Configuring Akka.NET with .NET Aspire

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Setting up a new Akka.NET project with .NET Aspire orchestration
• Configuring Akka.Cluster with cluster bootstrapping and discovery
• Integrating Akka.Persistence with SQL Server
• Setting up Akka.Management for cluster management
• Configuring multi-replica actor systems in local development
• Deploying Akka.NET applications to Kubernetes with Aspire

Related Skills

• akka-net-management - Deep dive into Akka.Management, Cluster Bootstrap, and discovery providers (Kubernetes, Azure, Config)
• microsoft-extensions-configuration - IValidateOptions patterns for configuration validation
• akka-net-best-practices - Cluster/local mode abstractions for testable actor systems
• aspire-integration-testing - Testing Aspire applications with real infrastructure

Core Principles

1. Configuration via Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration - Use strongly-typed settings classes bound from appsettings.json (see microsoft-extensions-configuration skill)
2. Akka.Hosting for DI Integration - Use the Akka.Hosting library for seamless ASP.NET Core integration
3. Aspire for Orchestration - Let Aspire manage service dependencies, networking, and environment configuration
4. Health Checks - Always configure health checks for clustering, persistence, and readiness
5. Separate Concerns - Keep actor definitions, configuration, and Aspire orchestration in separate layers
6. Validate Configuration at Startup - Use IValidateOptions<T> and .ValidateOnStart() to fail fast on misconfiguration

Project Structure