Question

How to write a comment in a MVC view, that won’t be transmitted to the final HTML (i.e.,to browser, to response). One can make a comment with:

<!--<a href="/">My comment</a> -->

but, it is visible in the page source code in browser.

Is it possible to leave comments in ‘.cshtml’ files only for internal use?

Answer 1

Note that in general, IDE’s like Visual Studio will markup a comment in the context of the current language, by selecting the text you wish to turn into a comment, and then using the Ctrl+K Ctrl+C shortcut, or if you are using Resharper / Intelli-J style shortcuts, then Ctrl+/.

Server side Comments:

Razor .cshtml

Like so:

@* Comment goes here *@

.aspx
For those looking for the older .aspx view (and Asp.Net WebForms) server side comment syntax:

<%-- Comment goes here --%>

Client Side Comments

HTML Comment

<!-- Comment goes here -->

Javascript Comment

// One line Comment goes Here
/* Multiline comment
   goes here */

As OP mentions, although not displayed on the browser, client side comments will still be generated for the page / script file on the server and downloaded by the page over HTTP, which unless removed (e.g. minification), will waste I/O, and, since the comment can be viewed by the user by viewing the page source or intercepting the traffic with the browser’s Dev Tools or a tool like Fiddler or Wireshark, can also pose a security risk, hence the preference to use server side comments on server generated code (like MVC views or .aspx pages).