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
-
Configuration via Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration - Use strongly-typed settings classes bound from appsettings.json (see
microsoft-extensions-configurationskill) -
Akka.Hosting for DI Integration - Use the Akka.Hosting library for seamless ASP.NET Core integration
-
Aspire for Orchestration - Let Aspire manage service dependencies, networking, and environment configuration
-
Health Checks - Always configure health checks for clustering, persistence, and readiness
-
Separate Concerns - Keep actor definitions, configuration, and Aspire orchestration in separate layers
-
Validate Configuration at Startup - Use
IValidateOptions<T>and.ValidateOnStart()to fail fast on misconfiguration
Project Structure
YourSolution/
├── src/
│ ├── YourApp.Actors/ # Actor definitions and business logic
│ │ ├── YourActor.cs
│ │ └── YourApp.Actors.csproj
│ ├── YourApp/ # ASP.NET Core web application
│ │ ├── Config/
│ │ │ ├── AkkaConfiguration.cs # Akka setup extension methods
│ │ │ └── AkkaSettings.cs # Configuration model
│ │ ├── Program.cs
│ │ ├── appsettings.json
│ │ └── YourApp.csproj
│ └── YourApp.AppHost/ # Aspire orchestration
│ ├── Program.cs
│ ├── AkkaManagementExtensions.cs
│ └── YourApp.AppHost.csproj
Required NuGet Packages
For Actor Project (YourApp.Actors.csproj)
<ItemGroup>
<PackageReference Include="Akka.Cluster.Hosting" />
<PackageReference Include="Akka.Streams" />
</ItemGroup>
For Web Application (YourApp.csproj)
<ItemGroup>
<PackageReference Include="Akka.Hosting" />
<PackageReference Include="Akka.Cluster.Hosting" />
<PackageReference Include="Akka.Persistence.Sql.Hosting" />
<PackageReference Include="Akka.Management" />
<PackageReference Include="Akka.Management.Cluster.Bootstrap" />
<PackageReference Include="Akka.Discovery.KubernetesApi" />
<PackageReference Include="Akka.Discovery.Azure" />
<PackageReference Include="Akka.Discovery.Config.Hosting" />
<PackageReference Include="Petabridge.Cmd.Host" />
<PackageReference Include="Petabridge.Cmd.Cluster" />
</ItemGroup>
For AppHost (YourApp.AppHost.csproj)
<Sdk Name="Aspire.AppHost.Sdk" Version="$(AspireVersion)" />
<ItemGroup>
<PackageReference Include="Aspire.Hosting.AppHost" />
<PackageReference Include="Aspire.Hosting.Azure.Storage" />
<PackageReference Include="Aspire.Hosting.SqlServer" />
</ItemGroup>
Configuration Model (AkkaSettings.cs)
Create a strongly-typed configuration class:
using System.Net;
using System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates;
using Akka.Cluster.Hosting;
using Akka.Remote.Hosting;
using Petabridge.Cmd.Host;
namespace YourApp.Config;
public class AkkaSettings
{
public string ActorSystemName { get; set; } = "YourSystem";
public bool LogConfigOnStart { get; set; } = false;
public RemoteOptions RemoteOptions { get; set; } = new()
{
PublicHostName = Dns.GetHostName(),
HostName = "0.0.0.0",
Port = 8081
};
public ClusterOptions ClusterOptions { get; set; } = new()
{
SeedNodes = [$"akka.tcp://YourSystem@{Dns.GetHostName()}:8081"],
Roles = ["your-role"]
};
public ShardOptions ShardOptions { get; set; } = new();
public AkkaManagementOptions? AkkaManagementOptions { get; set; }
public PetabridgeCmdOptions PbmOptions { get; set; } = new()
{
Host = "0.0.0.0",
Port = 9110
};
public TlsSettings? TlsSettings { get; set; }
}
public class TlsSettings
{
public bool Enabled { get; set; } = false;
public string? CertificatePath { get; set; }
public string? CertificatePassword { get; set; }
public bool ValidateCertificates { get; set; } = true;
public X509Certificate2? LoadCertificate()
{
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(CertificatePath))
return null;
if (!File.Exists(CertificatePath))
throw new FileNotFoundException($"Certificate file not found at: {CertificatePath}");
return !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(CertificatePassword)
? X509CertificateLoader.LoadPkcs12FromFile(CertificatePath, CertificatePassword)
: X509CertificateLoader.LoadCertificateFromFile(CertificatePath);
}
}
public class AkkaManagementOptions
{
public bool Enabled { get; set; }
public string? Hostname { get; set; }
public int Port { get; set; } = 8558;
public string ServiceName { get; set; } = "your-service";
public string PortName { get; set; } = "management";
public int RequiredContactPointsNr { get; set; } = 1;
public bool FilterOnFallbackPort { get; set; } = true;
public DiscoveryMethod DiscoveryMethod { get; set; } = DiscoveryMethod.Config;
}
public enum DiscoveryMethod
{
Config,
Kubernetes,
AzureTableStorage,
AwsEcsTagBased,
AwsEc2TagBased
}
Akka Configuration Extension Methods (AkkaConfiguration.cs)
using Akka.Cluster.Hosting;
using Akka.Discovery.Azure;
using Akka.Discovery.Config.Hosting;
using Akka.Discovery.KubernetesApi;
using Akka.Hosting;
using Akka.Management;
using Akka.Management.Cluster.Bootstrap;
using Akka.Persistence.Sql.Config;
using Akka.Persistence.Sql.Hosting;
using Akka.Remote.Hosting;
using LinqToDB;
namespace YourApp.Config;
public static class AkkaConfiguration
{
public static IServiceCollection ConfigureAkka(
this IServiceCollection services,
IConfiguration configuration,
Action<AkkaConfigurationBuilder, IServiceProvider> additionalConfig)
{
var akkaSettings = BindAkkaSettings(services, configuration);
var connectionString = configuration.GetConnectionString("DefaultConnection");
if (connectionString is null)
throw new Exception("DefaultConnection ConnectionString is missing");
const string roleName = "your-role";
services.AddAkka(akkaSettings.ActorSystemName, (builder, provider) =>
{
builder.ConfigureNetwork(provider)
.WithAkkaClusterReadinessCheck()
.WithActorSystemLivenessCheck()
.WithSqlPersistence(
connectionString: connectionString,
providerName: ProviderName.SqlServer2022,
databaseMapping: DatabaseMapping.SqlServer,
tagStorageMode: TagMode.TagTable,
deleteCompatibilityMode: true,
useWriterUuidColumn: true,
autoInitialize: true,
journalBuilder: journalBuilder =>
{
journalBuilder.WithHealthCheck(name: "Akka.Persistence.Sql.Journal[default]");
},
snapshotBuilder: snapshotBuilder =>
{
snapshotBuilder.WithHealthCheck(name: "Akka.Persistence.Sql.SnapshotStore[default]");
});
// Add your actors here
// Example: builder.WithActors((system, registry) => { ... });
additionalConfig(builder, provider);
});
return services;
}
public static AkkaSettings BindAkkaSettings(IServiceCollection services, IConfiguration configuration)
{
var akkaSettings = new AkkaSettings();
configuration.GetSection(nameof(AkkaSettings)).Bind(akkaSettings);
services.AddSingleton(akkaSettings);
return akkaSettings;
}
public static AkkaConfigurationBuilder ConfigureNetwork(
this AkkaConfigurationBuilder builder,
IServiceProvider serviceProvider)
{
var settings = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<AkkaSettings>();
var configuration = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<IConfiguration>();
// Apply TLS configuration if enabled
if (settings.TlsSettings is { Enabled: true })
{
ConfigureRemoteOptionsWithTls(settings);
}
builder.WithRemoting(settings.RemoteOptions);
if (settings.AkkaManagementOptions is { Enabled: true })
{
// Clear seed nodes when using Akka.Management
var clusterOptions = settings.ClusterOptions;
clusterOptions.SeedNodes = [];
builder
.WithClustering(clusterOptions)
.WithAkkaManagement(setup =>
{
setup.Http.HostName = settings.AkkaManagementOptions.Hostname?.ToLower();
setup.Http.Port = settings.AkkaManagementOptions.Port;
setup.Http.BindHostName = "0.0.0.0";
setup.Http.BindPort = settings.AkkaManagementOptions.Port;
})
.WithClusterBootstrap(options =>
{
options.ContactPointDiscovery.ServiceName = settings.AkkaManagementOptions.ServiceName;
options.ContactPointDiscovery.PortName = settings.AkkaManagementOptions.PortName;
options.ContactPointDiscovery.RequiredContactPointsNr =
settings.AkkaManagementOptions.RequiredContactPointsNr;
options.ContactPointDiscovery.ContactWithAllContactPoints = true;
options.ContactPointDiscovery.StableMargin = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5);
options.ContactPoint.FilterOnFallbackPort =
settings.AkkaManagementOptions.FilterOnFallbackPort;
}, autoStart: true);
ConfigureDiscovery(builder, settings, configuration);
}
else
{
builder.WithClustering(settings.ClusterOptions);
}
return builder;
}
private static void ConfigureDiscovery(
AkkaConfigurationBuilder builder,
AkkaSettings settings,
IConfiguration configuration)
{
switch (settings.AkkaManagementOptions!.DiscoveryMethod)
{
case DiscoveryMethod.Kubernetes:
builder.WithKubernetesDiscovery();
break;
case DiscoveryMethod.AzureTableStorage:
var connectionString = configuration.GetConnectionString("AkkaManagementAzure");
if (connectionString is null)
throw new Exception("AkkaManagement table storage connection string [AkkaManagementAzure] is missing");
builder
.WithAzureDiscovery(options =>
{
options.ServiceName = settings.AkkaManagementOptions.ServiceName;
options.ConnectionString = connectionString;
options.HostName = settings.RemoteOptions.PublicHostName?.ToLower() ?? "localhost";
options.Port = settings.AkkaManagementOptions.Port;
})
.AddHocon(AzureDiscovery.DefaultConfiguration(), HoconAddMode.Append);
break;
case DiscoveryMethod.Config:
builder.WithConfigDiscovery(options =>
{
options.Services.Add(new Service
{
Name = settings.AkkaManagementOptions.ServiceName,
Endpoints =
[
$"{settings.AkkaManagementOptions.Hostname}:{settings.AkkaManagementOptions.Port}"
]
});
});
break;
default:
throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException();
}
}
private static void ConfigureRemoteOptionsWithTls(AkkaSettings settings)
{
var tlsSettings = settings.TlsSettings!;
var remoteOptions = settings.RemoteOptions;
var certificate = tlsSettings.LoadCertificate();
if (certificate is null)
throw new InvalidOperationException("TLS is enabled but no certificate could be loaded");
remoteOptions.EnableSsl = true;
remoteOptions.Ssl = new SslOptions
{
X509Certificate = certificate,
SuppressValidation = !tlsSettings.ValidateCertificates
};
// Update seed nodes to use akka.ssl.tcp:// protocol
if (settings.ClusterOptions.SeedNodes?.Length > 0)
{
settings.ClusterOptions.SeedNodes = settings.ClusterOptions.SeedNodes
.Select(node => node.Replace("akka.tcp://", "akka.ssl.tcp://"))
.ToArray();
}
}
}
Program.cs Integration
using YourApp.Config;
using Petabridge.Cmd.Host;
using Petabridge.Cmd.Cluster;
var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
// Add services
builder.Services.AddRazorPages(); // or whatever your app needs
// Configure Akka.NET
builder.Services.ConfigureAkka(builder.Configuration,
(configurationBuilder, provider) =>
{
var options = provider.GetRequiredService<AkkaSettings>();
// Add Petabridge.Cmd for cluster management
configurationBuilder.AddPetabridgeCmd(
options: options.PbmOptions,
hostConfiguration: cmd =>
{
cmd.RegisterCommandPalette(ClusterCommands.Instance);
});
});
var app = builder.Build();
// Configure middleware
app.MapRazorPages();
app.Run();
Aspire AppHost Configuration (Program.cs)
using System.Net.Sockets;
var builder = DistributedApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
var config = builder.Configuration.GetSection("YourApp")
.Get<YourAppConfiguration>() ?? new YourAppConfiguration();
var saPassword = builder.AddParameter(
"sql-sa-password",
() => "YourStrong!Passw0rd",
secret: true);
var sqlServer = builder.AddSqlServer("sql", saPassword);
if (config.UseVolumes)
{
sqlServer.WithDataVolume();
}
var db = sqlServer.AddDatabase("YourDb");
var app = builder.AddProject<Projects.YourApp>("yourapp")
.WithReplicas(config.Replicas)
.WithReference(db, "DefaultConnection")
.ConfigureAkkaManagementForApp(config);
builder.Build().Run();
public class YourAppConfiguration
{
public int Replicas { get; set; } = 1;
public bool UseVolumes { get; set; } = false;
public bool UseAkkaManagement { get; set; } = false;
}
Aspire Akka.Management Extensions (AkkaManagementExtensions.cs)
using System.Net.Sockets;
using Aspire.Hosting.Azure;
namespace YourApp.AppHost;
public static class AkkaManagementExtensions
{
public static IResourceBuilder<ProjectResource> ConfigureAkkaManagementForApp(
this IResourceBuilder<ProjectResource> appBuilder,
YourAppConfiguration config)
{
if (!config.UseAkkaManagement) return appBuilder;
var builder = appBuilder.ApplicationBuilder;
// Setup Azure Table Storage for discovery
var azureStorage = builder.AddAzureStorage("storage")
.RunAsEmulator();
var tableStorage = azureStorage.AddTables("akka-discovery");
appBuilder.WaitFor(tableStorage)
.WithReference(tableStorage, "AkkaManagementAzure");
// Setup network endpoint ports
appBuilder
.WithEndpoint(name: "remote", protocol: ProtocolType.Tcp,
env: "AkkaSettings__RemoteOptions__Port")
.WithEndpoint(name: "management", protocol: ProtocolType.Tcp,
env: "AkkaSettings__AkkaManagementOptions__Port")
.WithEndpoint(name: "pbm", protocol: ProtocolType.Tcp,
env: "AkkaSettings__PbmOptions__Port");
// Configure Akka.Management settings via environment variables
appBuilder
.WithEnvironment("AkkaSettings__RemoteOptions__PublicHostName", "localhost")
.WithEnvironment("AkkaSettings__AkkaManagementOptions__Enabled", "true")
.WithEnvironment("AkkaSettings__AkkaManagementOptions__Hostname", "localhost")
.WithEnvironment("AkkaSettings__AkkaManagementOptions__DiscoveryMethod", "AzureTableStorage")
.WithEnvironment("AkkaSettings__AkkaManagementOptions__RequiredContactPointsNr",
config.Replicas.ToString())
.WithEnvironment("AkkaSettings__AkkaManagementOptions__FilterOnFallbackPort", "false");
return appBuilder;
}
}
appsettings.json Configuration
{
"ConnectionStrings": {
"DefaultConnection": "Server=localhost;Database=YourDb;User Id=sa;Password=YourStrong!Passw0rd;"
},
"AkkaSettings": {
"ActorSystemName": "YourSystem",
"LogConfigOnStart": false,
"RemoteOptions": {
"PublicHostName": null,
"HostName": "0.0.0.0",
"Port": 8081
},
"ClusterOptions": {
"Roles": ["your-role"],
"SeedNodes": []
},
"PbmOptions": {
"Host": "0.0.0.0",
"Port": 9110
}
}
}
Common Patterns
Pattern 1: Actor Registration with Dependency Injection
// In your actor project public static class ActorRegistration { public static AkkaConfigurationBuilder AddYourActor<span class="token