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Version: Next

Outbox Installation

Prerequisites​

  • .NET 8 or later
  • Entity Framework Core 8+ (recommended for the EF Core integration)
  • A message broker (RabbitMQ, Azure Service Bus, etc.) for the relay to publish to

Package Installation​

Step 1: Install the Core Outbox Package​

The core package provides the outbox channel, relay service, and base contracts:

dotnet add package Hermodr.Publisher.Outbox

The EF Core package provides ready-made implementations that eliminate most boilerplate:

dotnet add package Hermodr.Publisher.Outbox.EntityFramework

Step 3: Install Your Database Provider​

Choose the EF Core provider for your database:

# SQL Server
dotnet add package Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer

# PostgreSQL
dotnet add package Npgsql.EntityFrameworkCore.PostgreSQL

# SQLite (for development/testing)
dotnet add package Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Sqlite

# MySQL
dotnet add package Pomelo.EntityFrameworkCore.MySql

Package Overview​

PackagePurposeRequired
Hermodr.Publisher.OutboxCore outbox channel and relay service✅ Yes
Hermodr.Publisher.Outbox.EntityFrameworkEF Core entity, repository, and extensions✅ Recommended
Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.*Database provider✅ For EF Core integration

What's Included​

Core Package (Hermodr.Publisher.Outbox)​

  • OutboxPublishChannel<TMessage> — Channel that persists events instead of sending directly
  • IOutboxMessage — Contract for outbox message entities
  • IOutboxMessageFactory<TMessage> — Creates outbox records from CloudEvent instances
  • IOutboxMessageStore<TMessage> — Repository for persisting and querying outbox records
  • OutboxRelayService — Background service that polls and forwards pending messages
  • OutboxMessageStatus — Enum tracking delivery lifecycle (Pending, Sending, Delivered, Failed)

EF Core Package (Hermodr.Publisher.Outbox.EntityFramework)​

  • DbOutboxMessage — Ready-to-use IOutboxMessage implementation with EF mappings
  • EntityOutboxMessageRepository<TMessage> — EF Core repository implementation
  • OutboxDbContext — Minimal DbContext with outbox entity configured
  • WithEntityFramework() — Fluent extension that wires all EF components in one call
  • AddEntityFrameworkOutbox() — Convenience method combining outbox + EF registration

Next Steps​

After installation, proceed to:

  1. Components — Learn about the outbox contracts (entity, factory, store)
  2. EF Core Integration — Set up the ready-made EF implementation
  3. Registration — Wire everything up in your application