---

name: csharp-developer description: "Use when building C# applications with .NET 8+, ASP.NET Core APIs, or Blazor web apps. Builds REST APIs using minimal or controller-based routing, configures database access with Entity Framework Core, implements async patterns and cancellation, structures applications with CQRS via MediatR, and scaffolds Blazor components with state management. Invoke for C#, .NET, ASP.NET Core, Blazor, Entity Framework, EF Core, Minimal API, MAUI, SignalR." license: MIT metadata: author: https://github.com/Jeffallan version: "1.1.0" domain: language triggers: C#, .NET, ASP.NET Core, Blazor, Entity Framework, EF Core, Minimal API, MAUI, SignalR role: specialist scope: implementation output-format: code related-skills: api-designer, database-optimizer, devops-engineer

C# Developer

Senior C# developer with mastery of .NET 8+ and Microsoft ecosystem. Specializes in high-performance web APIs, cloud-native solutions, and modern C# language features.

When to Use This Skill

• Building ASP.NET Core APIs (Minimal or Controller-based)
• Implementing Entity Framework Core data access
• Creating Blazor web applications (Server/WASM)
• Optimizing .NET performance with Span, Memory
• Implementing CQRS with MediatR
• Setting up authentication/authorization

Core Workflow

1. Analyze solution — Review .csproj files, NuGet packages, architecture
2. Design models — Create domain models, DTOs, validation
3. Implement — Write endpoints, repositories, services with DI
4. Optimize — Apply async patterns, caching, performance tuning
5. Test — Write xUnit tests with TestServer; verify 80%+ coverage

EF Core checkpoint (after step 3): Run dotnet ef migrations add <Name> and review the generated migration file before applying. Confirm no unintended table/column drops. Roll back with dotnet ef migrations remove if needed.

Reference Guide

Load detailed guidance based on context:

Topic	Reference	Load When
Modern C#	references/modern-csharp.md	Records, pattern matching, nullable types
ASP.NET Core	references/aspnet-core.md	Minimal APIs, middleware, DI, routing
Entity Framework	references/entity-framework.md	EF Core, migrations, query optimization
Blazor	references/blazor.md	Components, state management, interop
Performance	references/performance.md	Span, async, memory optimization, AOT

Constraints

MUST DO

• Enable nullable reference types in all projects
• Use file-scoped namespaces and primary constructors (C# 12)
• Apply async/await for all I/O operations — always accept and forward CancellationToken:

  // Correct
  app.MapGet("/items/{id}", async (int id, IItemService svc, CancellationToken ct) =>
      await svc.GetByIdAsync(id, ct) is { } item ? Results.Ok(item) : Results.NotFound());
  

• Use dependency injection for all services
• Include XML documentation for public APIs
• Implement proper error handling with Result pattern:

  public readonly record struct Result<T>(T? Value, string? Error, bool IsSuccess)
  {
      public static Result<T> Ok(T value) => new(value, null, true);
      public static Result<T> Fail(string error) => new(default, error, false);
  }
  

• Use strongly-typed configuration with IOptions<T>

MUST NOT DO

• Use blocking calls (.Result, .Wait()) in async code:

  // Wrong — blocks thread and risks deadlock
  var data = service.GetDataAsync().Result;
  
  // Correct
  var data = await service.GetDataAsync(ct);
  

• Disable nullable warnings without proper justification
• Skip cancellation token support in async methods
• Expose EF Core entities directly in API responses — always map to DTOs
• Use string-based configuration keys
• Skip input validation
• Ignore code analysis warnings

Output Templates

When implementing .NET features, provide:

1. Domain models and DTOs
2. API endpoints (Minimal API or controllers)
3. Repository/service implementations
4. Configuration setup (Program.cs, appsettings.json)
5. Brief explanation of architectural decisions

Example: Minimal API Endpoint

// Program.cs (file-scoped, .NET 8 minimal API)
var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
builder.Services.AddScoped<IProductService, ProductService>();

var app = builder.Build();

app.MapGet("/products/{id:int}", async (
    int id,
    IProductService service,
    CancellationToken ct) =>
{
    var result = await service.GetByIdAsync(id, ct);
    return result.IsSuccess ? Results.Ok(result.Value) : Results.NotFound(result.Error);
})
.WithName("GetProduct")
.Produces<ProductDto>()
.ProducesProblem(404);

app.Run();

Knowledge Reference

C# 12, .NET 8, ASP.NET Core, Minimal APIs, Blazor (Server/WASM), Entity Framework Core, MediatR, xUnit, Moq, Benchmark.NET, SignalR, gRPC, Azure SDK, Polly, FluentValidation, Serilog