A well-thought-out project structure is one of the most critical aspects of your project. It sets the foundation for how scalable your application will be in the long run. The higher up you go in the structural hierarchy, the more important it is to get it right from the beginning. Mistakes at the top can lead to bad practices and cost you later on.
Lower-level decisions (like file or folder organization within a feature) offer more flexibility—it's less painful. Adjusting or removing a single leaf from a tree doesn't impact the whole tree, but doing the same with the entire branch can affect all its sub-branches and leaves. Similarly, changing the fundamental structure of a real-world system is never easy, it's usually extremely risky and time-consuming, so investing in a solid foundation early on is essential.
When it comes to project structure, there's no one-size-fits-all solution. However, at a foundational level, many components tend to follow common patterns across different projects. That’s because these structural decisions are less about the application’s specific domain and more about organizing files and folders in a clear and consistent way. From my personal experience, it's always a good idea to standardize these repeatitive aspects early on. Doing so not only speeds up development but also allows you to focus your time and energy on the domain-specific challenges that truly matter.
Let's break down the basic structure of a .NET project and list the folders and files that COULD be included. I'm emphasizing "could", because sometimes you don't really need to have some of the components that are listed here. Other times, you might even need some additional components in your project based on your specific needs. The purpose of this article is to provide a flexible foundation—a structure that's intuitive, scalable, and organized, giving you a solid starting point to adapt as your awesome project grows, so you won't look back wishing you had built a better foundation when you had the chance.
📁 / (root)
│ Root of the repository. Contains project files, CI/CD configs, metadata, and top-level documentation.
│
├── 📁 src/ # Source code for your application
│ ├── 📁 RocketScienceApp/ # Main application project
│ │ ├── 📁 Controllers/ # .NET controllers
│ │ ├── 📁 wwwroot/ # (Optional) Static web assets (JS, CSS, images, frontend build output)
│ │ │ ├── 📄 index.html
│ │ │ ├── 📁 css/
│ │ │ ├── 📁 js/
│ │ │ └── 📁 assets/
│ │ ├── 📄 Program.cs # Application entry point
│ │ └── 📄 RocketScienceApp.csproj # Project file
│ └── 📁 RocketScienceApp.Telemetry/ # (Optional) Additional module or a specific feature
│ ├── 📄 SensorProcessor.cs # Example feature class
│ └── 📄 RocketScienceApp.Telemetry.csproj
│
├── 📁 tests/ # Unit and integration tests
│ ├── 📁 RocketScienceApp.UnitTests/
│ │ ├── 📄 MathEngineTests.cs # Unit test example
│ │ └── 📄 RocketScienceApp.UnitTests.csproj
│ └── 📁 RocketScienceApp.IntegrationTests/
│ ├── 📄 AlienApiIntegrationTests.cs
│ └── 📄 RocketScienceApp.IntegrationTests.csproj
│
├── 📁 samples/ # Lightweight apps for manual testing
│ └── 📁 RocketScienceApp.Sample/
│ ├── 📄 Program.cs # Minimal example using RocketScienceApp
│ └── 📄 RocketScienceApp.Sample.csproj
│
├── 📁 docs/ # Project-related documentation
│ ├── 📄 AlienApiIntegrationDocument.md
|
├── 📁 artifacts/ # Build outputs
│
├── 📁 build/ # Build automation logic
│ ├── 📄 build.ps1 # PowerShell script for Windows builds
│ ├── 📄 build.sh # Bash script for Unix/Linux builds
│ └── 📄 build.yml # (Optional) GitHub Actions or CI build config
│
├── 📁 scripts/ # Reusable automation or helper scripts
│ ├── 📄 install-tools.ps1 # Set up local tools and dependencies
│ ├── 📄 setup-env.sh # Script to configure local environment variables
│ └── 📄 clean-temp.ps1 # Remove temporary files/artifacts
│
├── 📁 tools/ # External CLI tools and binaries tracked in repo
│ ├── 📁 ef/ # Entity Framework CLI
│ │ └── 📄 ef.exe
│ ├── 📁 swagger/ # Swagger/OpenAPI tools
│ │ └── 📄 swagger-codegen-cli.jar
│
├── 📁 deploy/ # Deployment configuration and IaC
│ ├── 📄 docker-compose.yml # Local dev stack: app, DB, etc.
│ ├── 📄 Dockerfile # Dockerfile for building RocketScienceApp image
│ ├── 📁 kubernetes/ # Kubernetes manifests
│ │ ├── 📄 deployment.yaml
│ │ ├── 📄 service.yaml
│ │ └── 📄 ingress.yaml
│ ├── 📁 terraform/ # Infrastructure setup via Terraform
│ │ ├── 📄 main.tf
│ │ ├── 📄 variables.tf
│ │ └── 📄 outputs.tf
│ ├── 📄 deploy-to-azure.ps1 # Azure deployment script
│ ├── 📄 deploy-to-aws.sh # AWS deployment script
│
├── 📄 .editorconfig # Helps to maintain a consistent style across the codebase
├── 📄 .gitignore # Ignore build artifacts, user secrets, etc.
├── 📄 Jenkinsfile # Jenkins pipeline definition for CI/CD
├── 📄 LICENSE # Defines the legal terms under which others can use, modify, and distribute your code
├── 📄 README.md # Project overview and setup instructions
├── 📄 RocketScienceApp.sln # Solution fileKeep in Mind
As mentioned earlier, this structure isn't "the only structure you'll ever need". You might tweak and modify it based on your preferences.
The files/subfolders within each folder can also vary depending on the specifications. For example, if you decide to use Clean Architecture, your src folder will include additional layers beyond what's shown here.
Pro Tip
Since the most of the components here are reusable, it's a good idea to turn it into a template. This can significantly reduce setup time whenever you start a new project. Check out Custom Templates for .NET for more information.
Additionally, you can also have separate README files in each folder containing guidelines, which will make it easier for new developers to set up and maintain the project.
References:
https://gist.github.com/georgekobaidze/da580c3450b341954ebbfc069f4d9003
