dotnet-api

Overview

ASP.NET Core APIs, data access, backend services, security, and cloud-native patterns. This consolidated skill spans 32 topic areas. Load the appropriate companion file from references/ based on the routing table below.

Baseline dependency: references/minimal-apis.md defines the core ASP.NET Core Minimal API patterns (route groups, endpoint filters, TypedResults, parameter binding) that apply to most API development tasks. Load it by default when building HTTP endpoints.

Most-shared companion: references/architecture-patterns.md covers vertical slices, request pipelines, error handling, caching, and idempotency patterns used across nearly all ASP.NET Core projects.

Routing Table

Topic	Keywords	Description	Companion File
Minimal APIs	endpoint, route group, filter, TypedResults	Minimal API route groups, filters, TypedResults, OpenAPI	references/minimal-apis.md
Middleware	pipeline ordering, short-circuit, exception	Pipeline ordering, short-circuit, exception handling	references/middleware-patterns.md
EF Core patterns	DbContext, migrations, AsNoTracking	DbContext, AsNoTracking, query splitting, migrations	references/efcore-patterns.md
EF Core architecture	read/write split, aggregate boundaries, N+1	Read/write split, aggregate boundaries, N+1	references/efcore-architecture.md
Data access strategy	EF Core vs Dapper vs ADO.NET decision	EF Core vs Dapper vs ADO.NET decision matrix	references/data-access-strategy.md
gRPC	proto, code-gen, streaming, auth	Proto definition, code-gen, ASP.NET Core host, streaming	references/grpc.md
Real-time	SignalR, SSE, JSON-RPC, gRPC streaming	SignalR hubs, SSE, JSON-RPC 2.0, scaling	references/realtime-communication.md
Resilience	Polly v8, retry, circuit breaker, timeout	Polly v8 retry, circuit breaker, timeout, rate limiter	references/resilience.md
HTTP client	IHttpClientFactory, typed/named, DelegatingHandler	IHttpClientFactory, typed/named clients, DelegatingHandlers	references/http-client.md
API versioning	Asp.Versioning, URL/header/query, sunset	Asp.Versioning.Http/Mvc, URL/header/query, sunset	references/api-versioning.md
OpenAPI	MS.AspNetCore.OpenApi, Swashbuckle, NSwag	MS.AspNetCore.OpenApi, Swashbuckle migration, NSwag	references/openapi.md
API security	Identity, OAuth/OIDC, JWT, CORS, rate limiting	Identity, OAuth/OIDC, JWT bearer, CORS, rate limiting	references/api-security.md
OWASP	injection, auth, XSS, deprecated APIs	OWASP Top 10 hardening for .NET	references/security-owasp.md
Secrets	user secrets, env vars, rotation	User secrets, environment variables, rotation	references/secrets-management.md
Cryptography	AES-GCM, RSA, ECDSA, hashing, key derivation	AES-GCM, RSA, ECDSA, hashing, PQC key derivation	references/cryptography.md
Background services	BackgroundService, IHostedService, lifecycle	BackgroundService, IHostedService, lifecycle	references/background-services.md
Aspire	AppHost, service discovery, dashboard	AppHost, service discovery, components, dashboard	references/aspire-patterns.md
Semantic Kernel	AI/LLM plugins, prompts, memory, agents	AI/LLM plugins, prompt templates, memory, agents	references/semantic-kernel.md
Architecture	vertical slices, layered, pipelines, caching	Vertical slices, layered, pipelines, caching	references/architecture-patterns.md
Messaging	Wolverine, Azure Service Bus, RabbitMQ, pub/sub, sagas	Wolverine, Azure Service Bus, RabbitMQ, pub/sub, sagas	references/messaging-patterns.md
Service communication	REST vs gRPC vs SignalR decision matrix	REST vs gRPC vs SignalR decision matrix	references/service-communication.md
API surface validation	PublicApiAnalyzers, Verify, ApiCompat	PublicApiAnalyzers, Verify snapshots, ApiCompat	references/api-surface-validation.md
Library API compat	binary/source compat, type forwarders	Binary/source compat, type forwarders, SemVer	references/library-api-compat.md
I/O pipelines	PipeReader/PipeWriter, backpressure, Kestrel	PipeReader/PipeWriter, backpressure, Kestrel	references/io-pipelines.md
Agent gotchas	async misuse, NuGet errors, DI mistakes	Common agent mistakes in .NET code	references/agent-gotchas.md
File-based apps	.NET 10, directives, csproj migration	.NET 10 file-based C# apps	references/file-based-apps.md
API docs	DocFX, OpenAPI-as-docs, versioned docs	DocFX, OpenAPI-as-docs, versioned documentation	references/api-docs.md
HybridCache	HybridCache, L1/L2, stampede, tag eviction	HybridCache (.NET 9+), stampede protection, tag-based eviction	references/hybrid-cache.md
YARP	reverse proxy, load balancing, API gateway, BFF	YARP reverse proxy, load balancing, health checks, transforms	references/yarp.md
Output caching	OutputCache, response caching, compression	Output/response caching, compression, CDN, tag invalidation	references/output-caching.md
Identity	ASP.NET Core Identity, login, MFA, scaffolding	Identity setup, scaffolding, external providers, MapIdentityApi	references/identity-setup.md
Office documents and PDF	Excel, Word, PowerPoint, PDF, Open XML SDK, spreadsheet, docx, xlsx, PDFsharp, MigraDoc, merge PDF, split PDF, watermark	Open XML SDK, ClosedXML, PDFsharp/MigraDoc for PDF create/read/merge/split/watermark	references/office-documents.md

Scope

ASP.NET Core web APIs (minimal and controller-based)
Data access (EF Core, Dapper, ADO.NET)
Service communication (gRPC, SignalR, SSE, messaging)
Security (auth, OWASP, secrets, crypto)
Cloud-native (Aspire, resilience, background services)
AI integration (Semantic Kernel)
Architecture patterns and API surface validation

Out of scope

C# language features -> dotnet-csharp
UI rendering -> dotnet-ui
Test authoring -> dotnet-testing
CI/CD pipelines -> dotnet-devops
Build tooling -> dotnet-tooling