Fauna v10 .NET/C# client driver (current)

Version: 1.0.1 Repository: fauna/fauna-dotnet

Fauna’s .NET/C# client driver lets you run FQL queries from .NET and C# applications.

This guide shows how to set up the driver and use it to run FQL queries.

This driver can only be used with FQL v10. It’s not compatible with earlier versions of FQL. To use earlier FQL versions, use the faunadb-csharp package.

Supported .NET and C# versions

  • .NET 8.0

  • C# ^10.0

Installation

The driver is available on NuGet. To install it using the .NET CLI, run:

dotnet add package Fauna

API reference

API reference documentation for the driver is available at https://fauna.github.io/fauna-dotnet/.

Sample app

For a practical example, check out the .NET sample app.

This sample app is a production-ready e-commerce application that uses the Fauna .NET/C# driver. The source code includes comments highlighting best practices for using the driver and composing FQL queries.

Basic usage

The following applications:

  • Initialize a client instance to connect to Fauna

  • Compose a basic FQL query using an FQL string template

  • Run the query using QueryAsync() or PaginateAsync()

  • Deserialize the results based on a provided type parameter

Use QueryAsync() to run a non-paginated query:

using Fauna;
using Fauna.Exceptions;
using static Fauna.Query;

try
{
    // Initialize the client to connect to Fauna
    var config = new Configuration("FAUNA_SECRET")
    var client = new Client(config);

    // Compose a query
    var query = FQL($@"
        Product.byName('cups').first() {{
            name,
            description,
            price
        }}
    ");

    // Run the query
    // Optionally specify the expected result type as a type parameter.
    // If not provided, the value will be deserialized as object.
    var response = await client.QueryAsync<Dictionary<string, object?>>(query);

    Console.WriteLine(response.Data["name"]);
    Console.WriteLine(response.Data["description"]);
    Console.WriteLine(response.Data["price"]);
    Console.WriteLine("--------");
}
catch (FaunaException e)
{
    Console.WriteLine(e);
}

Queries that return a Set are automatically paginated. Use PaginateAsync() to iterate through paginated results:

using Fauna;
using Fauna.Exceptions;
using static Fauna.Query;

try
{
    // Initialize the client to connect to Fauna
    var client = new Client("FAUNA_SECRET");

    // Compose a query
    var query = FQL($@"Category.all() {{ name }}");

    // Run the query
    // PaginateAsync returns an IAsyncEnumerable of pages
    var response = client.PaginateAsync<Dictionary<string, object?>>(query);

    await foreach (var page in response)
    {
        foreach (var product in page.Data)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(product["name"]);
        }
    }
}
catch (FaunaException e)
{
    Console.WriteLine(e);
}

Connect to Fauna

Each Fauna query is an independently authenticated request to the Query HTTP API endpoint. You authenticate with Fauna with an authentication secret.

Get an authentication secret

Fauna supports several secret types. For testing, you can create a key, which is a type of secret:

  1. Log in to the Fauna Dashboard.

  2. On the Explorer page, create a database.

  3. In the database’s Keys tab, click Create Key.

  4. Choose a Role of server.

  5. Click Save.

  6. Copy the Key Secret. The secret is scoped to the database.

Initialize a client

To send query requests to a Fauna database, initialize a Client instance using an authentication secret scoped to the database:

var client = new Client("FAUNA_SECRET");

Client requires a secret or configuration argument. For configuration options, see Client configuration.

Connect to a child database

A scoped key lets you use a parent database’s admin key to send query requests to its child databases.

For example, if you have an admin key for a parent database and want to connect to a child database named childDB, you can create a scoped key using the following format:

// Scoped key that impersonates an `admin` key for
// the `childDB` child database.
fn...:childDB:admin

You can then initialize a Client instance using the scoped key:

var client = new Client("fn...:childDB:admin");

Multiple connections

You can use a single client instance to run multiple asynchronous queries at once. The driver manages HTTP connections as needed. Your app doesn’t need to implement connection pools or other connection management strategies.

You can create multiple client instances to connect to Fauna using different credentials or client configurations.

Run FQL queries

Use FQL string templates to compose FQL queries. Run the queries using QueryAsync() or PaginateAsync():

// Unpaginated query
var query = FQL($@"Product.byName('cups').first()");
client.QueryAsync(query);

// Paginated query
// Adjust `pageSize()` size as needed
var paginatedQuery = FQL($@"Category.all().pageSize(2)");
client.PaginateAsync(paginatedQuery);

You can only compose FQL queries using string templates.

Variable interpolation

Use single braces {} to pass native variables to fql queries. Use {{}} to escape other single braces in the query.

// Create a native var
var collectionName = "Product";

// Pass the var to an FQL query
var query = FQL($@"
    let collection = Collection({collectionName})
    collection.byName('cups').first() {{ price }}"
);

client.QueryAsync(query);

The driver encodes interpolated variables to an appropriate FQL type and uses the wire protocol to pass the query to the Core HTTP API’s Query endpoint. This helps prevent injection attacks.

Query composition

You can use variable interpolation to pass FQL string templates as query fragments to compose an FQL query:

// Create a reusable query fragment.
var product = FQL($@"Product.byName(""pizza"").first()");

// Use the fragment in another FQL query.
var query = FQL($@"
    let product = {product}
    product {{
        name,
        price
    }}
");

client.QueryAsync(query);

POCO mapping

With Fauna.Mapping, you can map a POCO class to a Fauna document or object shape:

using Fauna.Mapping;

class Category
{
    // Property names are automatically converted to camelCase.
    [Id]
    public string? Id { get; set; }

    // Manually specify a name by providing a string.
    [Field("name")]
    public string? CatName { get; set; }
}

class Product
{
    [Id]
    public string? Id { get; set; }

    public string? Name { get; set; }

    public string? Description { get; set; }

    public int Price { get; set; }

    // Reference to document
    public Ref<Category> Category { get; set; }
}
  • [Id]: Should only be used once per class on a field named Id that represents the Fauna document ID. It’s not encoded unless the isClientGenerated flag is true.

  • [Ts]: Should only be used once per class on a field named Ts that represents the timestamp of a document. It’s not encoded.

  • [Collection]: Typically goes unmodeled. Should only be used once per class on a field named Coll that represents the collection field of a document. It will never be encoded.

  • [Field]: Can be associated with any field to override its name in Fauna.

  • [Ignore]: Can be used to ignore fields during encoding and decoding.

You can use POCO classes to deserialize query responses:

var query = FQL($@"Product.sortedByPriceLowToHigh()");
var products = client.PaginateAsync<Product>(query).FlattenAsync();

await foreach (var p in products)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"{p.Name} {p.Description} {p.Price}");
}

You can also use POCO classes to write to your database:

var product = new Product {
    Id = "12345",
    Name = "limes",
    Description = "Organic, 2 ct",
    Price = 95
};

client.QueryAsync(FQL($@"Product.create({product})"));

DataContext

The DataContext class provides a schema-aware view of your database. Subclass it and configure your collections:

class CustomerDb : DataContext
{
    public class CustomerCollection : Collection<Customer>
    {
        public Index<Customer> ByEmail(string email) => Index().Call(email);
        public Index<Customer> ByName(string name) => Index().Call(name);
    }

    public CustomerCollection Customer { get => GetCollection<CustomerCollection>(); }
}

DataContext provides Client querying, which automatically maps your collections to POCO equivalents, even when type hints are not provided.

var db = client.DataContext<CustomerDb>

var result = db.QueryAsync(FQL($"Customer.all().first()"));
var customer = (Customer)result.Data!;

Console.WriteLine(customer.name);

Document references

The driver supports document references using the Ref<T> type. There are several ways to work with document references using the driver:

  1. Fetch the reference without loading the referenced document:

    // Gets a Product document.
    // The document's `category` field contains a
    // reference to a Category document. The
    // `category` field is not projected.
    var query = FQL($@"
      Product.byName('limes').first()
    ");
    
    var response = await client.QueryAsync<Product>(query);
    var product = response.Data;
  2. Project the document reference to load the referenced document:

    // Gets a Product document.
    // The `category` field is projected to load the
    // referenced document.
    var query = FQL($@"
      Product.byName('limes').first() {
        name,
        category {
          name
        }
      }
    ");
    
    var response = await client.QueryAsync<Dictionary<string, object?>>(query);
    var product = response.Data;
    
    Console.WriteLine(product["name"]);
    
    // Prints the category name.
    var category = (Dictionary<string, object?>)product["category"];
    Console.WriteLine(category["name"]);
  3. Use LoadRefAsync() to load the referenced document:

    // Gets a Product document.
    var query = FQL($@"Product.byName('limes').first()");
    
    var response = await client.QueryAsync<Product>(query);
    var product = response.Data;
    
    // Loads the Category document referenced in
    // the Product document.
    var category = await client.LoadRefAsync(product.Category);
    // Prints the category name.
    Console.WriteLine(category.Name);

    If the reference is already loaded, it returns the cached value without making another query to Fauna:

    // This won't run another query if the referenced
    // document is already loaded.
    var sameCategory = await client.LoadRefAsync(product.Category);

Null documents

A null document can be handled two ways:

  1. Let the driver throw an exception and do something with it:

    try {
        await client.QueryAsync<SomeCollDoc>(FQL($"SomeColl.byId('123')"))
    } catch (NullDocumentException e) {
        Console.WriteLine(e.Id); // "123"
        Console.WriteLine(e.Collection.Name); // "SomeColl"
        Console.WriteLine(e.Cause); // "not found"
    }
  2. Wrap your expected type in a Ref<> or NamedRef. You can wrap Dictionary<string,object> and POCOs.

    var q = FQL($"Collection.byName('Fake')");
    var r = (await client.QueryAsync<NamedRef<Dictionary<string,object>>>(q)).Data;
    if (r.Data.Exists) {
        Console.WriteLine(d.Id); // "Fake"
        Console.WriteLine(d.Collection.Name); // "Collection"
        var doc = r.Get(); // A dictionary with id, coll, ts, and any user-defined fields.
    } else {
        Console.WriteLine(d.Name); // "Fake"
        Console.WriteLine(d.Collection.Name); // "Collection"
        Console.WriteLine(d.Cause); // "not found"
        r.Get() // this throws a NullDocumentException
    }

Pagination

When you wish to paginate a set, such as a collection or index, use PaginateAsync().

Example of a query that returns a Set:

var query = FQL($"Customer.all()");
await foreach (var page in client.PaginateAsync<Customer>(query))
{
    // handle each page
}

await foreach (var item in client.PaginateAsync<Customer>(query).FlattenAsync())
{
    // handle each item
}

Example of a query that returns an object with an embedded Set:

class MyResult
{
    [Field("customers")]
    public Page<Customer>? Customers { get; set; }
}

var query = FQL($"{{customers: Customer.all()}}");
var result = await client.QueryAsync<MyResult>(query);

await foreach (var page in client.PaginateAsync(result.Data.Customers!))
{
    // handle each page
}

await foreach (var item in client.PaginateAsync(result.Data.Customers!).FlattenAsync())
{
    // handle each item
}

Query stats

Successful query responses and ServiceException exceptions include query stats:

try
{
    var client = new Client("FAUNA_SECRET");

    var query = FQL($@"'Hello world'");
    var response = await client.QueryAsync<string>(query);

    Console.WriteLine(response.Stats.ToString());
}
catch (FaunaException e)
{
  if (e is ServiceException serviceException)
  {
    Console.WriteLine(serviceException.Stats.ToString());
    Console.WriteLine(e);
  }
  else {
    Console.WriteLine(e);
  }
}

Client configuration

The Client instance comes with reasonable configuration defaults. We recommend using the defaults in most cases.

If needed, you can configure the client and override the defaults. This also lets you set default Query options.

var config = new Configuration("FAUNA_SECRET")
{
    // Configure the client
    Endpoint = new Uri("https://db.fauna.com"),
    RetryConfiguration = new RetryConfiguration(3, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(20)),

    // Set default query options
    DefaultQueryOptions = new QueryOptions
    {
        Linearized = false,
        QueryTags = new Dictionary<string, string>
        {
            { "tag", "value" }
        },
        QueryTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(60),
        TraceParent = "00-750efa5fb6a131eb2cf4db39f28366cb-000000000000000b-00",
        TypeCheck = false
    }
};

var client = new Client(config);

For supported properties, see Fauna.Configuration in the API reference.

Environment variables

By default, the client configuration’s Secret and Endpoint default to the respective FAUNA_SECRET and FAUNA_ENDPOINT environment variables.

For example, if you set the following environment variables:

export FAUNA_SECRET=FAUNA_SECRET
export FAUNA_ENDPOINT=https://db.fauna.com/

You can initialize the client with a default configuration:

var client = new Client();

Retries

By default, the client automatically retries query requests that return a limit_exceeded error code. Retries use an exponential backoff.

The client retries a query up to three times by default. The maximum wait time between retries defaults to 20 seconds.

To override these defaults, pass a RetryConfiguration instance to the Client configuration.

var config = new Configuration("FAUNA_SECRET")
{
    RetryConfiguration = new RetryConfiguration(3, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(20))
};

var client = new Client(config);

For supported parameters, see Fauna.Core.RetryConfiguration in the API reference.

Query options

The Client configuration sets default query options for the following methods:

  • QueryAsync()

  • PaginateAsync()

You can pass a QueryOptions argument to override these defaults:

var queryOptions = new QueryOptions
{
    Linearized = false,
    QueryTags = new Dictionary<string, string>
    {
        { "tag", "value" }
    },
    QueryTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(60),
    TraceParent = "00-750efa5fb6a131eb2cf4db39f28366cb-000000000000000b-00",
    TypeCheck = true
};

var query = FQL($@"'Hello world'");
client.QueryAsync(query, queryOptions);

For supported properties, see Fauna.Core.QueryOptions in the API reference.

Event Feeds

The driver supports Event Feeds. An Event Feed asynchronously polls an event source for paginated events.

To use Event Feeds, you must have a Pro or Enterprise plan.

Request an Event Feed

To get an event source, append set.eventSource() or set.eventsOn() to a supported Set.

To get paginated events, pass the event source to EventFeedAsync():

// Get an event source from a supported Set
EventSource eventSource = await client.QueryAsync<EventSource>(FQL($"Product.all().eventSource()"));

var feed = await client.EventFeedAsync<Product>(eventSource);

If changes occur between the creation of the event source and the Event Feed request, the feed replays and emits any related events.

You can also pass a query that produces an event source directly to EventFeedAsync():

var feed = await client.EventFeedAsync<Product>(FQL($"Product.all().eventSource()"));

If you pass an event source query to EventFeedAsync(), the driver creates the event source and requests the event feed at the same time.

In most cases, you’ll get events after a specific event cursor or start time.

Get events after a specific start time

When you first poll an event source using an Event Feed, you usually include a startTs (start timestamp) in the FeedOptions object that’s passed to EventFeedAsync(). The request returns events that occurred after the specified timestamp (exclusive).

startTs is an integer representing a time in microseconds since the Unix epoch:

// Calculate timestamp for 10 minutes ago in microseconds
long tenMinutesAgo = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow.AddMinutes(-10).ToUnixTimeMilliseconds() * 1000;
var feedOptions = new FeedOptions(startTs: tenMinutesAgo);

var feed = await client.EventFeedAsync<Product>(FQL($"Product.all().eventSource()", feedOptions));

startTs must be later than the creation time of the event source. The period between the request and the startTs can’t exceed the history_days setting for the source Set’s collection. If history_days is 0 or unset, the period is limited to 15 minutes.

Get events after a specific event cursor

After the initial request, you usually get subsequent events using the cursor for the last page or event.

To get events after a cursor (exclusive), include the cursor in the FeedOptions object that’s passed to EventFeedAsync():

var feedOptions = new FeedOptions(cursor: "gsGabc456"); // Cursor for a previous page

var feed = await client.EventFeedAsync<Product>(FQL($"Product.all().eventSource()", feedOptions));

You can reuse cursors across event sources with identical queries in the same database.

Iterate on an Event Feed

EventFeedAsync() returns a FeedEnumerable instance that acts as an AsyncEnumerator. Use foreach() to iterate through the pages of events:

await foreach (var page in feed)
{
    foreach (var evt in page.Events)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Event Type: {evt.Type}");
        Product product = evt.Data;
        Console.WriteLine($"Product Name: {product.Name}");
    }
}

The FeedEnumerable will stop when there are no more events to poll.

Each page includes a top-level cursor. You can include the cursor in a FeedOptions object passed to EventFeedAsync() to poll for events after the cursor.

Error handling

Exceptions can be raised at two different places:

  • While fetching a page

  • While iterating a page’s events

This distinction allows for you to ignore errors originating from event processing. For example:

try
{
    await foreach (var page in feed)
    {
        try
        {
            foreach (var evt in page.Events)
            {
                Console.WriteLine($"Event Type: {evt.Type}");
                Product product = evt.Data;
                Console.WriteLine($"Product Name: {product.Name}");
            }
        }
        // `EventException` is thrown for event processing errors.
        catch (EventException eventError)
        {
            Console.WriteLine($"Feed event error: {eventError}");
        }
    }
}
catch (Exception error)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Non-retryable error: {error}");
}

Each page’s cursor contains the cursor for the page’s last successfully processed event. If you’re using a loop to poll for changes, using the cursor will skip any events that caused errors.

Event Feed options

The client configuration sets the default options for EventFeedAsync(). You can pass a FeedOptions object to override these defaults:

var feedOptions = new FeedOptions(
    startTs: 1710968002310000,
    pageSize: 10,
    cursor: "gsGabc456"
);

var feed = await client.EventFeedAsync<Product>(FQL($"Product.all().eventSource()"), feedOptions);

For supported properties, see FeedOptions in the API reference.

Event Streaming

The driver supports Event Streaming.

Start a stream

To get an event source, append set.eventSource() or set.eventsOn() to a supported Set.

To stream the source’s events, pass the event source to SubscribeStream():

var query = fql($@"
  let set = Customer.all()

  {{
    initialPage: set.pageSize(10),
    eventSource: set.eventSource()
  }}
");

var response = await client.QueryAsync(query);
var eventSource = response["eventSource"].ToString();

await using var stream = client.SubscribeStream<Customer>(eventSource);
await foreach (var evt in stream)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Received Event Type: {evt.Type}");
    if (evt.Data != null) // Status events won't have Data
    {
        Customer customer = evt.Data;
        Console.WriteLine($"Name: {customer.Name} - Email: {customer.Email}");
    }
}

You can also pass a query that produces an event source directly to EventStreamAsync():

var stream = await client.EventStreamAsync<Customer>(FQL($"Customer.all().eventSource()"));
await foreach (var evt in stream)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Received Event Type: {evt.Type}");
    if (evt.Data != null)
    {
        Customer customer = evt.Data;
        Console.WriteLine($"Name: {customer.Name} - Email: {customer.Email}");
    }
}

Stream options

The Client configuration sets default options for the SubscribeStream() and EventStreamAsync() methods.

You can pass a StreamOptions object to override these defaults:

var options = new StreamOptions(
    token: "<EVENT_SOURCE>",
    cursor: "gsGghu789"
);

var stream = await client.EventStreamAsync<Customer>(
    query: FQL("Product.all().eventSource()"),
    streamOptions: options
);

await foreach (var evt in stream)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Received Event Type: {evt.Type}");
    if (evt.Data != null)
    {
        Customer customer = evt.Data;
        Console.WriteLine($"Name: {customer.Name} - Email: {customer.Email}");
    }
}

Debug logging

To enable debug logging, set the FAUNA_DEBUG environment variable to an integer for the Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.LogLevel. For example:

  • 0: LogLevel.Trace and higher (all messages)

  • 3: LogLevel.Warning and higher

The driver logs HTTP request and response details, including headers. For security, the Authorization header is redacted in debug logs but is visible in trace logs.

As of v1.0.0, the driver only outputs LogLevel.Debug messages. Use 0 (Trace) or 1 (Debug) to log these messages.

For advanced logging, you can use a custom ILogger implementation, such as Serilog or NLog. Pass the implementation to the Configuration class when instantiating a Client.

Basic example: Serilog

Install the packages:

dotnet add package Serilog
dotnet add package Serilog.Extensions.Logging
dotnet add package Serilog.Sinks.Console
dotnet add package Serilog.Sinks.File

Configure and use the logger:

using Fauna;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
using Serilog;
using static Fauna.Query;

Log.Logger = new LoggerConfiguration()
    .MinimumLevel.Verbose()
    .WriteTo.Console()
    .WriteTo.File("log.txt",
        rollingInterval: RollingInterval.Day,
        rollOnFileSizeLimit: true)
    .CreateLogger();

var logFactory = new LoggerFactory().AddSerilog(Log.Logger);

var config = new Configuration("mysecret", logger: logFactory.CreateLogger("myapp"));

var client = new Client(config);

await client.QueryAsync(FQL($"1+1"));

// You should see LogLevel.Debug messages in both the Console and the "log{date}.txt" file

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