Entity Framework Core code-first approach: database not being created automatically

Question

I'm having an issue with Entity Framework Core while trying to use the code-first approach.

I want the database to be automatically created when I run the code, but it's not happening.

If I don't create the database beforehand, I get an error stating that the relevant table cannot be found.

Here's my context file:

public class IBKSContext : DbContext
{
    protected override void OnConfiguring(DbContextOptionsBuilder optionsBuilder)
    {
        optionsBuilder.UseSqlServer(@"Server=(localdb)\MSSQLLocalDB;Database=DataAccess.Contexts.IBKSContext;Trusted_Connection=True;MultipleActiveResultSets=true");
    }

    public DbSet<Api> Apis { get; set; }
    public DbSet<Calibration> Calibrations { get; set; }
    public DbSet<Channel> Channels { get; set; }
    public DbSet<DB12> DB12s { get; set; }
}

NuGet packages installed in my project:

Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore 7.0.8
Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Design 7.0.8
Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer 7.0.8
Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Tools 7.0.8

I'd appreciate your help. I'm not sure how to proceed, but I really need to get this working.

Thank you in advance for your responses.

Answer 1

You could call the method context.Database.EnsureCreated() to create the database if it does not exist (see MS documentation).