How to get user MetaData from user request on API?

Question

Anubhav Kumar · Answer

In .NET Core, you can extract user metadata from the HttpRequest object in an API controller. Here’s how you can access various types of metadata:
1. IP Address
To get the user's IP address:
var ipAddress = HttpContext.Connection.RemoteIpAddress?.ToString();
2. User Agent
To get the user agent string from the request headers:
var userAgent = HttpContext.Request.Headers["User-Agent"].ToString();
3. Request Headers
To access all headers:
foreach (var header in HttpContext.Request.Headers)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"{header.Key}: {header.Value}");
}
4. Referrer URL
To get the URL of the page that referred the user:
var referrer = HttpContext.Request.Headers["Referer"].ToString();
5. Authorization Information
To get the Authorization header (e.g., JWT or Bearer tokens):
var authorizationHeader = HttpContext.Request.Headers["Authorization"].ToString();
6. Query Parameters
To get query parameters:
var queryParams = HttpContext.Request.Query;
foreach (var param in queryParams)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"{param.Key}: {param.Value}");
}
7. Custom Metadata in Headers
If your client sends custom metadata in the headers (e.g., X-Custom-Metadata), you can access it like this:
var customMetadata = HttpContext.Request.Headers["X-Custom-Metadata"].ToString();
Example Controller
Here’s an example controller that gathers and returns metadata:
[ApiController]
[Route("api/[controller]")]
public class MetadataController : ControllerBase
{
    [HttpGet]
    public IActionResult GetMetadata()
    {
        var metadata = new
        {
            IpAddress = HttpContext.Connection.RemoteIpAddress?.ToString(),
            UserAgent = HttpContext.Request.Headers["User-Agent"].ToString(),
            Referrer = HttpContext.Request.Headers["Referer"].ToString(),
            Authorization = HttpContext.Request.Headers["Authorization"].ToString(),
            QueryParams = HttpContext.Request.Query.ToDictionary(q =andgt; q.Key, q =andgt; q.Value.ToString())
        };
        return Ok(metadata);
    }
}
and 
Notes
If the API is behind a proxy/load balancer, you might need to use forwarded headers to get the correct client IP. Enable and configure the
ForwardedHeaders middleware for this:
app.UseForwardedHeaders(new ForwardedHeadersOptions
{
    ForwardedHeaders = ForwardedHeaders.XForwardedFor | ForwardedHeaders.XForwardedProto
});
Ensure your middleware configuration matches your hosting setup (e.g., NGINX, IIS).
and 
Thanks for reading.

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How to get user MetaData from user request on API?

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Example Controller

Notes

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