ASP.NET Core's middleware pipeline is one of the most elegant parts of the framework, yet most of us only use the defaults. Thing is, there's a bunch of built-in middleware that ships with ASP.NET Core but isn't wired up by default. UseResponseCompression, UseRequestDecompression, UseResponseCaching, UseRequestLocalization, UseRequestTimeouts, UseOutputCache, UseRateLimiter, UseStatusCodePages are all there, waiting to be discovered.

In this session, we'll explore these overlooked middlewares, understand when to use (and when to avoid) each one, and build a few custom middleware components live on stage. Think Server-Timing headers for browser DevTools, a feature flag gate, and request body buffering, with each small enough to understand in minutes, useful enough to drop into your project tomorrow.

You'll leave with a new appreciation for what ASP.NET Core gives you out of the box, and the patterns to extend it when it doesn't.