efcore-patterns

// ✅ Fast read - no tracking overhead
var orders = await dbContext.Orders
    .Where(o => o.Status == OrderStatus.Pending)
    .ToListAsync();

// ❌ WRONG - Entity not tracked, SaveChanges does nothing
var order = await dbContext.Orders.FirstOrDefaultAsync(o => o.Id == orderId);
order.Status = OrderStatus.Shipped;
await dbContext.SaveChangesAsync(); // Nothing happens!
 
// ✅ CORRECT - Explicitly mark entity for update
var order = await dbContext.Orders.FirstOrDefaultAsync(o => o.Id == orderId);
order.Status = OrderStatus.Shipped;
dbContext.Orders.Update(order); // Marks entire entity as modified
await dbContext.SaveChangesAsync();
 
// ✅ ALSO CORRECT - Use AsTracking() for the query
var order = await dbContext.Orders
    .AsTracking()
    .FirstOrDefaultAsync(o => o.Id == orderId);
order.Status = OrderStatus.Shipped;
await dbContext.SaveChangesAsync(); // Works!

public class OrderService
{
    private readonly ApplicationDbContext _db;
 
    // CREATE - Always use Add (works regardless of tracking)
    public async Task<Order> CreateOrderAsync(Order order)
    {
        _db.Orders.Add(order);
        await _db.SaveChangesAsync();
        return order;
    }
 
    // UPDATE - Explicitly mark as modified
    public async Task UpdateOrderStatusAsync(Guid orderId, OrderStatus newStatus)
    {
        var order = await _db.Orders.FirstOrDefaultAsync(o => o.Id == orderId)
            ?? throw new NotFoundException($"Order {orderId} not found");
 
        order.Status = newStatus;
        order.UpdatedAt = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow;
 
        // Explicitly mark as modified since DbContext uses NoTracking by default
        _db.Orders.Update(order);
        await _db.SaveChangesAsync();
    }
 
    // DELETE - Attach and remove
    public async Task DeleteOrderAsync(Guid orderId)
    {
        var order = new Order { Id = orderId };
        _db.Orders.Remove(order);
        await _db.SaveChangesAsync();
    }
}

# Create a new migration
dotnet ef migrations add AddCustomerTable \
    --project src/MyApp.Infrastructure \
    --startup-project src/MyApp.Api
 
# With a specific DbContext (if you have multiple)
dotnet ef migrations add AddCustomerTable \
    --context ApplicationDbContext \
    --project src/MyApp.Infrastructure \
    --startup-project src/MyApp.Api

# Remove the last migration (if not yet applied)
dotnet ef migrations remove \
    --project src/MyApp.Infrastructure \
    --startup-project src/MyApp.Api
 
# NEVER do this:
# rm Migrations/20240101_AddCustomerTable.cs  # ❌ BAD!

# Apply all pending migrations
dotnet ef database update \
    --project src/MyApp.Infrastructure \
    --startup-project src/MyApp.Api
 
# Apply to a specific migration
dotnet ef database update AddCustomerTable \
    --project src/MyApp.Infrastructure \
    --startup-project src/MyApp.Api
 
# Rollback to a previous migration
dotnet ef database update PreviousMigrationName \
    --project src/MyApp.Infrastructure \
    --startup-project src/MyApp.Api

# Generate SQL script for all migrations
dotnet ef migrations script \
    --project src/MyApp.Infrastructure \
    --startup-project src/MyApp.Api \
    --output migrations.sql
 
# Generate idempotent script (safe to run multiple times)
dotnet ef migrations script \
    --idempotent \
    --project src/MyApp.Infrastructure \
    --startup-project src/MyApp.Api

src/
├── MyApp.AppHost/           # Aspire orchestration
├── MyApp.Api/               # Main application
├── MyApp.Infrastructure/    # DbContext and migrations
└── MyApp.MigrationService/  # Dedicated migration runner

using MyApp.Infrastructure.Data;
using MyApp.MigrationService;
using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
 
var builder = Host.CreateApplicationBuilder(args);
 
// Add Aspire service defaults
builder.AddServiceDefaults();
 
// Add PostgreSQL DbContext
var connectionString = builder.Configuration.GetConnectionString("appdb")
    ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("Connection string 'appdb' not found.");
 
builder.Services.AddDbContext<ApplicationDbContext>(options =>
    options.UseNpgsql(connectionString, npgsqlOptions =>
        npgsqlOptions.MigrationsAssembly("MyApp.Infrastructure")));
 
// Add the migration worker
builder.Services.AddHostedService<MigrationWorker>();
 
var host = builder.Build();
host.Run();

public class MigrationWorker : BackgroundService
{
    private readonly IServiceProvider _serviceProvider;
    private readonly IHostApplicationLifetime _hostApplicationLifetime;
    private readonly ILogger<MigrationWorker> _logger;
 
    public MigrationWorker(
        IServiceProvider serviceProvider,
        IHostApplicationLifetime hostApplicationLifetime,
        ILogger<MigrationWorker> logger)
    {
        _serviceProvider = serviceProvider;
        _hostApplicationLifetime = hostApplicationLifetime;
        _logger = logger;
    }
 
    protected override async Task ExecuteAsync(CancellationToken stoppingToken)
    {
        _logger.LogInformation("Migration service starting...");
 
        try
        {
            using var scope = _serviceProvider.CreateScope();
            var dbContext = scope.ServiceProvider.GetRequiredService<ApplicationDbContext>();
 
            await RunMigrationsAsync(dbContext, stoppingToken);
 
            _logger.LogInformation("Migration service completed successfully.");
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            _logger.LogError(ex, "Migration service failed: {Error}", ex.Message);
            throw;
        }
        finally
        {
            // Stop the application after migrations complete
            _hostApplicationLifetime.StopApplication();
        }
    }
 
    private async Task RunMigrationsAsync(ApplicationDbContext dbContext, CancellationToken ct)
    {
        // Use execution strategy for transient failure handling
        var strategy = dbContext.Database.CreateExecutionStrategy();
 
        await strategy.ExecuteAsync(async () =>
        {
            var pendingMigrations = await dbContext.Database.GetPendingMigrationsAsync(ct);
 
            if (pendingMigrations.Any())
            {
                _logger.LogInformation("Applying {Count} pending migrations...",
                    pendingMigrations.Count());
 
                await dbContext.Database.MigrateAsync(ct);
 
                _logger.LogInformation("Migrations applied successfully.");
            }
            else
            {
                _logger.LogInformation("No pending migrations. Database is up to date.");
            }
        });
    }
}

var builder = DistributedApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
 
var postgres = builder.AddPostgres("postgres");
var db = postgres.AddDatabase("appdb");
 
// Migrations run first, then exit
var migrations = builder.AddProject<Projects.MyApp_MigrationService>("migrations")
    .WaitFor(db)
    .WithReference(db);
 
// API waits for migrations to complete
var api = builder.AddProject<Projects.MyApp_Api>("api")
    .WaitForCompletion(migrations)  // Key: waits for migrations to finish
    .WithReference(db);

public async Task UpdateWithRetryAsync(Guid id, Action<Order> update)
{
    var strategy = _dbContext.Database.CreateExecutionStrategy();
 
    await strategy.ExecuteAsync(async () =>
    {
        var order = await _dbContext.Orders
            .AsTracking()
            .FirstOrDefaultAsync(o => o.Id == id);
 
        if (order is null) return;
 
        update(order);
        await _dbContext.SaveChangesAsync();
    });
}

var strategy = _dbContext.Database.CreateExecutionStrategy();
 
await strategy.ExecuteAsync(async () =>
{
    // Transaction must be INSIDE the strategy callback
    await using var transaction = await _dbContext.Database.BeginTransactionAsync();
 
    try
    {
        // ... your operations ...
        await _dbContext.SaveChangesAsync();
        await transaction.CommitAsync();
    }
    catch
    {
        await transaction.RollbackAsync();
        throw;
    }
});

// ❌ SLOW - Loads all entities into memory
var expiredOrders = await _db.Orders
    .Where(o => o.ExpiresAt < DateTimeOffset.UtcNow)
    .ToListAsync();
 
foreach (var order in expiredOrders)
{
    order.Status = OrderStatus.Expired;
}
await _db.SaveChangesAsync();
 
// ✅ FAST - Single SQL UPDATE statement
await _db.Orders
    .Where(o => o.ExpiresAt < DateTimeOffset.UtcNow)
    .ExecuteUpdateAsync(setters => setters
        .SetProperty(o => o.Status, OrderStatus.Expired)
        .SetProperty(o => o.UpdatedAt, DateTimeOffset.UtcNow));
 
// ✅ FAST - Single SQL DELETE statement
await _db.Orders
    .Where(o => o.Status == OrderStatus.Cancelled && o.CreatedAt < cutoffDate)
    .ExecuteDeleteAsync();

// ❌ Silent failure - entity not tracked
var customer = await _db.Customers.FindAsync(id);
customer.Name = "New Name";
await _db.SaveChangesAsync(); // Does nothing!
 
// ✅ Explicit update
var customer = await _db.Customers.FindAsync(id);
customer.Name = "New Name";
_db.Customers.Update(customer);
await _db.SaveChangesAsync();

// ❌ N+1 queries - one query per order
var customers = await _db.Customers.ToListAsync();
foreach (var customer in customers)
{
    var orders = customer.Orders; // Lazy load triggers query
}
 
// ✅ Eager loading - single query
var customers = await _db.Customers
    .Include(c => c.Orders)
    .ToListAsync();

// ❌ Tracking conflict - entity tracked by different context
var order1 = await _db1.Orders.AsTracking().FindAsync(id);
var order2 = await _db2.Orders.AsTracking().FindAsync(id);
order2.Status = OrderStatus.Shipped;
await _db2.SaveChangesAsync(); // May throw or behave unexpectedly
 
// ✅ Use single context or detach first
_db1.Entry(order1).State = EntityState.Detached;

// ❌ Blocking call in async context
var orders = _db.Orders.ToList(); // Blocks thread
 
// ✅ Async all the way
var orders = await _db.Orders.ToListAsync();

// ❌ Query per iteration
foreach (var orderId in orderIds)
{
    var order = await _db.Orders.FindAsync(orderId);
    // process order
}
 
// ✅ Single query
var orders = await _db.Orders
    .Where(o => orderIds.Contains(o.Id))
    .ToListAsync();

// Scoped = one instance per HTTP request
builder.Services.AddDbContext<ApplicationDbContext>(options =>
    options.UseNpgsql(connectionString));

public class MyBackgroundService : BackgroundService
{
    private readonly IServiceProvider _serviceProvider;
 
    protected override async Task ExecuteAsync(CancellationToken stoppingToken)
    {
        // ✅ Create scope for each unit of work
        using var scope = _serviceProvider.CreateScope();
        var dbContext = scope.ServiceProvider.GetRequiredService<ApplicationDbContext>();
 
        // ... use dbContext ...
    }
}

public class OrderActor : ReceiveActor
{
    private readonly IDbContextFactory<ApplicationDbContext> _dbFactory;
 
    public OrderActor(IDbContextFactory<ApplicationDbContext> dbFactory)
    {
        _dbFactory = dbFactory;
 
        ReceiveAsync<GetOrder>(async msg =>
        {
            // Create fresh context for each operation
            await using var db = await _dbFactory.CreateDbContextAsync();
            var order = await db.Orders.FindAsync(msg.OrderId);
            Sender.Tell(order);
        });
    }
}
 
// Registration
builder.Services.AddDbContextFactory<ApplicationDbContext>(options =>
    options.UseNpgsql(connectionString));

services.AddDbContext<ApplicationDbContext>(options =>
    options.UseNpgsql(connectionString, npgsqlOptions =>
        {
            npgsqlOptions.UseQuerySplittingBehavior(QuerySplittingBehavior.SplitQuery);
        }));

// Use single query when you know the structure is well-understood
var orders = await dbContext.Orders
    .Include(o => o.Items)
    .Include(o => o.Payments)
    .AsSingleQuery()  // Override global split behavior
    .ToListAsync();

// Only for simple unit tests - doesn't match real database behavior
var options = new DbContextOptionsBuilder<ApplicationDbContext>()
    .UseInMemoryDatabase(databaseName: Guid.NewGuid().ToString())
    .Options;
 
using var context = new ApplicationDbContext(options);

// Use real PostgreSQL in container
var container = new PostgreSqlBuilder()
    .WithImage("postgres:16-alpine")
    .Build();
 
await container.StartAsync();
 
var options = new DbContextOptionsBuilder<ApplicationDbContext>()
    .UseNpgsql(container.GetConnectionString())
    .Options;