We're diving into a real-world example of using Custom Middleware to authenticate users before accessing controller action methods in .NET 8 Web API. 💻 Whether you're securing your API endpoints or enhancing your authentication strategy, this tutorial will give you practical insights and hands-on experience. Stay tuned as we explore the power of Custom Middleware and how it can streamline your user authentication process! # What is Middleware? Middleware in the context of .NET (and web development in general) refers to software components that are assembled into an application pipeline to handle requests and responses. Each component in the pipeline can perform operations before and after invoking the next component in the pipeline. Middleware components can handle various tasks, such as authentication, logging, request processing, and response formatting. # Why Use Middleware? 1. Separation of Concerns: Middleware helps in separating different concerns of your applicati