Add Aspire AppHost template, CleanArgs API, and coreex-domain naming fixes

[chullybun]

Summary

Three independent pieces of work landed on this branch:

• Aspire AppHost template (coreex-aspire) — a new dotnet new addon that scaffolds a .NET Aspire AppHost orchestrating a solution's Api/Relay/Subscribe hosts for local development, with dashboard sugar (health-check links, pause/resume-all-services buttons). Docs, skill workflow, and validate-template-pack.ps1 scenarios updated to match.

• CleanArgs API — Cleaner.Clean<T> now accepts a CleanArgs parameter controlling opt-in null/default collapsing (CleanAndDefaultRoot/CleanAndDefaultNested), decoupled from the previous implicit default-collapsing behavior. ChangeLog is registered CleanAndDefault by default; everything else defaults to plain Clean (no collapsing). Includes new unit test coverage across Cleaner, CleanArgs, RuntimeMetadata, and web API request validation.

• coreex-domain naming fix + documentation hardening — fixes a real bug where coreex-domain's sourceName didn't carry the .Domain suffix used by every other addon template, causing the generated project's Contracts reference to resolve incorrectly depending on how you invoked it. template.json now derives solution-name/domain-name/solution-parent-name symbols consistently with the other templates, and the .csproj reference uses the derived symbol instead of a hardcoded literal. A regression scenario was added to validate-template-pack.ps1 that scaffolds a real sibling Contracts project and builds against it, since a standalone scaffold can't catch a dangling reference.

  Alongside the naming fix, several documentation gaps identified during scaffold testing were closed:

  • $/$^ merge-prefix seed data guidance (coreex-tooling.instructions.md, samples/docs/tooling.md) now explicitly restricts merge to reference/lookup-shaped tables — it's unsafe for transactional/master tables carrying audit columns, concurrency tokens, IsDeleted, or FK-heavy business columns.
  • CodeGen is now documented as mandatory before the first dotnet run when reference data is enabled (not "optional verification") — running a host with ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Development before CodeGen has ever run throws a DI-validation exception at startup, since IReferenceDataRepository has no registration until CodeGen emits it.
  • New guidance for re-running CodeGen after adding an API host to a solution where CodeGen already ran once — CodeGen only emits the reference-data controller into an *.Api project that exists at generation time, silently skipping it (a log warning, not an error) otherwise.
  • Clarified that Domain-layer adoption is per-aggregate, not all-or-nothing — CRUD-oriented entities can coexist with full DDD aggregates in the same domain.

Test plan

• validate-template-pack.ps1 run locally — 19/19 scenarios pass, including the new coreex-domain-regression scenario
• coreex-domain naming fix verified empirically: fresh scaffold with -n App.Domain now resolves App.Contracts correctly
• DI-startup-crash claim reproduced empirically (fresh scaffold, refdata enabled, CodeGen skipped, ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Development) to confirm the new documentation accurately describes the failure mode
• New CleanArgs/Cleaner/RuntimeMetadata unit tests pass
• Reviewer: confirm CleanArgs default-behavior change (Clean instead of implicit collapsing, ChangeLog excepted) doesn't affect existing consumers relying on the old default

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Adds a new coreex-aspire add-on template for generating an Aspire AppHost, introduces a CleanArgs parameter to make Cleaner.Clean<T> default-collapsing explicitly opt-in, and fixes coreex-domain template naming/symbol derivation so the .Domain suffix behaves consistently with other add-on templates.

Changes:

• Added the coreex-aspire template and updated template pack docs + validation scenarios to scaffold/build it in composite runs.
• Introduced CleanArgs and updated Cleaner/RuntimeMetadata/WebApi request cleaning behavior, plus new/updated unit tests.
• Fixed coreex-domain sourceName/derived symbols and hardened scaffolding docs and guidance to prevent common generation/runtime pitfalls.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 51 out of 55 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
tools/validate-template-pack.ps1	Adds composite scaffolding/build scenarios and negative content assertions.
tests/CoreEx.Test.Unit/Runtime/RuntimeMetadataTests.cs	Expands cleaning tests to cover CleanArgs root/nested behavior and ChangeLog defaults.
tests/CoreEx.Test.Unit/Entities/CleanerTests.cs	Adds unit coverage for new default clean option behavior and per-type overrides.
tests/CoreEx.Test.Unit/Entities/CleanArgsTests.cs	New unit tests for CleanArgs defaults and init behavior.
tests/CoreEx.AspNetCore.Test.Unit/PersonApi_MutateTestsBase.cs	Adds request-validation coverage for empty request bodies.
tests/CoreEx.AspNetCore.Test.Api/Services/PersonService.cs	Ensures service-level identifier requirement aligns with request validation expectations.
src/CoreEx/Metadata/RuntimeMetadata.Clean.cs	Adds CleanArgs plumbing and opt-in default collapsing for CleanAndDefault.
src/CoreEx/Metadata/PropertyRuntimeMetadata.cs	Threads CleanArgs into property cleaning and aligns default clean option lookup.
src/CoreEx/Metadata/IPropertyRuntimeMetadata.cs	Updates interface to pass CleanArgs during cleaning.
src/CoreEx/Mapping/IMapperT.cs	Formatting-only change (trailing newline/brace alignment).
src/CoreEx/Mapping/BiDirectionMapperT2.cs	Formatting-only change (trailing newline/brace alignment).
src/CoreEx/Entities/README.md	Documents CleanArgs in the entities package overview.
src/CoreEx/Entities/Cleaner.cs	Adds CleanArgs support, per-type clean options registry, and changes default clean option to Clean.
src/CoreEx/Entities/CleanArgs.cs	New CleanArgs struct controlling root/nested default-collapsing behavior.
src/CoreEx/Entities/ChangeLog.cs	Formatting-only change (trailing newline/brace alignment).
src/CoreEx.Validation/Abstractions/SelfRuntimeMetadata.cs	Updates IPropertyRuntimeMetadata implementation to new signature.
src/CoreEx.Template/README.md	Updates template pack documentation for coreex-aspire and coreex-domain naming fix.
src/CoreEx.Template/CoreEx.Template.csproj	Packs the new CoreEx.Aspire template’s template.json directly.
src/CoreEx.Template/content/CoreEx.Subscribe/src/app-name.Subscribe/Program.cs	Fixes conditional usings for symbol-dependent compilation.
src/CoreEx.Template/content/CoreEx.Subscribe/src/app-name.Subscribe/GlobalUsing.cs	Guards global usings behind template symbols to prevent invalid references.
src/CoreEx.Template/content/CoreEx.Domain/src/app-name.Domain/app-name.Domain.csproj	Fixes Contracts ProjectReference to use derived solution-name symbol.
src/CoreEx.Template/content/CoreEx.Domain/.template.config/template.json	Corrects sourceName to include .Domain and adds derived symbols.
src/CoreEx.Template/content/CoreEx.Core/README.md	Strengthens CodeGen guidance (required before first dotnet run when refdata enabled).
src/CoreEx.Template/content/CoreEx.Core/AGENTS.md	Updates domain add-on invocation guidance to require .Domain suffix.
src/CoreEx.Template/content/CoreEx.Aspire/src/app-name.Aspire/Properties/launchSettings.json	Adds launch profiles and Aspire dashboard environment wiring.
src/CoreEx.Template/content/CoreEx.Aspire/src/app-name.Aspire/Extensions.cs	Adds dashboard “sugar” extensions (endpoints + hosted-service commands).
src/CoreEx.Template/content/CoreEx.Aspire/src/app-name.Aspire/appsettings.json	Adds basic logging defaults for AppHost.
src/CoreEx.Template/content/CoreEx.Aspire/src/app-name.Aspire/appsettings.Development.json	Adds empty development config stub.
src/CoreEx.Template/content/CoreEx.Aspire/src/app-name.Aspire/AppHost.cs	New AppHost orchestration wiring with host inclusion flags.
src/CoreEx.Template/content/CoreEx.Aspire/src/app-name.Aspire/app-name.Aspire.csproj	New AppHost project with conditional host ProjectReferences and CVE override.
src/CoreEx.Template/content/CoreEx.Aspire/src/app-name.Aspire/AGENTS.md	Adds AppHost-specific agent guidance and safe update instructions.
src/CoreEx.Template/content/CoreEx.Aspire/.template.config/template.json	New coreex-aspire template definition with symbols and port generators.
src/CoreEx.Template/content/CoreEx.Api/src/app-name.Api/Program.cs	Guards symbol-dependent using to prevent compilation issues.
src/CoreEx.Template/content/CoreEx.Api/src/app-name.Api/GlobalUsing.cs	Guards database global using behind has-data-provider.
src/CoreEx.DomainDriven/AGENTS.md	Documents per-aggregate Domain-layer adoption (not all-or-nothing).
src/CoreEx.Database/Abstractions/DatabaseArgs.cs	Formatting-only change (trailing newline/brace alignment).
src/CoreEx.AspNetCore/WebApiRequestResponseOptions.cs	Updates request cleaning call to use explicit CleanArgs.Default.
src/CoreEx.AspNetCore/WebApiRequestOptions.cs	Updates request cleaning call to use explicit CleanArgs.Default.
src/CoreEx.AspNetCore/Abstractions/IWebApiRequestOptions.cs	Updates docs to reference new Cleaner.Clean<T>(..., CleanArgs) overload.
samples/tests/Contoso.Products.Test.Api/ProductMutateTests.Create.cs	Adds API test for empty create request validation.
samples/docs/tooling.md	Clarifies safe usage boundaries for DbEx $/$^ merge seed data.
samples/docs/hosts-layer.md	Adds guidance on split vs consolidated host topology.
samples/docs/domain-layer.md	Clarifies Domain-layer adoption can be per-aggregate.
docs/getting-started.md	Updates onboarding to mark CodeGen as required before first run when refdata enabled.
.github/skills/coreex-solution-scaffolder/SKILL.md	Updates scaffolding skill to include optional Aspire AppHost guidance and naming rules.
.github/skills/coreex-solution-scaffolder/references/workflow.md	Adds interview step and workflow routing for optional Aspire AppHost.
.github/skills/coreex-aggregate/SKILL.md	Documents per-aggregate adoption guidance in aggregate skill.
.github/skills/coreex-aggregate/references/workflow.md	Updates Domain-layer creation command example to include .Domain suffix.
.github/prompts/coreex-scaffold.prompt.md	Updates prompt metadata to include Aspire AppHost option.
.github/instructions/coreex-tooling.instructions.md	Adds explicit warning about $/$^ merge limitations for non-lookup tables.
.github/instructions/coreex-host-setup.instructions.md	Adds split-vs-consolidate guidance reference.
.github/instructions/coreex-domain.instructions.md	Adds per-aggregate adoption guidance.
.github/copilot-instructions.md	Adds reminder to validate template changes via validate-template-pack.ps1 and updates template list.
.github/agents/coreex-expert.agent.md	Updates agent routing guidance to mention Aspire orchestration.
.claude/commands/coreex-scaffold.md	Updates scaffold command metadata to include Aspire AppHost option.

---

💡 Add a code-review agent skill or configure MCP servers for context-aware, tailored reviews. Learn more in the docs.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 52 out of 56 changed files in this pull request and generated no new comments.

Suppressed comments (2)

src/CoreEx/Entities/Cleaner.cs:18

• ResetDefaults() now leaves CleanOptions (the new mutable per-type registry) untouched and the XML summary doesn’t reflect that it also resets DefaultDateTimeTransform/DefaultCleanOption. Because CleanerTests calls ResetDefaults() in [SetUp], any test (or consumer) that mutates CleanOptions and fails before cleanup can leak global state into later tests/runs. Consider resetting CleanOptions back to the built-in defaults (and updating the summary) so ResetDefaults() truly restores default behavior.
  src/CoreEx/Metadata/RuntimeMetadata.Clean.cs:16
• The XML remarks say only value-type collection/dictionary entries are “unable to be cleaned/replaced,” but the implementation never replaces/nuls out entries at all (it only cleans nested object graphs). With the new CleanArgs.CleanAndDefaultNested, this can mislead callers into thinking default-collapsing will apply to items inside lists/dictionaries/arrays.