TaskFlow.API

A RESTful Web API built with ASP.NET Core, Entity Framework Core, and SQL Server. The project was created to strengthen backend development skills and gain hands-on experience building secure APIs using JWT authentication and user-scoped data access.

Features

• User registration and login
• JWT (JSON Web Token) authentication
• Protected API endpoints using [Authorize]
• Full CRUD operations for task items
• User-specific task management
• Entity Framework Core with code-first migrations
• SQL Server database integration
• DTO-based request and response models
• Dependency Injection with a custom TokenService

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Technologies Used

• ASP.NET Core Web API
• C#
• Entity Framework Core
• SQL Server
• JWT Authentication
• LINQ
• Dependency Injection

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Authentication Flow

1. User registers or logs in
2. API generates a JWT
3. Client includes the JWT in the Authorization header
4. Protected endpoints validate the token
5. API extracts the authenticated user's claims and restricts access to only that user's data

Example header:

Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN

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API Endpoints

Authentication

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/api/Auth/register	Register a new user
POST	/api/Auth/login	Login and receive JWT

Task Items

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/TaskItems	Get all tasks for authenticated user
GET	/api/TaskItems/{id}	Get a specific task
POST	/api/TaskItems	Create a task
PUT	/api/TaskItems/{id}	Update a task
DELETE	/api/TaskItems/{id}	Delete a task

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Example Request

Create Task

POST /api/TaskItems
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN
Content-Type: application/json

Example JSON body:

{
  "title": "Study ASP.NET Core",
  "description": "Practice building secure APIs",
  "isCompleted": false
}

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Example Response

{
  "taskItemId": 1,
  "title": "Study ASP.NET Core",
  "description": "Practice building secure APIs",
  "isCompleted": false,
  "createdAt": "2026-05-05T18:42:11.205Z"
}

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Database

The application uses SQL Server with Entity Framework Core code-first migrations.

Create Migration

dotnet ef migrations add InitialCreate

Apply Migration

dotnet ef database update

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Running the Project

Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/EricZimmer87/taskflow-api.git

Navigate to Project

cd TaskFlow

Run the API

dotnet run

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JWT Configuration

JWT settings are configured in appsettings.json.

Example:

"Jwt": {
  "Key": "FAKE_KEY_CHANGE_FOR_PRODUCTION_123456789",
  "Issuer": "TaskFlow.API",
  "Audience": "TaskFlow.Client",
  "ExpiresInMinutes": 60
}

The included key is a development-only placeholder and should not be used in production.

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What I Learned

This project helped reinforce concepts including:

• RESTful API design
• JWT authentication and authorization
• Claims-based identity
• Entity Framework Core code-first workflow
• DTO usage and separation of concerns
• Dependency Injection
• Secure user-specific data access
• ASP.NET Core middleware and request pipeline

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Future Improvements

• Request validation attributes
• Pagination and filtering
• Refresh tokens
• Unit testing
• Docker support
• Frontend client integration

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Author

Eric Zimmer

GitHub:
https://github.com/EricZimmer87

Portfolio Website:
https://www.ejzimmer.com