Efcore Patterns

aaronontheweb/dotnet-skills/skills/efcore-patterns

by aarononthewebe426ed93a9f3No license1.2K starsListed Oct 8, 2026Updated Oct 8, 2026Repository updated 3 weeks ago

Entity Framework Core best practices including NoTracking by default, query splitting for navigation collections, migration management, dedicated migration services, and common pitfalls to avoid.

Instructions onlySoftware Development
AI-generated overview

Guidance on Entity Framework Core patterns: no-tracking queries, migrations, query splitting, and bulk operations.

What it does
This skill provides reference guidance and code examples for using Entity Framework Core in .NET projects. It covers configuring no-tracking by default, managing migrations through CLI commands, running migrations in a dedicated service, using execution strategies for transient failures, bulk updates and deletes, query splitting, DbContext lifetimes, and common pitfalls. It produces explanatory patterns and C# snippets rather than executable artifacts.
When to use it
Use it when setting up EF Core in a new project, optimizing query performance, managing database migrations, integrating EF Core with .NET Aspire, debugging change tracking issues, or loading multiple navigation collections efficiently.
Requirements
No scripts are included; it is instructions and code examples only. Applying the examples assumes a .NET project with Entity Framework Core, the dotnet ef CLI, and a database provider such as PostgreSQL.

Entity Framework Core Patterns

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

  • Setting up EF Core in a new project
  • Optimizing query performance
  • Managing database migrations
  • Integrating EF Core with .NET Aspire
  • Debugging change tracking issues
  • Loading multiple navigation collections efficiently (query splitting)

Core Principles

  1. NoTracking by Default - Most queries are read-only; opt-in to tracking
  2. Never Edit Migrations Manually - Always use CLI commands
  3. Dedicated Migration Service - Separate migration execution from application startup
  4. ExecutionStrategy for Retries - Handle transient database failures
  5. Explicit Updates - When NoTracking, explicitly mark entities for update

Pattern 1: NoTracking by Default

Configure your DbContext to disable change tracking by default. This improves performance for read-heavy workloads.

csharp
public class ApplicationDbContext : DbContext{    public ApplicationDbContext(DbContextOptions<ApplicationDbContext> options)        : base(options)    {        // Disable change tracking by default for better performance on read-only queries        // Use .AsTracking() explicitly for queries that need to track changes        ChangeTracker.QueryTrackingBehavior = QueryTrackingBehavior.NoTracking;    }
    public DbSet<Order> Orders => Set<Order>();    public DbSet<Customer> Customers => Set<Customer>();}

When NoTracking is Active

Read-only queries work normally:

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

Writes require explicit handling:

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

When to Use Tracking

ScenarioUse Tracking?Why
Display data in UINoRead-only, no updates
API GET endpointsNoReturning data, no mutations
Update single entityYes or explicit Update()Need to save changes
Complex update with navigationYesTracking handles relationships
Batch operationsNo + ExecuteUpdateMore efficient

Explicit Add/Update Pattern

csharp
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();    }}

Pattern 2: Never Edit Migrations Manually

CRITICAL: Always use EF Core CLI commands to manage migrations. Never:

  • Manually edit migration files (except for custom SQL in Up()/Down())
  • Delete migration files directly
  • Rename migration files
  • Copy migrations between projects

Creating Migrations

bash
# Create a new migrationdotnet 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

Removing Migrations

bash
# 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!

Applying Migrations

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

Generating SQL Scripts

bash
# Generate SQL script for all migrationsdotnet 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

Pattern 3: Dedicated Migration Service with Aspire

Separate migration execution from your main application using a dedicated migration service. This ensures:

  • Migrations complete before the app starts
  • Clean separation of concerns
  • Controlled seeding in test environments

Project Structure

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

MigrationService Program.cs

csharp
using MyApp.Infrastructure.Data;using MyApp.MigrationService;using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
var builder = Host.CreateApplicationBuilder(args);
// Add Aspire service defaultsbuilder.AddServiceDefaults();
// Add PostgreSQL DbContextvar 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 workerbuilder.Services.AddHostedService<MigrationWorker>();
var host = builder.Build();host.Run();

MigrationWorker.cs

csharp
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.");            }        });    }}

AppHost Configuration

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

Pattern 4: ExecutionStrategy for Transient Failures

Always use CreateExecutionStrategy() for operations that might fail transiently:

csharp
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();    });}

Important: You cannot use CreateExecutionStrategy() with user-initiated transactions. If you need transactions with retry:

csharp
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;    }});

Pattern 5: Bulk Operations with ExecuteUpdate/ExecuteDelete

For bulk operations, use EF Core 7+ ExecuteUpdateAsync and ExecuteDeleteAsync instead of loading entities:

csharp
// ❌ SLOW - Loads all entities into memoryvar 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 statementawait _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 statementawait _db.Orders    .Where(o => o.Status == OrderStatus.Cancelled && o.CreatedAt < cutoffDate)    .ExecuteDeleteAsync();

Common Pitfalls

1. Forgetting to Update When NoTracking

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

2. N+1 Query Problem

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

3. Tracking Conflicts with Multiple DbContext Instances

csharp
// ❌ Tracking conflict - entity tracked by different contextvar 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;

4. Not Using Async Consistently

csharp
// ❌ Blocking call in async contextvar orders = _db.Orders.ToList(); // Blocks thread
// ✅ Async all the wayvar orders = await _db.Orders.ToListAsync();

5. Querying Inside Loops

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

DbContext Lifetime in DI

ASP.NET Core (Scoped by Default)

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

Background Services (Create Scope)

csharp
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 ...    }}

Actors / Long-Lived Objects (Factory Pattern)

csharp
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);        });    }}
// Registrationbuilder.Services.AddDbContextFactory<ApplicationDbContext>(options =>    options.UseNpgsql(connectionString));

Pattern 6: Query Splitting to Prevent Cartesian Explosion

When you load multiple navigation collections via Include(), EF Core generates a single query that can cause cartesian explosion. If you have 10 orders with 10 items each, you get 100 rows instead of 10 + 10.

Global Configuration (Recommended for Most Cases)

Enable query splitting globally in your DbContext configuration:

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

Per-Query Override

Use single query when you know it's more efficient:

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

Trade-offs

BehaviorProsCons
SplitQueryNo cartesian explosion, better for large collectionsMultiple round-trips, potential consistency issues
SingleQuerySingle round-trip, transactional consistencyCartesian explosion with multiple collections

Recommendation: Default to SplitQuery globally, override with AsSingleQuery() for specific queries where single-query is known to be better.

When to Prefer SingleQuery

  • Small, well-understood navigation graphs (2-3 levels)
  • Queries where all related data is always needed
  • Performance-critical paths where round-trip cost is lower than cartesian explosion

When to Prefer SplitQuery

  • Large or unpredictable navigation graphs
  • Many-to-many relationships
  • Queries loading collections that may not all be needed

Testing with EF Core

In-Memory Provider (Unit Tests Only)

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

Real Database with TestContainers (Integration Tests)

See the testcontainers-integration-tests skill for proper database testing.

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

Source and attribution

Source:aaronontheweb/dotnet-skillsinskills/efcore-patternsat commite426ed9

License: No license

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