{"id":4828,"date":"2025-07-16T10:17:31","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T17:17:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.couchbase.com\/blog\/ef-core-couchbase-integrations\/"},"modified":"2025-07-16T10:17:31","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T17:17:31","slug":"ef-core-couchbase-integrations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.couchbase.com\/blog\/ef-core-couchbase-integrations\/","title":{"rendered":"3 EF Core Integrations That Work with Couchbase"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Couchbase\u2019s new EF Core provider<\/a> opens the door to some powerful .NET integrations: even ones traditionally tied to relational databases. This post walks through how Identity, GraphQL, and OData all work with Couchbase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this post, I\u2019ll walk through three advanced EF Core integrations<\/b> that I have successfully tested with Couchbase:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. ASP.NET Core Identity<\/b><\/li>\n\n\n
  2. GraphQL (via Hot Chocolate)<\/b><\/li>\n\n\n
  3. OData<\/b><\/li>\n\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Note:\u00a0<\/strong>These integrations are based on limited testing and are not officially supported (yet). Your mileage may vary, but so far, they show a lot of promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    ASP.NET Core Identity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Microsoft.AspNetCore.Identity.EntityFrameworkCore<\/a><\/em> provides a plug-and-play authentication and user management system for ASP.NET apps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Couchbase\u2019s EF Core provider works well with it. The only caveat is that you\u2019ll need to make sure the proper collections exist first<\/strong> (like AspNetUsers, AspNetRoles, etc).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Note:\u00a0<\/strong>You must create the following collections in advance: AspNetUsers, AspNetRoles, AspNetUserRoles, AspNetUserClaims, AspNetUserLogins, AspNetUserTokens, AspNetRoleClaims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Example EF setup<\/h3>\n\n\n

    [crayon nums=”false” lang=”default” decode=”true”]public class AppDbContext : IdentityDbContext<ApplicationUser>
    \n{
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 public AppDbContext(DbContextOptions<AppDbContext> options) : base(options) { }<\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \u00a0 protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder builder)
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 {
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 base.OnModelCreating(builder);<\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 builder.Entity<ApplicationUser>().ToCouchbaseCollection(this, “AspNetUsers”);
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 builder.Entity<IdentityRole>().ToCouchbaseCollection(this, “AspNetRoles”);
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 builder.Entity<IdentityUserRole<string>>().ToCouchbaseCollection(this, “AspNetUserRoles”);
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 builder.Entity<IdentityUserClaim<string>>().ToCouchbaseCollection(this, “AspNetUserClaims”);
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 builder.Entity<IdentityUserLogin<string>>().ToCouchbaseCollection(this, “AspNetUserLogins”);
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 builder.Entity<IdentityUserToken<string>>().ToCouchbaseCollection(this, “AspNetUserTokens”);
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 builder.Entity<IdentityRoleClaim<string>>().ToCouchbaseCollection(this, “AspNetRoleClaims”);
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 }
    \n}<\/p>\n

    public class ApplicationUser : IdentityUser { }[\/crayon]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    MVC auth example<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Here\u2019s an ASP.NET Core MVC controller with registration, login, and logout, as well as a custom role:<\/p>\n\n\n

    [crayon nums=”false” lang=”default” decode=”true”]public class AuthController : Controller
    \n{
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 private readonly UserManager<ApplicationUser> _userManager;
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 private readonly SignInManager<ApplicationUser> _signInManager;
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 private readonly RoleManager<IdentityRole> _roleManager;<\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \u00a0 public AuthController(UserManager<ApplicationUser> userManager, SignInManager<ApplicationUser> signInManager, RoleManager<IdentityRole> roleManager)
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 {
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 _userManager = userManager;
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 _signInManager = signInManager;
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 _roleManager = roleManager;
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 }<\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \u00a0 public IActionResult Register() => View();<\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \u00a0 [HttpPost]
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 public async Task<IActionResult> Register(RegisterModel model)
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 {
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 if (!ModelState.IsValid) return View(model);<\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 var user = new ApplicationUser { UserName = model.Email, Email = model.Email };
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 var result = await _userManager.CreateAsync(user, model.Password);
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 if (result.Succeeded)
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 {
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 var roleName = “CustomRole”;
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 if (!await _roleManager.RoleExistsAsync(roleName))
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 await _roleManager.CreateAsync(new IdentityRole(roleName));<\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 await _userManager.AddToRoleAsync(user, roleName);
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 await _signInManager.SignInAsync(user, isPersistent: false);
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 return RedirectToAction(“Index”, “Home”);
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 }<\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 foreach (var error in result.Errors) ModelState.AddModelError(“”, error.Description);
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 return View(model);
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 }<\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \u00a0 public IActionResult Login() => View();<\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \u00a0 [HttpPost]
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 public async Task<IActionResult> Login(LoginModel model)
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 {
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 if (!ModelState.IsValid) return View(model);<\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 var result = await _signInManager.PasswordSignInAsync(model.Email, model.Password, false, false);
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 if (result.Succeeded)
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 return RedirectToAction(“Index”, “Home”);<\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 ModelState.AddModelError(“”, “Invalid login attempt.”);
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 return View(model);
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 }<\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \u00a0 public async Task<IActionResult> Logout()
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 {
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 await _signInManager.SignOutAsync();
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 return RedirectToAction(“Index”, “Home”);
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 }
    \n}[\/crayon]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The data follows the standard Identity structure, stored in a Couchbase document. For example, a document in AspNetUser<\/em> collection:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"A<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    GraphQL with Hot Chocolate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Hot Chocolate<\/a> is a popular GraphQL server for .NET. It can integrate with EF Core, leaning on the LINQ capabilities of the provider (which Couchbase has). This means that GraphQL queries are translated to LINQ, which is then translated to Couchbase SQL++.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Setup<\/h3>\n\n\n

    [crayon nums=”false” lang=”default” decode=”true”]public class WidgetQuery
    \n{
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 [UseFiltering]
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 [UseSorting]
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 public IQueryable<Widget> GetWidgets([Service] WidgetDbContext dbContext)
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 => dbContext.Widgets;
    \n}<\/p>\n

    \/\/ Program.cs:<\/p>\n

    builder.Services
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 .AddGraphQLServer()
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 .AddQueryType<WidgetQuery>()
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 .AddFiltering()
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 .AddSorting()
    \n\u00a0 \u00a0 .AddProjections();<\/p>\n

    app.MapGraphQL();[\/crayon]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Example usage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n