News Aggregator Backend API | ASP.NET Core, MySQL, GNews Integration (Free Download)

The News Aggregator Backend API is a robust, scalable solution built using ASP.NET Core 8.0 and Entity Framework Core with MySQL for database management. It provides secure user authentication via JWT tokens and allows users to register, login, and access personalized news feeds. The API integrates with the GNews external API to fetch and sync news articles in real-time and supports category-based filtering and search functionalities to enhance user experience. Admin users can manage news items, categories, users, and sync external news through the admin panel. Comprehensive role-based authorization safeguards feature access with proper authentication and permission handling.

Key Features:

• Secure JWT authentication for users and admins
• User registration and login endpoints
• Role-based access control with Admin and User roles
• Fetch, search, and filter news articles with pagination
• Sync news articles from GNews API (admin-only)
• Category management and filter support (general, world, business, technology, sports, etc.)
• Swagger/OpenAPI interactive API documentation
• Password hashing with BCrypt for security
• Robust error handling and logging with .NET built-in tools
• Export data via Excel reports (admin functionality)
• CORS enabled for frontend integration

Technologies Used:

• ASP.NET Core 8.0 Web API
• Entity Framework Core with MySQL
• JWT Bearer Token Authentication
• BCrypt Password Hashing
• Swagger/OpenAPI
• GNews API Integration
• MySQL Server 8.0+

Setup Requirements:

• .NET 8.0 SDK installed
• MySQL Server 8.0 or higher
• GNews API Key (obtain from https://gnews.io/)
• Provision database and update connection strings
• Typical development workflow using dotnet CLI commands for restore, migrate, and run

API Endpoints Include:

• Authentication: register, login, token validation, current user info
• News: retrieve news, search, category listing, sync external news
• Admin controls for managing categories, users, and news sync

Security Features:

• Role-based authorization for protected endpoints
• Password and token security with BCrypt and JWT
• Input validation and sanitization to safeguard against injection

Documentation & Testing:

• Use Swagger UI at the root URL for exploration and API testing

Default Credentials (for initial admin access):

• Email: admin@newsaggregator.com
• Password: admin123

Run Application:

• dotnet run command launches the API on localhost
• Accessible on HTTPS port 7000 and HTTP port 5000

This backend API offers a reliable foundation for building powerful news aggregator applications with modern security and extensibility best practices.