I’ve been experimenting with building a web framework directly on top of the base .NET runtime without using the ASP.NET Web SDK.

I'm calling it Wisp.

The main motivation was frustration with some aspects of ASP.NET, especially the requirement to target the Web SDK instead of the base .NET SDK. That makes embedding small HTTP apps inside existing applications harder than it should be since it forces you to pollute your scope with the Web SDK.

I also don't like CSHTML/Razor and wanted a more traditional templating language.

Wisp is a relatively lightweight MVC framework built without any dependencies on the .NET Web SDK.

Some highlights:

  - Runs on the base .NET SDK (no ASP.NET dependency)
  - Traditional MVC controllers
  - Dependency injection via Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection
  - Configuration via Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration
  - Templating via the Fluid engine (Liquid-compatible)

It's still very alpha and definitely rough around the edges, but I've already built a few small applications with it and it works surprisingly well.

The code is written by hand, not vibe-coded.

If you're interested in experimenting with alternative approaches to building web apps in .NET, feedback and contributions are very welcome.

Docs: https://wispframework.github.io/Wisp/

Quick start:

  dotnet new install Wisp.Framework.Templates
  dotnet new wisp.mvc
  dotnet run

A minimal application looks like this:

  var hostBuilder = new WispHostBuilder();
  hostBuilder.UseStaticFiles();

  var appBuilder = hostBuilder.Build();
  appBuilder.UseControllers();

  var app = appBuilder.Build();
  await app.RunAsync();

It should hopefully Just Work(tm) :)