README.md

Task Management API

This is a simple Task Management REST API built using ASP.NET Core 8 and Entity Framework Core. The project allows users to manage tasks, authenticate using JWT, and automatically marks overdue tasks as expired using a background service.

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Features

• JWT-based user authentication
• Create, Read, Update, and Delete (CRUD) operations for tasks
• Pagination, filtering, and sorting
• Input validation with custom validation attributes
• Automatic expiration of overdue tasks
• Serilog logging
• Swagger API documentation
• SQL Server with Entity Framework Core

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Technologies Used

• ASP.NET Core 8
• Entity Framework Core
• SQL Server
• JWT Authentication
• Serilog
• Swagger / OpenAPI

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Getting Started

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/TaskManagement.git
cd TaskManagement

Configure the database

Update the connection string in appsettings.json.

"ConnectionStrings": {
  "DefaultConnection": "Server=YOUR_SERVER;Database=TaskManagement;Trusted_Connection=True;TrustServerCertificate=True;"
}

Apply the database

dotnet ef database update

Run the project

dotnet run

Open Swagger:

https://localhost:<port>/swagger

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Authentication

Login using the following endpoint:

POST /api/auth/login

Sample Request

{
  "username": "admin",
  "password": "admin123!"
}

Copy the returned JWT token and use it to authorize protected endpoints in Swagger.

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API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/api/auth/login	Login and generate JWT
POST	/api/tasks	Create a new task
GET	/api/tasks	Get all tasks
GET	/api/tasks/{id}	Get a task by ID
PUT	/api/tasks/{id}	Update a task
DELETE	/api/tasks/{id}	Delete a task

The Get All Tasks endpoint also supports:

• Pagination
• Status filtering
• Sorting by due date

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Background Service

A hosted background service runs at regular intervals and checks for overdue tasks.

If a task is still Pending and its due date has passed, the service automatically changes its status to Expired.

This keeps task statuses up to date without requiring any manual action.

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Validation

The API validates user input before processing requests.

Some of the validations include:

• Title is required.
• Title cannot exceed 200 characters.
• Due date is required.
• Due date cannot be in the past.

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Logging

Serilog is used to record important application events, including:

• Task creation
• Task updates
• Task deletion
• Background service execution

Logs are stored in the logs folder.

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Project Structure

Controllers
Services
Repositories
Models
DTOs
Interfaces
Data
BackgroundJobs
Middleware

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Future Improvements

Some enhancements that could be added in the future:

• Refresh Tokens
• Role-Based Authorization
• Unit Tests
• Integration Tests
• Docker Support
• CI/CD Pipeline

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Author

Lingesh

Software Developer