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Find the name of the ASP.NET process

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To debug a running ASP.NET app, the Visual Studio debugger must attach to the ASP.NET process by name.

To find out which process is running an ASP.NET app:

  1. With the app running, in Visual Studio, select Debug > Attach to Process.

  2. In the Attach to Process dialog, type the first letters of process names from the following list, or enter them into the search box. The one that is running is the one running the ASP.NET app. Attach to that process to debug the app.

    • w3wp.exe is for ASP.NET and also for ASP.NET Core when using the in-process hosting model (IIS 6.0 and later).
    • appname.exe is for ASP.NET Core running on the kestrel server (local default).
    • iisexpress.exe is for IISExpress.
    • dotnet.exe is for ASP.NET Core for the out-of-process hosting model.
    • aspnet_wp.exe* is for ASP.NET running on IIS before IIS 6.0.
    • inetinfo.exe is for older ASP applications running in-process.

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