Bits of .NET

⚡ 70% Smaller Responses, Same Content

JSON responses are text. Text compresses well. Response compression GZIPs responses automatically. Faster downloads, less bandwidth.

📝 Enable Compression

// Program.cs
builder.Services.AddResponseCompression(options =>
{
    options.EnableForHttps = true;
    options.Providers.Add();
    options.Providers.Add();
    options.MimeTypes = ResponseCompressionDefaults.MimeTypes.Concat(
        new[] { "application/json", "text/plain" }
    );
});

builder.Services.Configure(options =>
{
    options.Level = CompressionLevel.Optimal;  // Fastest, Optimal, NoCompression
});

var app = builder.Build();
app.UseResponseCompression();

// Now all responses are compressed automatically

🎯 Verify Compression

// Check response headers
// Content-Encoding: gzip
// Vary: Accept-Encoding

// Curl test
curl -H "Accept-Encoding: gzip" https://localhost:5001/api/data --compressed

// Browser DevTools → Network tab
// Response headers show Content-Encoding: gzip
// Size column shows compressed size vs original

// Disable compression for specific endpoint
[HttpGet, SkipStatusCodePages]
public IActionResult Get()
{
    HttpContext.Features.Get()?.Disable();
    return Ok(data);
}

💡 Benefits

• Text responses compress 60-80% (HTML, CSS, JS, JSON, XML)
• Images and binaries already compressed (no benefit)
• Works with CDNs (they respect Vary header)
• Reduces bandwidth costs
• Improves load times on slow connections