.NET Clean Architecture Project Scaffolder

Overview

This skill generates a complete .NET solution following Clean Architecture (also known as Onion Architecture or Hexagonal Architecture). The architecture enforces separation of concerns through distinct layers with unidirectional dependencies pointing inward.

Architecture Layers

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        API Layer                            │
│  Controllers, Middleware, Request/Response DTOs             │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                   Infrastructure Layer                       │
│  EF Core, Repositories, External Services, Authentication   │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                    Application Layer                         │
│  Commands, Queries, Handlers, Validators, DTOs              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                      Domain Layer                            │
│  Entities, Value Objects, Domain Events, Interfaces         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Dependency Rule: Dependencies point inward. Domain has no dependencies. Application depends only on Domain. Infrastructure implements interfaces from Domain/Application.

Quick Reference

Project Structure

{SolutionName}/
├── src/
│   ├── {name}.domain/
│   │   ├── Abstractions/
│   │   │   ├── Entity.cs
│   │   │   ├── IDomainEvent.cs
│   │   │   ├── IUnitOfWork.cs
│   │   │   └── Result.cs
│   │   ├── {Aggregate}/
│   │   │   ├── {Entity}.cs
│   │   │   ├── {Entity}Errors.cs
│   │   │   ├── I{Entity}Repository.cs
│   │   │   ├── ValueObjects/
│   │   │   └── Events/
│   │   └── {name}.domain.csproj
│   │
│   ├── {name}.application/
│   │   ├── Abstractions/
│   │   │   ├── Behaviors/
│   │   │   │   ├── LoggingBehavior.cs
│   │   │   │   └── ValidationBehavior.cs
│   │   │   ├── Messaging/
│   │   │   │   ├── ICommand.cs
│   │   │   │   ├── ICommandHandler.cs
│   │   │   │   ├── IQuery.cs
│   │   │   │   └── IQueryHandler.cs
│   │   │   ├── Authentication/
│   │   │   ├── Clock/
│   │   │   └── Data/
│   │   ├── {Feature}/
│   │   │   ├── Create{Entity}/
│   │   │   ├── Update{Entity}/
│   │   │   ├── Delete{Entity}/
│   │   │   └── Get{Entity}/
│   │   ├── DependencyInjection.cs
│   │   └── {name}.application.csproj
│   │
│   ├── {name}.infrastructure/
│   │   ├── Authentication/
│   │   ├── Authorization/
│   │   ├── Clock/
│   │   ├── Configurations/
│   │   ├── Repositories/
│   │   ├── Outbox/
│   │   ├── ApplicationDbContext.cs
│   │   ├── DependencyInjection.cs
│   │   └── {name}.infrastructure.csproj
│   │
│   └── {name}.api/
│       ├── Controllers/
│       ├── Middleware/
│       ├── Extensions/
│       ├── Program.cs
│       ├── appsettings.json
│       └── {name}.api.csproj
│
├── tests/
│   ├── {name}.domain.tests/
│   ├── {name}.application.tests/
│   └── {name}.api.tests/
│
└── {SolutionName}.sln

Step 1: Create Solution and Projects

# Create solution
dotnet new sln -n {SolutionName}

# Create projects
dotnet new classlib -n {name}.domain -o src/{name}.domain
dotnet new classlib -n {name}.application -o src/{name}.application
dotnet new classlib -n {name}.infrastructure -o src/{name}.infrastructure
dotnet new webapi -n {name}.api -o src/{name}.api

# Add projects to solution
dotnet sln add src/{name}.domain/{name}.domain.csproj
dotnet sln add src/{name}.application/{name}.application.csproj
dotnet sln add src/{name}.infrastructure/{name}.infrastructure.csproj
dotnet sln add src/{name}.api/{name}.api.csproj

# Add project references
cd src/{name}.application
dotnet add reference ../{name}.domain/{name}.domain.csproj

cd ../{name}.infrastructure
dotnet add reference ../{name}.domain/{name}.domain.csproj
dotnet add reference ../{name}.application/{name}.application.csproj

cd ../{name}.api
dotnet add reference ../{name}.application/{name}.application.csproj
dotnet add reference ../{name}.infrastructure/{name}.infrastructure.csproj

Step 2: Domain Layer Setup

Entity Base Class

// src/{name}.domain/Abstractions/Entity.cs
namespace {name}.domain.abstractions;

public abstract class Entity
{
    private readonly List<IDomainEvent> _domainEvents = new();

    protected Entity(Guid id)
    {
        Id = id;
    }

    protected Entity() { } // EF Core

    public Guid Id { get; init; }

    public IReadOnlyList<IDomainEvent> GetDomainEvents() => _domainEvents.ToList();

    public void ClearDomainEvents() => _domainEvents.Clear();

    protected void RaiseDomainEvent(IDomainEvent domainEvent) => _domainEvents.Add(domainEvent);
}

Domain Event Interface

// src/{name}.domain/Abstractions/IDomainEvent.cs
using MediatR;

namespace {name}.domain.abstractions;

public interface IDomainEvent : INotification
{
}

Unit of Work Interface

// src/{name}.domain/Abstractions/IUnitOfWork.cs
namespace {name}.domain.abstractions;

public interface IUnitOfWork
{
    Task<int> SaveChangesAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken = default);
}

Result Pattern (see result-pattern skill for full implementation)

// src/{name}.domain/Abstractions/Result.cs
namespace {name}.domain.abstractions;

public class Result
{
    protected Result(bool isSuccess, Error error)
    {
        if (isSuccess && error != Error.None)
            throw new InvalidOperationException();
        if (!isSuccess && error == Error.None)
            throw new InvalidOperationException();

        IsSuccess = isSuccess;
        Error = error;
    }

    public bool IsSuccess { get; }
    public bool IsFailure => !IsSuccess;
    public Error Error { get; }

    public static Result Success() => new(true, Error.None);
    public static Result Failure(Error error) => new(false, error);
    public static Result<TValue> Success<TValue>(TValue value) => new(value, true, Error.None);
    public static Result<TValue> Failure<TValue>(Error error) => new(default, false, error);
}

public class Result<TValue> : Result
{
    private readonly TValue? _value;

    protected internal Result(TValue? value, bool isSuccess, Error error)
        : base(isSuccess, error)
    {
        _value = value;
    }

    public TValue Value => IsSuccess
        ? _value!
        : throw new InvalidOperationException("Cannot access value of a failed result");

    public static implicit operator Result<TValue>(TValue? value) =>
        value is not null ? Success(value) : Failure<TValue>(Error.NullValue);
}

public record Error(string Code, string Description)
{
    public static readonly Error None = new(string.Empty, string.Empty);
    public static readonly Error NullValue = new("Error.NullValue", "A null value was provided");
}

Step 3: Application Layer Setup

Package References

<!-- {name}.application.csproj -->
<ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="FluentValidation" Version="11.*" />
    <PackageReference Include="FluentValidation.DependencyInjectionExtensions" Version="11.*" />
    <PackageReference Include="MediatR" Version="12.*" />
    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions" Version="8.*" />
</ItemGroup>

CQRS Abstractions

// src/{name}.application/Abstractions/Messaging/ICommand.cs
using MediatR;
using {name