Building reliable, maintainable, and production-ready apps with ASP.NET Core requires handling exceptions globally. A centralized method guarantees consistent error handling and cleaner code as opposed to dispersing try-catch blocks among controllers and services.

Why Global Exception Handling Matters

• Provides consistent error responses
• Prevents application crashes
• Improves debugging and logging
• Keeps controllers and services clean

Approach 1: Using Custom Middleware
Middleware is the most common and recommended way to handle exceptions globally.

Step 1: Create Exception Middleware
using System.Net;
using System.Text.Json;

public class ExceptionMiddleware
{
    private readonly RequestDelegate _next;

    public ExceptionMiddleware(RequestDelegate next)
    {
        _next = next;
    }

    public async Task InvokeAsync(HttpContext context)
    {
        try
        {
            await _next(context);
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            await HandleExceptionAsync(context, ex);
        }
    }

    private static Task HandleExceptionAsync(HttpContext context, Exception exception)
    {
        context.Response.ContentType = "application/json";
        context.Response.StatusCode = (int)HttpStatusCode.InternalServerError;

        var response = new
        {
            message = "An unexpected error occurred.",
            detail = exception.Message
        };

        return context.Response.WriteAsync(JsonSerializer.Serialize(response));
    }
}

Step 2: Register Middleware in Pipeline
app.UseMiddleware<ExceptionMiddleware>();

Place this middleware early in the pipeline so it can catch exceptions from all components.

Approach 2: Built-in Exception Handling Middleware
ASP.NET Core provides built-in support for exception handling.
if (!app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
{
    app.UseExceptionHandler("/error");
}

You can define a centralized error endpoint:
app.Map("/error", (HttpContext context) =>
{
    return Results.Problem("An error occurred.");
});

Approach 3: Using Filters (For MVC)
Exception filters can be used in MVC applications.
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Filters;

public class GlobalExceptionFilter : IExceptionFilter
{
    public void OnException(ExceptionContext context)
    {
        context.Result = new ObjectResult(new
        {
            message = "Error occurred"
        })
        {
            StatusCode = 500
        };
    }
}

Register it in Program.cs:
builder.Services.AddControllers(options =>
{
    options.Filters.Add<GlobalExceptionFilter>();
});

Best Practices

1. Do not expose sensitive error details in production
2. Use structured logging (Serilog, NLog, etc.)
3. Return standardized error responses
4. Handle known exceptions separately (e.g., validation errors)

Real-World Example
In a production API:

• Middleware handles all unexpected exceptions
• Logging captures stack traces
• Clients receive clean JSON responses

Example response:

{
  "message": "An unexpected error occurred."
}

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Writing try-catch in every controller
• Exposing stack traces to users
• Not logging exceptions
• Registering middleware in the wrong order

Conclusion
Global exception handling in ASP.NET Core simplifies error management and improves application stability. By using middleware or built-in handlers, you can centralize error handling logic, provide consistent responses, and build more maintainable applications.

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