.
* Add a *Views* folder.
* Add a *Views/Home* folder.
* Add an *Index.cshtml* MVC view page to the *Views/Home* folder.
The project structure is shown below:
Replace the contents of the *Views/Home/Index.cshtml* file with the following:
```html
Hello world!
```
Run the app.
See [Controllers](xref:mvc/controllers/actions) and [Views](xref:mvc/views/overview) for more information.
Now that we have a minimal working ASP.NET Core project, we can start migrating functionality from the ASP.NET MVC project. We will need to move the following:
* client-side content (CSS, fonts, and scripts)
* controllers
* views
* models
* bundling
* filters
* Log in/out, identity (This will be done in the next tutorial.)
## Controllers and views
* Copy each of the methods from the ASP.NET MVC `HomeController` to the new `HomeController`. Note that in ASP.NET MVC, the built-in template's controller action method return type is [ActionResult](https://msdn.microsoft.com/library/system.web.mvc.actionresult(v=vs.118).aspx); in ASP.NET Core MVC, the action methods return `IActionResult` instead. `ActionResult` implements `IActionResult`, so there's no need to change the return type of your action methods.
* Copy the *About.cshtml*, *Contact.cshtml*, and *Index.cshtml* Razor view files from the ASP.NET MVC project to the ASP.NET Core project.
* Run the ASP.NET Core app and test each method. We haven't migrated the layout file or styles yet, so the rendered views will only contain the content in the view files. You won't have the layout file generated links for the `About` and `Contact` views, so you'll have to invoke them from the browser (replace **4492** with the port number used in your project).
* `http://localhost:4492/home/about`
* `http://localhost:4492/home/contact`
Note the lack of styling and menu items. We'll fix that in the next section.
## Static content
In previous versions of ASP.NET MVC, static content was hosted from the root of the web project and was intermixed with server-side files. In ASP.NET Core, static content is hosted in the *wwwroot* folder. You'll want to copy the static content from your old ASP.NET MVC app to the *wwwroot* folder in your ASP.NET Core project. In this sample conversion:
* Copy the *favicon.ico* file from the old MVC project to the *wwwroot* folder in the ASP.NET Core project.
The old ASP.NET MVC project uses [Bootstrap](http://getbootstrap.com/) for its styling and stores the Bootstrap files in the *Content* and *Scripts* folders. The template, which generated the old ASP.NET MVC project, references Bootstrap in the layout file (*Views/Shared/_Layout.cshtml*). You could copy the *bootstrap.js* and *bootstrap.css* files from the ASP.NET MVC project to the *wwwroot* folder in the new project, but that approach doesn't use the improved mechanism for managing client-side dependencies in ASP.NET Core.
In the new project, we'll add support for Bootstrap (and other client-side libraries) using [Bower](https://bower.io/):
* Add a [Bower](https://bower.io/) configuration file named *bower.json* to the project root (Right-click on the project, and then **Add > New Item > Bower Configuration File**). Add [Bootstrap](http://getbootstrap.com/) and [jQuery](https://jquery.com/) to the file (see the highlighted lines below).
[!code-json[](mvc/sample/bower.json?highlight=5-6)]
Upon saving the file, Bower will automatically download the dependencies to the *wwwroot/lib* folder. You can use the **Search Solution Explorer** box to find the path of the assets:
See [Manage Client-Side Packages with Bower](../client-side/bower.md) for more information.
## Migrate the layout file
* Copy the *_ViewStart.cshtml* file from the old ASP.NET MVC project's *Views* folder into the ASP.NET Core project's *Views* folder. The *_ViewStart.cshtml* file has not changed in ASP.NET Core MVC.
* Create a *Views/Shared* folder.
* *Optional:* Copy *_ViewImports.cshtml* from the *FullAspNetCore* MVC project's *Views* folder into the ASP.NET Core project's *Views* folder. Remove any namespace declaration in the *_ViewImports.cshtml* file. The *_ViewImports.cshtml* file provides namespaces for all the view files and brings in [Tag Helpers](xref:mvc/views/tag-helpers/intro). Tag Helpers are used in the new layout file. The *_ViewImports.cshtml* file is new for ASP.NET Core.
* Copy the *_Layout.cshtml* file from the old ASP.NET MVC project's *Views/Shared* folder into the ASP.NET Core project's *Views/Shared* folder.
Open *_Layout.cshtml* file and make the following changes (the completed code is shown below):
* Replace `@Styles.Render("~/Content/css")` with a `` element to load *bootstrap.css* (see below).
* Remove `@Scripts.Render("~/bundles/modernizr")`.
* Comment out the `@Html.Partial("_LoginPartial")` line (surround the line with `@*...*@`). We'll return to it in a future tutorial.
* Replace `@Scripts.Render("~/bundles/jquery")` with a `
```
The updated *_Layout.cshtml* file is shown below:
[!code-html[](mvc/sample/Views/Shared/_Layout.cshtml?highlight=7,27,39-40)]
View the site in the browser. It should now load correctly, with the expected styles in place.
* *Optional:* You might want to try using the new layout file. For this project you can copy the layout file from the *FullAspNetCore* project. The new layout file uses [Tag Helpers](xref:mvc/views/tag-helpers/intro) and has other improvements.
## Configure bundling and minification
For information about how to configure bundling and minification, see [Bundling and Minification](../client-side/bundling-and-minification.md).
## Solving HTTP 500 errors
There are many problems that can cause a HTTP 500 error message that contain no information on the source of the problem. For example, if the *Views/_ViewImports.cshtml* file contains a namespace that doesn't exist in your project, you'll get a HTTP 500 error. To get a detailed error message, add the following code:
```csharp
public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IHostingEnvironment env, ILoggerFactory loggerFactory)
{
if (env.IsDevelopment())
{
app.UseDeveloperExceptionPage();
}
app.UseStaticFiles();
app.UseMvc(routes =>
{
routes.MapRoute(
name: "default",
template: "{controller=Home}/{action=Index}/{id?}");
});
}
```
See **Using the Developer Exception Page** in [Error Handling](../fundamentals/error-handling.md) for more information.
## Additional resources
* [Client-Side Development](xref:client-side/index)
* [Tag Helpers](xref:mvc/views/tag-helpers/intro)