managedcode-orleans-graph
The managedcode-orleans-graph skill provides guidance for integrating ManagedCode.Orleans.Graph into Orleans-based .NET applications to model graph-oriented relationships, manage edges, and implement traversal logic across Orleans grains. Use this skill when designing distributed graph systems where nodes map to grain identities and edges represent inter-grain relationships, or when evaluating whether a graph abstraction better fits your Orleans architecture than relational or hierarchical patterns.
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/managedcode/dotnet-skills /tmp/managedcode-orleans-graph && cp -r /tmp/managedcode-orleans-graph/catalog/Libraries/ManagedCode-Orleans-Graph/skills/managedcode-orleans-graph ~/.claude/skills/managedcode-orleans-graphSKILL.md
# ManagedCode.Orleans.Graph
## Trigger On
- integrating `ManagedCode.Orleans.Graph` into an Orleans-based system
- modeling graph relationships, edges, or traversal behavior with Orleans grains
- reviewing graph-oriented distributed workflows on top of Orleans
- deciding whether a graph abstraction is the right fit vs relational modeling
## Workflow
1. **Install the library:**
```bash
dotnet add package ManagedCode.Orleans.Graph
```
2. **Confirm the application has a real graph problem** — node-to-node relationships, directed/undirected edges, or traversal queries. If the data is tabular or hierarchical, prefer standard Orleans grain patterns instead.
3. **Model graph entities as grains:**
- nodes map to grain identities
- edges represent relationships between grains
- traversal operations query across grain boundaries
4. **Implement graph operations:**
```csharp
// Define a graph grain interface
public interface IGraphGrain : IGrainWithStringKey
{
Task AddEdge(string targetId, string edgeType);
Task<IReadOnlyList<string>> GetNeighbors(string edgeType);
Task<bool> HasEdge(string targetId, string edgeType);
Task RemoveEdge(string targetId, string edgeType);
}
```
5. **Keep Orleans runtime concerns explicit:**
- grain identity determines the node identity
- persistence provider stores edge state
- grain activation lifecycle affects traversal latency
6. **Add traversal logic for multi-hop queries:**
```csharp
// Breadth-first traversal across grains
public async Task<IReadOnlyList<string>> TraverseAsync(
IGrainFactory grainFactory, string startId, string edgeType, int maxDepth)
{
var visited = new HashSet<string>();
var queue = new Queue<(string Id, int Depth)>();
queue.Enqueue((startId, 0));
while (queue.Count > 0)
{
var (currentId, depth) = queue.Dequeue();
if (!visited.Add(currentId) || depth >= maxDepth) continue;
var grain = grainFactory.GetGrain<IGraphGrain>(currentId);
var neighbors = await grain.GetNeighbors(edgeType);
foreach (var neighbor in neighbors)
queue.Enqueue((neighbor, depth + 1));
}
return visited.ToList();
}
```
7. **Validate** that traversal and relationship operations work against real Orleans clusters, not only unit tests with mock grain factories.
```mermaid
flowchart LR
A["Graph request"] --> B["Resolve node grain"]
B --> C["Query edges from grain state"]
C --> D{"Traversal needed?"}
D -->|Yes| E["Multi-hop grain calls"]
D -->|No| F["Return direct neighbors"]
E --> G["Aggregate results"]
F --> G
```
## Deliver
- concrete guidance on when Orleans.Graph is the right abstraction vs standard grain patterns
- graph grain interface patterns with edge management
- traversal implementation that respects Orleans distributed execution
- verification expectations for real graph flows
## Validate
- the application has a genuine graph problem, not a generic relational one
- graph integration does not blur grain identity and traversal concerns
- edge persistence is configured for the correct Orleans storage provider
- traversal operations are tested against a real Orleans cluster, not only mocks
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