Local services & ports

Containers

SQL Server, Keycloak, Mailpit

Processes

The API and the Vite dev server

Defined in

AppointMe.Aspire/Program.cs, compose.yaml

Same in both

Images, host ports, credentials

The AppHost in src/AppointMe.Aspire/Program.cs starts three containers and two processes. compose.yaml starts the same three containers on the same host ports, with the same images and credentials, and leaves the API and the frontend to you. This page lists what each one runs, where to reach it and where its data lives; to start them, see the Quick start.

URLs

The app is at https://localhost:5173. Everything else is a tool for you, not for users.

Service	URL	Notes
API	https://localhost:7233, http://localhost:5179	The https launch profile. Aspire always uses it. With dotnet run, pass --launch-profile https.
Aspire dashboard	https://localhost:17082	Aspire only. Also http://localhost:15181, OTLP on https://localhost:21061, resource service on https://localhost:22014.
Frontend (the app)	https://localhost:5173	Vite+ dev server. Proxies /api, /signin-oidc and /admin to the API.
Hangfire dashboard	https://localhost:5173/admin/jobs	Super admins only (Authentication:SuperAdmins)
Keycloak	https://localhost:8082	Admin console, and the appointme realm at /realms/appointme
Mailpit web UI	http://localhost:8026	Every email Keycloak sends
OpenAPI document	https://localhost:7233/openapi/v1.json	Development only
SQL Server	localhost,60740	TDS, not HTTP

Under Aspire, the API and frontend ports come from launch profiles and endpoint settings, not from Docker. The API’s ports are in src/AppointMe.Api/Properties/launchSettings.json, the dashboard’s in src/AppointMe.Aspire/Properties/launchSettings.json. The AppHost pins the frontend to 5173 because the Keycloak redirect URIs and Frontend:BaseUrl expect exactly that origin.

Containers

Three images, with the same tags under Aspire and in compose.yaml. Dependabot doesn’t update container tags, so bump both by hand.

Service	Image	Host port → container port	Aspire resource	Compose service / container
Keycloak	quay.io/keycloak/keycloak:26.6	8082 → 8443 under Compose	keycloak	keycloak / appointme-keycloak
Mailpit	axllent/mailpit:v1.32.0	8026 → 8025 (web UI), 1026 → 1025 (SMTP)	Mailpit	mailpit / appointme-mailpit
SQL Server	mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2025-CU10-ubuntu-24.04	60740 → 1433	appointme-sql, database resource AppointMeSql	sqlserver / appointme-sql

Under Aspire, Keycloak’s image is the default of Aspire.Hosting.Keycloak 13.6.4-preview.1.26523.11, which is the same 26.6 tag; it moves when that package does. The AppHost names the host port 8082 and serves HTTPS on it when the dev certificate is trusted.

src/AppointMe.Aspire/Program.csView source ↗

var sqlServer = builder
    .AddSqlServer("appointme-sql", passwordParameter)
    .WithImage("mssql/server:2025-CU10-ubuntu-24.04")
    .WithHostPort(60740)
    .WithDataVolume()
    .WithLifetime(ContainerLifetime.Persistent);

Processes

Aspire runs the API and the frontend as local processes, not containers. Under Compose you start both yourself.

Process	Aspire resource	Started by	Reaches
API	appointme-api	AddProject<AppointMe_Api>(..., launchProfileName: "https")	SQL Server, Keycloak (OIDC and the admin API)
Frontend	appointme-frontend	AddViteApp(...), which runs npm install --no-save and then the dev script	The API, through the dev-server proxy

The frontend serves TLS with vite-plugin-mkcert, which makes its own local certificate. The API and Keycloak use the ASP.NET Core dev certificate.

Credentials

Every value here is a committed local default. Never reuse one in a deployed environment.

What	Value	Set in
Demo user (realm appointme)	demo@appointme.dev / AppointMe1	appointme-realm.json, and Demo:User in appsettings.Development.json
Keycloak admin (master realm)	admin / admin	The username and password parameters in Program.cs; KC_BOOTSTRAP_ADMIN_USERNAME and KC_BOOTSTRAP_ADMIN_PASSWORD in compose.yaml
Keycloak client appointme-api	A client secret	appointme-realm.json, and KeycloakAdmin:ClientSecret
Keycloak client appointme-frontend	A public client; the API still sends Authentication:Keycloak:FrontendClientSecret	appsettings.Development.json
SQL Server	sa / Password1	The sqlPassword parameter in Program.cs; MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD in compose.yaml

The API’s connection string when it runs outside Aspire:

src/AppointMe.Api/appsettings.Development.jsonView source ↗

"ConnectionStrings": {
  "AppointMeSql": "Server=localhost,60740;Database=AppointMe;User ID=sa;Password=Password1;TrustServerCertificate=True"
},

Under Aspire, WithReference(database) injects its own AppointMeSql connection string to the same container and database. The API’s tables live in the schemas identity, organizations, crm, booking, wolverine and hangfire of the AppointMe database.

Persistence

SQL Server and Keycloak keep their data in named volumes. Mailpit keeps nothing once its container is gone.

Service	Under Aspire	Under Compose	To reset
Keycloak	Volume AppointMe-Keycloak, persistent container	Volume keycloak-data (appointme_keycloak-data)	Remove the container and the volume. Needed to re-import an edited realm.
Mailpit	No volume, persistent container	No volume	Remove the container
SQL Server	A data volume named by Aspire (WithDataVolume()), persistent container	Volume sqlserver-data (appointme_sqlserver-data)	Remove the container and the volume. Migrations recreate the schema on the next start.

Aspire’s persistent containers keep running after you stop the AppHost, and the next run reuses them. Under Compose, docker compose stop keeps everything, docker compose down removes the containers but keeps the volumes, and docker compose down -v removes both.

How the services find each other

Containers talk to each other by name. The API and the frontend get their targets from Aspire, or from committed config when Aspire isn’t running.

From → to	Under Aspire	Under Compose
API → Keycloak	Authentication__Keycloak__Authority and KeycloakAdmin__BaseUrl, built from Keycloak’s endpoint	https://localhost:8082 in appsettings.Development.json
API → SQL Server	The AppointMeSql connection string from WithReference(database)	The connection string above
Frontend → API	services__appointme-api__https__0, which vite.config.ts prefers	VITE_API_PROXY_TARGET=https://localhost:7233 in .env.development
Keycloak → Mailpit	Host Mailpit, port 1025 (the realm’s smtpServer)	The same host, through the network alias Mailpit on the mailpit service

Only Keycloak sends email. The API has no SMTP client, so Mailpit’s host port 1026 is free for your own tools.

Why do Aspire and Compose share every port?1 min · optional

appsettings.Development.json, .env.development and the realm’s redirect URIs all name fixed local addresses. Keeping the host ports identical means one committed config works under both, and you can switch between them without editing a file.

The cost is that you can’t run both at once: Aspire’s persistent containers and the Compose containers claim the same host ports, so stop one set before starting the other.

Next

TutorialQuick start →ReferenceCommands →ReferenceTroubleshooting →