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C# Entity Framework Cheat Sheet

C# Entity Framework Cheat Sheet

Covers Entity Framework Core basics: DbContext, DbSet, CRUD operations, eager loading with Include, and managing schema migrations from the CLI.

2 PagesIntermediateMar 28, 2026

DbContext & Model

Defining entities and the database session type.

csharp
public class Blog{    public int Id { get; set; }    public string Title { get; set; } = string.Empty;    public List<Post> Posts { get; set; } = new();}public class AppDbContext : DbContext{    public DbSet<Blog> Blogs => Set<Blog>();    public DbSet<Post> Posts => Set<Post>();    protected override void OnConfiguring(DbContextOptionsBuilder options)        => options.UseSqlServer("Server=.;Database=BlogDb;Trusted_Connection=True;");}

CRUD Operations

Creating, reading, updating, and deleting entities.

csharp
using var db = new AppDbContext();// Createdb.Blogs.Add(new Blog { Title = "My Blog" });await db.SaveChangesAsync();// Readvar blog = await db.Blogs.FirstOrDefaultAsync(b => b.Title == "My Blog");var all = await db.Blogs.Include(b => b.Posts).ToListAsync();  // Eager load related data// Updateblog!.Title = "Updated Title";await db.SaveChangesAsync();// Deletedb.Blogs.Remove(blog);await db.SaveChangesAsync();

Migrations (CLI)

Versioning the database schema from your model.

bash
dotnet tool install --global dotnet-ef       # Install the EF Core CLI tooldotnet ef migrations add InitialCreate       # Generate a migration from model changesdotnet ef database update                    # Apply pending migrations to the databasedotnet ef migrations remove                  # Remove the last unapplied migration

Key Concepts

Core EF Core building blocks.

  • DbContext- Represents a session with the database; tracks entity changes for SaveChanges()
  • DbSet<T>- Represents a table/collection queried and modified via the context
  • Change tracking- EF tracks entity state (Added, Modified, Deleted, Unchanged) automatically
  • Include / ThenInclude- Eagerly load related navigation properties in a single query
  • Lazy loading- Related data loaded on first access when navigation properties are virtual and enabled
  • Migrations- Code-first schema versioning generated from model changes
  • AsNoTracking()- Skips change tracking for read-only queries, improving performance
Pro Tip

Use .AsNoTracking() on read-only queries such as API GET endpoints — it avoids the overhead of EF's change tracker and can noticeably speed up large result sets.

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