How to Manage .NET 8.0 Applications on an Ubuntu Server

To manage .NET 8.0 applications on an Ubuntu server, you can use systemd to create a service for your application, which allows you to start, stop, and manage the lifecycle of your application in a way similar to how pm2 works for Node.js applications.

Here are the steps to accomplish this:

Prerequisites

Install .NET SDK/Runtime: Ensure that the appropriate .NET runtime is installed on your server. You can install it by following our post on How to Install .NET 8 on Ubuntu.
Publish Your Application: Before deploying your application, publish it. This can be done using:
```
dotnet publish -c Release -o /path/to/output
```
Replace /path/to/output with your desired output directory.
Make Your Application Executable: If your app is a console app, you typically run it using dotnet YourApp.dll. Ensure the application is executable if needed:
```
chmod +x /path/to/output/YourApp
```

Using `systemd` to Manage Your Application

Create a Systemd Service File

Create a new service file for your application. You could name it something like myapp.service. Open a text editor and create it in the /etc/systemd/system/ directory:
```
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/myapp.service
```

Define the Service Configuration

Add the following configuration to your service file:

[Unit]
Description=My .NET Application
After=network.target

[Service]
WorkingDirectory=/path/to/output
ExecStart=/usr/bin/dotnet /path/to/output/YourApp.dll
Restart=always
RestartSec=10
KillSignal=SIGINT
SyslogIdentifier=myapp
User=www-data
Environment=ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Production
Environment=DOTNET_PRINT_TELEMETRY_MESSAGE=false

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Adjust the WorkingDirectory, ExecStart, and User settings as needed based on your environment and the location of your application.

Reload systemd and Start the Service

Reload systemd to make it aware of the new service:
```
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
```
Start your service and enable it to start on boot:
```
sudo systemctl start myapp.service
sudo systemctl enable myapp.service
```
Managing the Service

You can now manage your service using the standard systemd commands:
- Start the application:
```
sudo systemctl start myapp.service
```
- Stop the application:
```
sudo systemctl stop myapp.service
```
- Restart the application:
```
sudo systemctl restart myapp.service
```
- Check the status of the application:
```
sudo systemctl status myapp.service
```

Logging

The logs for the service will typically be available through journalctl. You can view them using:

sudo journalctl -u myapp.service -f

This will show the log for your specific service in real-time. Adjust settings in your service file if you need more customized logging.

By setting up your .NET application as a systemd service, you have a robust mechanism for process management on your Ubuntu server that provides similar capabilities to pm2 for Node.js applications.

Prerequisites

Using systemd to Manage Your Application

Logging

Using `systemd` to Manage Your Application