FAQ
This page answers common questions about BlazorForge.
Installation and Requirements
Section titled “Installation and Requirements”What do I need to install BlazorForge?
Section titled “What do I need to install BlazorForge?”You need the .NET 9 SDK and a code editor. The .NET SDK is free and available from the official Microsoft download page. Any editor works, but Visual Studio 2022 Community, JetBrains Rider, and VS Code are the most common.
Do I need Node.js?
Section titled “Do I need Node.js?”No, unless you want to run Decap CMS in local mode. If you only want to run the theme, you do not need Node.js. If you want to edit content through the CMS while developing, install Node.js from the official website.
Does BlazorForge work on Windows, macOS, and Linux?
Section titled “Does BlazorForge work on Windows, macOS, and Linux?”Yes. The .NET SDK is available for all three platforms, and BlazorForge has no operating-system-specific code.
How much disk space does BlazorForge need?
Section titled “How much disk space does BlazorForge need?”About fifty megabytes after extraction. After the first build, it grows to about two hundred megabytes because of compiled binaries and the NuGet cache. Plan for at least five hundred megabytes of free space.
Running the Site
Section titled “Running the Site”How do I run BlazorForge?
Section titled “How do I run BlazorForge?”Open a terminal in the project folder and run dotnet run. Wait for the terminal to print Now listening on: http://localhost:5052, then open that URL in your browser.
Why is the first run so slow?
Section titled “Why is the first run so slow?”The first run restores NuGet packages, compiles the project, and downloads the .NET WebAssembly runtime. It takes one to three minutes. Subsequent runs take five to ten seconds.
How do I stop the server?
Section titled “How do I stop the server?”Press Ctrl + C in the terminal where the server is running.
How do I change the port?
Section titled “How do I change the port?”Edit Properties/launchSettings.json and change the number in the applicationUrl field. For example, change http://localhost:5052 to http://localhost:5053.
Why do I see “The ASP.NET Core developer certificate is not trusted”?
Section titled “Why do I see “The ASP.NET Core developer certificate is not trusted”?”This is a warning, not an error. The site runs normally. To trust the certificate permanently, run dotnet dev-certs https --trust in a terminal and click Yes when prompted.
Content Management
Section titled “Content Management”Where is the content stored?
Section titled “Where is the content stored?”All content is stored as Markdown and JSON files. Journal articles, service pages, and static pages are Markdown files in wwwroot/content/. Site configuration, SEO defaults, navigation, footer, and widgets are JSON files in wwwroot/data/.
Do I need a database?
Section titled “Do I need a database?”No. BlazorForge does not use a database. Content is stored in plain files.
How do I edit content?
Section titled “How do I edit content?”You can edit content two ways. The first is to open the Markdown and JSON files directly with a text editor. The second is to use Decap CMS, a browser-based admin panel included with BlazorForge.
Do I need to restart the server after editing content?
Section titled “Do I need to restart the server after editing content?”Yes. After editing a Markdown file, stop the server with Ctrl + C and run dotnet run again. The Markdown compiler regenerates the metadata, and the changes appear after you refresh the browser.
Can I edit content without touching code?
Section titled “Can I edit content without touching code?”Yes. Decap CMS provides a browser-based editor for every piece of content. Non-developers can edit articles, service pages, site settings, and navigation without opening a single file.
Where do uploaded images go?
Section titled “Where do uploaded images go?”Images uploaded through Decap CMS are stored in wwwroot/images/uploads/. The path is filled into the field automatically as /images/uploads/filename.jpg.
Decap CMS
Section titled “Decap CMS”What is Decap CMS?
Section titled “What is Decap CMS?”Decap CMS is a free, open-source admin panel. It provides a browser-based editor for content stored as Markdown and JSON files.
Do I need a GitHub account to use Decap CMS?
Section titled “Do I need a GitHub account to use Decap CMS?”Not if you use Netlify Identity. With Netlify Identity and Git Gateway, editors log in with an email and password. No GitHub account is required.
What is the difference between local mode and online mode?
Section titled “What is the difference between local mode and online mode?”In local mode, the CMS runs on your development machine and saves changes directly to your working directory. It requires the decap-server tool. In online mode, the CMS runs on the deployed site and saves changes to GitHub through Netlify Identity and Git Gateway.
How do I switch between local and online mode?
Section titled “How do I switch between local and online mode?”The only change is one line in wwwroot/admin/config.yml. Set local_backend: true for local mode. Set local_backend: false for online mode.
Why is my CMS login page blank?
Section titled “Why is my CMS login page blank?”The most common cause is a missing or incorrect Netlify Identity widget script in wwwroot/admin/index.html. Verify that the widget script is loaded in the head section and the redirect script is present before the closing body tag.
Why does the CMS say “Not Found”?
Section titled “Why does the CMS say “Not Found”?”Verify that the URL ends with a trailing slash. For example, https://yoursite.com/admin/, not https://yoursite.com/admin.
Deployment
Section titled “Deployment”Where can I deploy BlazorForge?
Section titled “Where can I deploy BlazorForge?”BlazorForge deploys as static files. It works on Netlify, Cloudflare Pages, Vercel, Azure Static Web Apps, GitHub Pages, Firebase Hosting, and any static host that serves HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and WebAssembly files.
Which platform is recommended?
Section titled “Which platform is recommended?”Netlify is recommended because it includes Netlify Identity and Git Gateway, which are needed for online Decap CMS. Cloudflare Pages is faster at serving static files but does not include an identity system.
Why does the Netlify build fail with “dotnet: command not found”?
Section titled “Why does the Netlify build fail with “dotnet: command not found”?”Netlify may not have the correct .NET version. The project includes a build.sh file that installs .NET 9 before building. Verify that netlify.toml uses chmod +x build.sh && ./build.sh as the build command.
Why do I get 404 on refresh?
Section titled “Why do I get 404 on refresh?”This is a routing issue. The netlify.toml file must include a redirect rule that sends all routes to index.html with status 200. Verify that the redirect is present.
How long does a deploy take?
Section titled “How long does a deploy take?”The first build takes three to five minutes because the build agent downloads and installs the .NET SDK. Subsequent builds take two to three minutes.
Customization
Section titled “Customization”Can I change the colors?
Section titled “Can I change the colors?”Yes. All colors are CSS variables defined at the top of wwwroot/css/style.css. Change --color-primary to your brand color and the entire site updates.
Can I change the site name and logo?
Section titled “Can I change the site name and logo?”Yes. Edit wwwroot/data/site.json. The name, tagline, and logo fields control the header and footer.
Can I add new pages?
Section titled “Can I add new pages?”Yes. Create a Markdown file in wwwroot/content/ with the appropriate frontmatter, then create a Razor page in Pages/. The Developer Guide covers this in detail.
Can I add dark mode?
Section titled “Can I add dark mode?”BlazorForge does not include dark mode out of the box. You can add it by extending the CSS variables and adding a theme toggle. The Developer Guide includes a starting point.
Can I add multi-language support?
Section titled “Can I add multi-language support?”BlazorForge does not include multi-language support out of the box. You can add it by duplicating content into language-specific folders and updating the routing logic.
Licensing
Section titled “Licensing”What does the license allow?
Section titled “What does the license allow?”The license allows unlimited personal and commercial projects. You can use BlazorForge for client work, SaaS products, and internal enterprise applications. You can modify the source code for your projects.
What does the license not allow?
Section titled “What does the license not allow?”You may not resell or redistribute BlazorForge as a theme, template, or boilerplate. You may not share the source code publicly. You may not claim authorship of the original design.
Can I use BlazorForge for multiple client projects?
Section titled “Can I use BlazorForge for multiple client projects?”Yes. The license covers unlimited projects. There is no per-project fee.
Is there a refund policy?
Section titled “Is there a refund policy?”Yes. BlazorForge comes with a fourteen-day money-back guarantee. If the theme does not meet your needs, email axcora@gmail.com within fourteen days of purchase for a full refund.
Updates and Support
Section titled “Updates and Support”How do I get updates?
Section titled “How do I get updates?”Updates are delivered through your Gumroad purchase. You receive an email whenever a new version is released, with a download link to the latest package. Updates are free for life.
Is support included?
Section titled “Is support included?”Email support is included with every purchase. Response time is typically within one business day.
Where can I get custom work?
Section titled “Where can I get custom work?”For custom .NET development, AI automation, or documentation sites, hire our team directly on Fiverr. Links are in the sidebar under Services.
What if I find a bug?
Section titled “What if I find a bug?”Email axcora@gmail.com with a description of the bug, the steps to reproduce it, and the error message if any. Bug fixes are included in future updates.
Technical
Section titled “Technical”Does BlazorForge use JavaScript?
Section titled “Does BlazorForge use JavaScript?”BlazorForge uses Blazor WebAssembly, which requires the .NET WebAssembly runtime. It does not use any third-party JavaScript libraries. There is no React, Vue, or jQuery.
What .NET versions are supported?
Section titled “What .NET versions are supported?”BlazorForge is tested and supported on .NET 8 LTS and .NET 9.
Does BlazorForge work with Blazor Server?
Section titled “Does BlazorForge work with Blazor Server?”Yes. The Razor components work in Blazor Server, Blazor WebAssembly, and Interactive Auto render modes.
Does BlazorForge work with MAUI Blazor Hybrid?
Section titled “Does BlazorForge work with MAUI Blazor Hybrid?”Yes. The Razor components work in .NET MAUI Blazor Hybrid applications for Windows, macOS, and mobile.
How is SEO handled?
Section titled “How is SEO handled?”BlazorForge generates meta descriptions, keywords, canonical URLs, Open Graph tags, Twitter Card tags, and JSON-LD structured data automatically. The Markdown compiler also generates sitemap.xml, feed.xml, and robots.txt on every build.
Does BlazorForge work with prerendering?
Section titled “Does BlazorForge work with prerendering?”BlazorForge works with static prerendering through the BlazorWasmPreRendering.Build package. See the Developer Guide for setup instructions.
Next Steps
Section titled “Next Steps”If your question is not answered here, email axcora@gmail.com.
For developer-focused questions, see the Developer Guide starting at Architecture Overview.