Provider-agnostic Entity Framework Core persistence for the Pulse outbox pattern. Works with any EF Core database provider (SQL Server, PostgreSQL, SQLite, MySQL, etc.)—you bring your own provider and generate migrations. Features seamless transaction integration and uses the canonical outbox schema for interchangeability with ADO.NET providers.
- Provider Agnostic: Works with SQL Server, PostgreSQL, SQLite, MySQL, and any EF Core provider
- Zero Provider Dependencies: Only depends on
Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCoreabstractions - Transaction Integration: Automatic participation in
DbContexttransactions - User-Generated Migrations: Full control over database migrations with your chosen provider
- Schema Interchangeability: Uses canonical schema compatible with ADO.NET providers
- LINQ Support: Full Entity Framework query capabilities for advanced scenarios
Install-Package NetEvolve.Pulse.EntityFrameworkdotnet add package NetEvolve.Pulse.EntityFramework<PackageReference Include="NetEvolve.Pulse.EntityFramework" Version="x.x.x" />using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
using NetEvolve.Pulse;
public class ApplicationDbContext : DbContext, IOutboxDbContext
{
public ApplicationDbContext(DbContextOptions<ApplicationDbContext> options)
: base(options)
{
}
// Your application entities
public DbSet<Order> Orders => Set<Order>();
public DbSet<Customer> Customers => Set<Customer>();
// Required by IOutboxDbContext
public DbSet<OutboxMessage> OutboxMessages => Set<OutboxMessage>();
protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
{
base.OnModelCreating(modelBuilder);
// The factory automatically selects the right configuration for the active provider
modelBuilder.ApplyConfiguration(OutboxMessageConfigurationFactory.Create(this));
// Or with custom options
// modelBuilder.ApplyConfiguration(OutboxMessageConfigurationFactory.Create(this,
// Options.Create(new OutboxOptions { Schema = "myschema" })));
}
}# With your chosen provider (e.g., SQL Server)
dotnet add package Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer
# Generate migration
dotnet ef migrations add AddOutbox --context ApplicationDbContext
# Apply migration
dotnet ef database update --context ApplicationDbContextusing Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
using NetEvolve.Pulse;
var services = new ServiceCollection();
// Register your DbContext with chosen provider
services.AddDbContext<ApplicationDbContext>(options =>
options.UseSqlServer(connectionString));
// Register Pulse with Entity Framework outbox
services.AddPulse(config => config
.AddOutbox(
options => options.Schema = "pulse",
processorOptions => processorOptions.BatchSize = 100)
.AddEntityFrameworkOutbox<ApplicationDbContext>()
);Events stored via IEventOutbox automatically participate in the current DbContext transaction:
public class OrderService
{
private readonly ApplicationDbContext _context;
private readonly IEventOutbox _outbox;
public OrderService(ApplicationDbContext context, IEventOutbox outbox)
{
_context = context;
_outbox = outbox;
}
public async Task CreateOrderAsync(CreateOrderRequest request, CancellationToken ct)
{
// Begin transaction
await using var transaction = await _context.Database.BeginTransactionAsync(ct);
try
{
// Business operation
var order = new Order { CustomerId = request.CustomerId, Total = request.Total };
_context.Orders.Add(order);
await _context.SaveChangesAsync(ct);
// Store event in outbox (same transaction)
await _outbox.StoreAsync(new OrderCreatedEvent
{
Id = Guid.NewGuid().ToString(),
OrderId = order.Id,
CustomerId = order.CustomerId
}, ct);
// Commit both business data and event atomically
await transaction.CommitAsync(ct);
}
catch
{
// Rollback discards both business data AND the outbox event
await transaction.RollbackAsync(ct);
throw;
}
}
}OutboxMessageConfigurationFactory.Create(this) automatically picks the right column types
and index filter syntax for the active provider. Use it in OnModelCreating once and swap
providers without touching the DbContext:
protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
{
base.OnModelCreating(modelBuilder);
modelBuilder.ApplyConfiguration(OutboxMessageConfigurationFactory.Create(this));
}services.AddDbContext<ApplicationDbContext>(options =>
options.UseSqlServer(connectionString));services.AddDbContext<ApplicationDbContext>(options =>
options.UseNpgsql(connectionString));services.AddDbContext<ApplicationDbContext>(options =>
options.UseSqlite(connectionString));Supports both the Pomelo community provider and the Oracle official provider:
// Pomelo (recommended community provider)
services.AddDbContext<ApplicationDbContext>(options =>
options.UseMySql(connectionString, ServerVersion.AutoDetect(connectionString)));
// Oracle MySQL provider
services.AddDbContext<ApplicationDbContext>(options =>
options.UseMySQL(connectionString));Note
MySQL does not support filtered (partial) indexes. The pending and completed message
indexes are created as plain indexes without a WHERE clause. The factory handles this
automatically — no configuration changes are required.
For providers not listed above, derive from OutboxMessageConfigurationBase directly
and return the appropriate filter syntax from PendingMessagesFilter and
CompletedMessagesFilter (return null for databases without partial-index support):
internal sealed class MyCustomOutboxMessageConfiguration : OutboxMessageConfigurationBase
{
public MyCustomOutboxMessageConfiguration(IOptions<OutboxOptions> options)
: base(options) { }
// Return null if the database does not support filtered indexes
protected override string? PendingMessagesFilter => null;
protected override string? CompletedMessagesFilter => null;
}
// In OnModelCreating:
modelBuilder.ApplyConfiguration(new MyCustomOutboxMessageConfiguration(
Options.Create(new OutboxOptions())));// Generated migration snippet
migrationBuilder.EnsureSchema(name: "pulse");
migrationBuilder.CreateTable(
name: "OutboxMessage",
schema: "pulse",
columns: table => new
{
Id = table.Column<Guid>(type: "uniqueidentifier", nullable: false),
EventType = table.Column<string>(type: "nvarchar(500)", maxLength: 500, nullable: false),
Payload = table.Column<string>(type: "nvarchar(max)", nullable: false),
CorrelationId = table.Column<string>(type: "nvarchar(100)", maxLength: 100, nullable: true),
CreatedAt = table.Column<DateTimeOffset>(type: "datetimeoffset", nullable: false),
UpdatedAt = table.Column<DateTimeOffset>(type: "datetimeoffset", nullable: false),
ProcessedAt = table.Column<DateTimeOffset>(type: "datetimeoffset", nullable: true),
RetryCount = table.Column<int>(type: "int", nullable: false, defaultValue: 0),
Error = table.Column<string>(type: "nvarchar(max)", nullable: true),
Status = table.Column<int>(type: "int", nullable: false, defaultValue: 0)
},
constraints: table =>
{
table.PrimaryKey("PK_OutboxMessage", x => x.Id);
});
migrationBuilder.CreateIndex(
name: "IX_OutboxMessage_Status_CreatedAt",
schema: "pulse",
table: "OutboxMessage",
columns: new[] { "Status", "CreatedAt" });This provider produces the same table structure as the SQL Server ADO.NET provider, allowing you to:
- Switch providers: Start with EF for development, move to ADO.NET for production
- Mix providers: Use EF for writes (business transactions) and ADO.NET for reads (background processor)
- Migrate: Change persistence strategy without data migration
// Both work with the same database table
services.AddPulse(config => config
.AddOutbox()
// Choose one:
.AddEntityFrameworkOutbox<MyDbContext>()
// or:
// .AddSqlServerOutbox(connectionString)
);For high-throughput scenarios, consider:
- Batch processing: Configure
OutboxProcessorOptions.BatchSize - ADO.NET for polling: Use SQL Server provider for background processor (explicit locking)
- Separate DbContext: Dedicated context for outbox to avoid change tracker overhead
// High-performance configuration
services.AddPulse(config => config
.AddOutbox(processorOptions: options =>
{
options.BatchSize = 500;
options.PollingInterval = TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(500);
options.EnableBatchSending = true;
})
.AddEntityFrameworkOutbox<ApplicationDbContext>()
);- .NET 8.0, .NET 9.0, or .NET 10.0
- Entity Framework Core 8.0+ with your chosen database provider
Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjectionfor service registrationMicrosoft.Extensions.Hostingfor the background processor
- NetEvolve.Pulse - Core mediator and outbox abstractions
- NetEvolve.Pulse.Dapr - Dapr pub/sub integration for event dispatch
- NetEvolve.Pulse.Extensibility - Core contracts and abstractions
- NetEvolve.Pulse.SqlServer - SQL Server ADO.NET persistence
- NetEvolve.Pulse.Polly - Polly v8 resilience policies integration
For complete documentation, please visit the official documentation.
Contributions are welcome! Please read the Contributing Guidelines before submitting a pull request.
- Issues: Report bugs or request features on GitHub Issues
- Documentation: Read the full documentation at https://github.com/dailydevops/pulse
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
Note
Made with ❤️ by the NetEvolve Team