appwrite-dotnet

Appwrite .NET SDK

Installation

dotnet add package Appwrite

Setting Up the Client

using Appwrite;
using Appwrite.Services;
using Appwrite.Models;

var client = new Client()
    .SetEndpoint("https://<REGION>.cloud.appwrite.io/v1")
    .SetProject(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("APPWRITE_PROJECT_ID"))
    .SetKey(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("APPWRITE_API_KEY"));

Code Examples

User Management

var users = new Users(client);

// Create user
var user = await users.Create(ID.Unique(), "user@example.com", null, "password123", "User Name");

// List users
var list = await users.List(new List<string> { Query.Limit(25) });

// Get user
var fetched = await users.Get("[USER_ID]");

// Delete user
await users.Delete("[USER_ID]");

Database Operations

Note: Use TablesDB (not the deprecated Databases class) for all new code. Only use Databases if the existing codebase already relies on it or the user explicitly requests it.

Tip: Prefer named arguments (e.g., databaseId: "...") for all SDK method calls. Only use positional arguments if the existing codebase already uses them or the user explicitly requests it.

var tablesDB = new TablesDB(client);

// Create database
var db = await tablesDB.Create(ID.Unique(), "My Database");

// Create row
var doc = await tablesDB.CreateRow("[DATABASE_ID]", "[TABLE_ID]", ID.Unique(),
    new Dictionary<string, object> { { "title", "Hello World" } });

// Query rows
var results = await tablesDB.ListRows("[DATABASE_ID]", "[TABLE_ID]",
    new List<string> { Query.Equal("title", "Hello World"), Query.Limit(10) });

// Get row
var row = await tablesDB.GetRow("[DATABASE_ID]", "[TABLE_ID]", "[ROW_ID]");

// Update row
await tablesDB.UpdateRow("[DATABASE_ID]", "[TABLE_ID]", "[ROW_ID]",
    new Dictionary<string, object> { { "title", "Updated" } });

// Delete row
await tablesDB.DeleteRow("[DATABASE_ID]", "[TABLE_ID]", "[ROW_ID]");

String Column Types

Note: The legacy string type is deprecated. Use explicit column types for all new columns.

Type	Max characters	Indexing	Storage
varchar	16,383	Full index (if size ≤ 768)	Inline in row
text	16,383	Prefix only	Off-page
mediumtext	4,194,303	Prefix only	Off-page
longtext	1,073,741,823	Prefix only	Off-page

• varchar is stored inline and counts towards the 64 KB row size limit. Prefer for short, indexed fields like names, slugs, or identifiers.
• text, mediumtext, and longtext are stored off-page (only a 20-byte pointer lives in the row), so they don't consume the row size budget. size is not required for these types.

// Create table with explicit string column types
await tablesDB.CreateTable("[DATABASE_ID]", ID.Unique(), "articles",
    new List<object> {
        new { key = "title",    type = "varchar",    size = 255, required = true  },  // inline, fully indexable
        new { key = "summary",  type = "text",                   required = false },  // off-page, prefix index only
        new { key = "body",     type = "mediumtext",             required = false },  // up to ~4 M chars
        new { key = "raw_data", type = "longtext",               required = false },  // up to ~1 B chars
    });

Query Methods

// Filtering
Query.Equal("field", "value")             // == (or pass array for IN)
Query.NotEqual("field", "value")          // !=
Query.LessThan("field", 100)             // <
Query.LessThanEqual("field", 100)        // <=
Query.GreaterThan("field", 100)          // >
Query.GreaterThanEqual("field", 100)     // >=
Query.Between("field", 1, 100)           // 1 <= field <= 100
Query.IsNull("field")                    // is null
Query.IsNotNull("field")                 // is not null
Query.StartsWith("field", "prefix")      // starts with
Query.EndsWith("field", "suffix")        // ends with
Query.Contains("field", "sub")           // contains
Query.Search("field", "keywords")        // full-text search (requires index)

// Sorting
Query.OrderAsc("field")
Query.OrderDesc("field")

// Pagination
Query.Limit(25)                          // max rows (default 25, max 100)
Query.Offset(0)                          // skip N rows
Query.CursorAfter("[ROW_ID]")            // cursor pagination (preferred)
Query.CursorBefore("[ROW_ID]")

// Selection & Logic
Query.Select(new List<string> { "field1", "field2" })
Query.Or(new List<string> { Query.Equal("a", 1), Query.Equal("b", 2) })   // OR
Query.And(new List<string> { Query.GreaterThan("age", 18), Query.LessThan("age", 65) })  // AND (default)

File Storage

var storage = new Storage(client);

// Upload file
var file = await storage.CreateFile("[BUCKET_ID]", ID.Unique(), InputFile.FromPath("/path/to/file.png"));

// List files
var files = await storage.ListFiles("[BUCKET_ID]");

// Delete file
await storage.DeleteFile("[BUCKET_ID]", "[FILE_ID]");

InputFile Factory Methods

using Appwrite.Models;

InputFile.FromPath("/path/to/file.png")                          // from filesystem path
InputFile.FromBytes(byteArray, "file.png", "image/png")          // from byte[]
InputFile.FromStream(stream, "file.png", "image/png", size)      // from Stream (size required)

Teams

var teams = new Teams(client);

// Create team
var team = await teams.Create(ID.Unique(), "Engineering");

// List teams
var list = await teams.List();

// Create membership (invite user by email)
var membership = await teams.CreateMembership(
    teamId: "[TEAM_ID]",
    roles: new List<string> { "editor" },
    email: "user@example.com"
);

// List memberships
var members = await teams.ListMemberships("[TEAM_ID]");

// Update membership roles
await teams.UpdateMembership("[TEAM_ID]", "[MEMBERSHIP_ID]", new List<string> { "admin" });

// Delete team
await teams.Delete("[TEAM_ID]");

Role-based access: Use Role.Team("[TEAM_ID]") for all team members or Role.Team("[TEAM_ID]", "editor") for a specific team role when setting permissions.

Serverless Functions

var functions = new Functions(client);

// Execute function
var execution = await functions.CreateExecution("[FUNCTION_ID]", body: "{\"key\": \"value\"}");

// List executions
var executions = await functions.ListExecutions("[FUNCTION_ID]");

Writing a Function Handler (.NET runtime)

// src/Main.cs — Appwrite Function entry point
using System.Text.Json;

public async Task<RuntimeOutput> Main(RuntimeContext context)
{
    // context.Req.Body        — raw body (string)
    // context.Req.BodyJson    — parsed JSON (JsonElement)
    // context.Req.Headers     — headers (Dictionary)
    // context.Req.Method      — HTTP method
    // context.Req.Path        — URL path
    // context.Req.Query       — query params (Dictionary)

    context.Log($"Processing: {context.Req.Method} {context.Req.Path}");

    if (context.Req.Method == "GET")
        return context.Res.Json(new { message = "Hello from Appwrite Function!" });

    return context.Res.Json(new { success = true });      // JSON
    // context.Res.Text("Hello");                         // plain text
    // context.Res.Empty();                               // 204
    // context.Res.Redirect("https://...");               // 302
}

Server-Side Rendering (SSR) Authentication

SSR apps using .NET frameworks (ASP.NET, Blazor Server, etc.) use the server SDK to handle auth. You need two clients:

• Admin client — uses an API key, creates sessions, bypasses rate limits (reusable singleton)
• Session client — uses a session cookie, acts on behalf of a user (create per-request, never share)

using Appwrite;
using Appwrite.Services;

// Admin client (reusable)
var adminClient = new Client()
    .SetEndpoint("https://<REGION>.cloud.appwrite.io/v1")
    .SetProject("[PROJECT_ID]")
    .SetKey(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("APPWRITE_API_KEY"));

// Session client (create per-request)
var sessionClient = new Client()
    .SetEndpoint("https://<REGION>.cloud.appwrite.io/v1")
    .SetProject("[PROJECT_ID]");

var session = Request.Cookies["a_session_[PROJECT_ID]"];
if (session != null)
{
    sessionClient.SetSession(session);
}

Email/Password Login (ASP.NET Minimal API)

app.MapPost("/login", async (HttpContext ctx, LoginRequest body) =>
{
    var account = new Account(adminClient);
    var session = await account.CreateEmailPasswordSession(body.Email, body.Password);

    // Cookie name must be a_session_<PROJECT_ID>
    ctx.Response.Cookies.Append("a_session_[PROJECT_ID]", session.Secret, new CookieOptions
    {
        HttpOnly = true,
        Secure = true,
        SameSite = SameSiteMode.Strict,
        Path = "/",
    });

    return Results.Ok(new { success = true });
});

Authenticated Requests

app.MapGet("/user", async (HttpContext ctx) =>
{
    var session = ctx.Request.Cookies["a_session_[PROJECT_ID]"];
    if (session == null) return Results.Unauthorized();

    var sessionClient = new Client()
        .SetEndpoint("https://<REGION>.cloud.appwrite.io/v1")
        .SetProject("[PROJECT_ID]")
        .SetSession(session);

    var account = new Account(sessionClient);
    var user = await account.Get();
    return Results.Ok(user);
});

OAuth2 SSR Flow

// Step 1: Redirect to OAuth provider
app.MapGet("/oauth", async () =>
{
    var account = new Account(adminClient);
    var redirectUrl = await account.CreateOAuth2Token(
        provider: OAuthProvider.Github,
        success: "https://example.com/oauth/success",
        failure: "https://example.com/oauth/failure"
    );
    return Results.Redirect(redirectUrl);
});

// Step 2: Handle callback — exchange token for session
app.MapGet("/oauth/success", async (HttpContext ctx, string userId, string secret) =>
{
    var account = new Account(adminClient);
    var session = await account.CreateSession(userId, secret);

    ctx.Response.Cookies.Append("a_session_[PROJECT_ID]", session.Secret, new CookieOptions
    {
        HttpOnly = true, Secure = true, SameSite = SameSiteMode.Strict, Path = "/",
    });

    return Results.Ok(new { success = true });
});

Cookie security: Always use HttpOnly, Secure, and SameSite = SameSiteMode.Strict to prevent XSS. The cookie name must be a_session_<PROJECT_ID>.

Forwarding user agent: Call sessionClient.SetForwardedUserAgent(ctx.Request.Headers["User-Agent"]) to record the end-user's browser info for debugging and security.

Error Handling

using Appwrite;

try
{
    var row = await tablesDB.GetRow("[DATABASE_ID]", "[TABLE_ID]", "[ROW_ID]");
}
catch (AppwriteException e)
{
    Console.WriteLine(e.Message);    // human-readable message
    Console.WriteLine(e.Code);       // HTTP status code (int)
    Console.WriteLine(e.Type);       // error type (e.g. "document_not_found")
    Console.WriteLine(e.Response);   // full response body
}

Common error codes:

Code	Meaning
401	Unauthorized — missing or invalid session/API key
403	Forbidden — insufficient permissions
404	Not found — resource does not exist
409	Conflict — duplicate ID or unique constraint
429	Rate limited — too many requests

Permissions & Roles (Critical)

Appwrite uses permission strings to control access to resources. Each permission pairs an action (read, update, delete, create, or write which grants create + update + delete) with a role target. By default, no user has access unless permissions are explicitly set at the document/file level or inherited from the collection/bucket settings. Permissions are arrays of strings built with the Permission and Role helpers.

using Appwrite;
// Permission and Role are included in the main namespace

Database Row with Permissions

var doc = await tablesDB.CreateRow("[DATABASE_ID]", "[TABLE_ID]", ID.Unique(),
    new Dictionary<string, object> { { "title", "Hello World" } },
    new List<string>
    {
        Permission.Read(Role.User("[USER_ID]")),     // specific user can read
        Permission.Update(Role.User("[USER_ID]")),   // specific user can update
        Permission.Read(Role.Team("[TEAM_ID]")),     // all team members can read
        Permission.Read(Role.Any()),                 // anyone (including guests) can read
    });

File Upload with Permissions

var file = await storage.CreateFile("[BUCKET_ID]", ID.Unique(),
    InputFile.FromPath("/path/to/file.png"),
    new List<string>
    {
        Permission.Read(Role.Any()),
        Permission.Update(Role.User("[USER_ID]")),
        Permission.Delete(Role.User("[USER_ID]")),
    });

When to set permissions: Set document/file-level permissions when you need per-resource access control. If all documents in a collection share the same rules, configure permissions at the collection/bucket level and leave document permissions empty.

Common mistakes:

• Forgetting permissions — the resource becomes inaccessible to all users (including the creator)
• Role.Any() with write/update/delete — allows any user, including unauthenticated guests, to modify or remove the resource
• Permission.Read(Role.Any()) on sensitive data — makes the resource publicly readable