---
title: "Before You Start a .NET Web API, Add These 3 Files"
url: https://daily.dev/posts/before-you-start-a-net-web-api-add-these-3-files-yfqv8ww9z
source_url: https://mwaseemzakir.substack.com/p/before-you-start-a-net-web-api-add
type: article
source: "Waseem .NET Newsletter"
published: 2026-08-01T07:09:28.404Z
updated: 2026-08-01T07:11:32.935Z
tags: [".net", "claude-code", "nuget"]
reading_time: 5
upvotes: 16
comments: 1
language: en
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Before You Start a .NET Web API, Add These 3 Files

**[Waseem .NET Newsletter](https://daily.dev/sources/mwaseemzakir)** · 5 min read · 16 upvotes · 1 comments

## Summary

Before writing the first endpoint in a .NET Web API project, three configuration files can prevent common team-scale problems. An `.editorconfig` enforces consistent code style across all developers, eliminating formatting debates in code reviews. A `Directory.Packages.props` file enables Central NuGet Package Management, keeping package versions consistent across all projects in a solution and reducing dependency conflicts. A `CLAUDE.md` file provides AI coding assistants like Claude Code with explicit project architecture rules, folder conventions, and prohibited actions — preventing the AI from making decisions that violate your design. A recommended setup order is provided, emphasizing that these foundational files should be added before any feature development begins.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://mwaseemzakir.substack.com/p/before-you-start-a-net-web-api-add>

## Community discussion

Top comments from developers on daily.dev.

**@agustinbarrientos** · 0 upvotes

> I'd want the repository to build cleanly before the first endpoint exists. [Directory.Build](http://Directory.Build).props can wait until the second project appears.

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Tags: [#.net](https://daily.dev/tags/.net), [#claude-code](https://daily.dev/tags/claude-code), [#nuget](https://daily.dev/tags/nuget)

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