ln-773-cors-configurator
Type: L3 Worker
Category: 7XX Project Bootstrap
Configures Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) policy with security-first approach.
Overview
| Aspect | Details |
|---|
| Input | Context Store from ln-770 |
| Output | CORS configuration with environment-specific policies |
| Stacks | .NET (ASP.NET Core CORS), Python (FastAPI CORSMiddleware) |
Phase 1: Receive Context
Accept Context Store from coordinator.
Required Context:
STACK: .NET or Python
PROJECT_ROOT: Project directory path
ENVIRONMENT: Development or Production
Idempotency Check:
- .NET: Grep for
AddCors or UseCors
- Python: Grep for
CORSMiddleware
- If found: Return
{ "status": "skipped" }
Phase 2: Analyze Project Structure
Determine frontend configuration.
Detection Steps:
- Check for frontend in same repository (
/frontend, /client, /web)
- Read
.env or appsettings.json for CORS_ORIGINS
- Identify common frontend ports (3000, 5173, 4200)
Detected Frontend Origins:
Phase 3: Decision Points
Q1: Allowed Origins
| Environment | Strategy |
|---|
| Development | Allow localhost origins (configurable) |
| Production | Explicit origins from environment variables only |
Security Warning: Never use * (wildcard) with credentials.
Q2: Allowed Methods
| Method | Default | Notes |
|---|
| GET | ✓ Yes | Read operations |
| POST | ✓ Yes | Create operations |
| PUT | ✓ Yes | Update operations |
| DELETE | ✓ Yes | Delete operations |
| PATCH | Optional | Partial updates |
| OPTIONS | ✓ Yes | Preflight requests (automatic) |
Q3: Credentials Support
| Scenario | AllowCredentials | Notes |
|---|
| Cookie-based auth | ✓ Yes | Required for cookies |
| JWT in header | ✗ No | Not needed |
| OAuth2 | Depends | Check documentation |
Warning: AllowCredentials = true prohibits * origin.
Q4: Preflight Cache Duration
| Environment | MaxAge | Rationale |
|---|
| Development | 0 | Immediate config changes |
| Production | 86400 (24h) | Reduce preflight requests |
Phase 4: Generate Configuration
.NET Output Files
| File | Purpose |
|---|
Extensions/CorsExtensions.cs | CORS service registration |
appsettings.json (update) | Origins configuration |
appsettings.Development.json (update) | Dev origins |
Generation Process:
- Use MCP ref for current ASP.NET Core CORS API
- Generate CorsExtensions with:
- Development policy (permissive)
- Production policy (restrictive)
- Environment-based policy selection
- Update appsettings with CORS:Origins
Registration Code:
builder.Services.AddCorsPolicy(builder.Configuration);
// ...
app.UseCors(builder.Environment.IsDevelopment() ? "Development" : "Production");
Python Output Files
| File | Purpose |
|---|
middleware/cors_config.py | CORS middleware configuration |
.env (update) | CORS_ORIGINS variable |
Generation Process:
- Use MCP ref for FastAPI CORSMiddleware
- Generate cors_config.py with:
- Origin parsing from environment
- Method and header configuration
- Credentials handling
- Update .env with CORS_ORIGINS
Registration Code:
from middleware.cors_config import configure_cors
configure_cors(app)
Phase 5: Validate
Validation Steps:
-
Syntax check:
- .NET:
dotnet build --no-restore
- Python:
python -m py_compile middleware/cors_config.py
-
CORS test:
# Test preflight request
curl -X OPTIONS http://localhost:5000/api/test \
-H "Origin: http://localhost:3000" \
-H "Access-Control-Request-Method: POST" \
-v
-
Verify headers:
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: Should match request origin
Access-Control-Allow-Methods: Should list allowed methods
Access-Control-Allow-Credentials: true (if enabled)
Access-Control-Max-Age: Cache duration
Security Checklist
Before completing, verify:
Return to Coordinator
{
"status": "success",
"files_created": [
"Extensions/CorsExtensions.cs"
],
"packages_added": [],
"registration_code": "builder.Services.AddCorsPolicy(configuration);",
"message": "Configured CORS with Development and Production policies"
}
Reference Links
Critical Rules
- Never use wildcard
* origin with credentials — security violation per CORS spec
- Production origins from environment variables only — no hardcoded URLs in code
- Separate Development and Production policies — permissive locally, restrictive in production
- Idempotent — if
AddCors/UseCors or CORSMiddleware exists, return status: "skipped"
- Enable preflight caching in Production — MaxAge 86400 (24h) to reduce OPTIONS requests
Definition of Done
Version: 2.0.0
Last Updated: 2026-01-10