A LESS compiler for ASP.NET Core using dotless

This package compiles LESS files into CSS by hooking into the LigerShark.WebOptimizer pipeline.

Versions

Master (Version >= 3.0) is being updated for ASP.NET Core 3.x.

For ASP.NET Core 2.x, use the latest 1.0.10 Tag or NuGet Package.

Install

Add the NuGet package codeessentials.WebOptimizer.Dotless to any ASP.NET Core project supporting .NET Standard 2.0 or higher.

> dotnet add package codeessentials.WebOptimizer.Dotless

Versions

Version	Support
>= 3.x	ASP.Net Core 3.0 and above
<= 1.0.10	netstandard2.0 (ASP.NET Core 2.x)

Usage

Here's an example of how to compile a.less and b.less from inside the wwwroot folder and bundle them into a single .css file called /all.css:

In Startup.cs, modify the ConfigureServices method:

public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
{
    services.AddMvc();
    services.AddWebOptimizer(pipeline =>
    {
        pipeline.AddLessBundle("/all.css", "a.less", "b.less");
    });
}

...and add app.UseWebOptimizer() to the Configure method anywhere before app.UseStaticFiles, like so:

public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IHostingEnvironment env)
{
    if (env.IsDevelopment())
    {
        app.UseDeveloperExceptionPage();
    }

    app.UseWebOptimizer();

    app.UseStaticFiles();
    app.UseMvc(routes =>
    {
        routes.MapRoute(
            name: "default",
            template: "{controller=Home}/{action=Index}/{id?}");
    });
}

Now the path http://domain/all.css will return a compiled, bundled and minified CSS document based on the two source files.

You can also reference any .less files directly in the browser (http://domain/a.less) and a compiled and minified CSS document will be served. To set that up, do this:

services.AddWebOptimizer(pipeline =>
{
    pipeline.CompileLessFiles();
});

Or if you just want to limit what .less files will be compiled, do this:

services.AddWebOptimizer(pipeline =>
{
    pipeline.CompileLessFiles("/path/file1.less", "/path/file2.less");
});

Setup TagHelpers

In _ViewImports.cshtml register the TagHelpers by adding @addTagHelper *, WebOptimizer.Core to the file. It may look something like this:

@addTagHelper *, WebOptimizer.Core
@addTagHelper *, Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.TagHelpers