dotnet-aot-architecture

AOT-first application design patterns for .NET 8+: preferring source generators over reflection, explicit DI registration over assembly scanning, AOT-safe serialization choices, library compatibility assessment, and factory patterns replacing Activator.CreateInstance.

Version assumptions: .NET 8.0+ baseline. Patterns apply to all AOT-capable project types (console, ASP.NET Core Minimal APIs, worker services).

Scope

• Source generator replacements for reflection patterns
• AOT-safe DI patterns (explicit registration, keyed services)
• Serialization choices for AOT (STJ source gen, Protobuf, MessagePack)
• Factory patterns replacing Activator.CreateInstance
• Library compatibility assessment for AOT
• AOT application architecture template

Out of scope

• Native AOT publish pipeline and MSBuild configuration -- see [skill:dotnet-native-aot]
• Trim-safe library authoring and annotations -- see [skill:dotnet-trimming]
• WASM AOT compilation -- see [skill:dotnet-aot-wasm]
• MAUI-specific AOT -- see [skill:dotnet-maui-aot]
• Source generator authoring (Roslyn API) -- see [skill:dotnet-csharp-source-generators]
• DI container internals -- see [skill:dotnet-csharp-dependency-injection]
• Serialization depth -- see [skill:dotnet-serialization]

Cross-references: [skill:dotnet-native-aot] for the AOT publish pipeline, [skill:dotnet-trimming] for trim annotations and library authoring, [skill:dotnet-serialization] for serialization patterns, [skill:dotnet-csharp-source-generators] for source gen mechanics, [skill:dotnet-csharp-dependency-injection] for DI fundamentals, [skill:dotnet-containers] for runtime-deps deployment, [skill:dotnet-native-interop] for general P/Invoke patterns and marshalling.

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Source Generators Over Reflection

The primary AOT enabler is replacing runtime reflection with compile-time source generation. Source generators produce code at build time that the AOT compiler can analyze and include.

Key Source Generator Replacements

Reflection Pattern	Source Generator / AOT-Safe Alternative	Library
JsonSerializer.Deserialize<T>()	[JsonSerializable] context	System.Text.Json (built-in)
Activator.CreateInstance<T>()	Factory pattern with explicit new	Manual
Type.GetProperties() for mapping	[Mapper] attribute	Mapperly
Regex pattern compilation	[GeneratedRegex] attribute	Built-in (.NET 7+)
ILogger.Log(...) with string interpolation	[LoggerMessage] attribute	Microsoft.Extensions.Logging
Assembly scanning for DI	Explicit services.Add*()	Manual
[DllImport] P/Invoke	[LibraryImport]	Built-in (.NET 7+)
AutoMapper CreateMap<>()	[Mapper] source gen	Mapperly

Example: Migrating to Source Gen

// BEFORE: Reflection-based (breaks under AOT)
var logger = loggerFactory.CreateLogger<OrderService>();
logger.LogInformation("Order {OrderId} created for {Customer}", order.Id, order.CustomerId);

// AFTER: Source-generated (AOT-safe, zero-alloc)
public partial class OrderService
{
    [LoggerMessage(Level = LogLevel.Information,
        Message = "Order {OrderId} created for {Customer}")]
    private static partial void LogOrderCreated(
        ILogger logger, int orderId, string customer);
}

// Usage:
LogOrderCreated(_logger, order.Id, order.CustomerId);

See [skill:dotnet-csharp-source-generators] for source generator mechanics and authoring patterns.

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AOT-Safe DI Patterns

Dependency injection in AOT requires explicit service registration. Assembly scanning (AddServicesFromAssembly) and open-generic resolution may require reflection that AOT cannot satisfy.

Explicit Registration (Preferred)

var builder = WebApplication.CreateSlimBuilder(args);

// Explicit registrations -- AOT-safe
builder.Services.AddSingleton<IOrderRepository, PostgresOrderRepository>();
builder.Services.AddScoped<IOrderService, OrderService>();
builder.Services.AddTransient<IEmailSender, SmtpEmailSender>();
builder.Services.AddSingleton(TimeProvider.System);

Avoid Assembly Scanning

// BAD: Assembly scanning uses reflection -- breaks under AOT
builder.Services.Scan(scan => scan
    .FromAssemblyOf<OrderService>()
    .AddClasses(classes => classes.AssignableTo<IService>())
    .AsImplementedInterfaces()
    .WithScopedLifetime());

// GOOD: Explicit registrations grouped by concern
builder.Services.AddOrderServices();
builder.Services.AddInventoryServices();

// Extension method groups related registrations
public static class OrderServiceExtensions
{
    public static IServiceCollection AddOrderServices(
        this IServiceCollection services)
    {
        services.AddScoped<IOrderService, OrderService>();
        services.AddScoped<IOrderRepository, PostgresOrderRepository>();
        services.AddScoped<IOrderValidator, OrderValidator>();
        return services;
    }
}

Keyed Services (.NET 8+)

// AOT-safe keyed service registration
builder.Services.AddKeyedSingleton<INotificationSender, EmailSender>("email");
builder.Services.AddKeyedSingleton<INotificationSender, SmsSender>("sms");

// Resolve by key
app.MapPost("/notify", ([FromKeyedServices("email")] INotificationSender sender) =>
    sender.SendAsync("Hello"));

See [skill:dotnet-csharp-dependency-injection] for full DI patterns.

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Serialization Choices for AOT

Decision Matrix

Serializer	AOT-Safe	Setup Required	Best For
System.Text.Json + source gen	Yes	[JsonSerializable] context	APIs, config, JSON interop
Protobuf (Google.Protobuf)	Yes	.proto schema files	gRPC, service-to-service
MessagePack + source gen	Yes	[MessagePackObject] + source gen resolver	Caching, real-time
Newtonsoft.Json	No	N/A	Do not use for AOT
STJ without source gen	No	N/A	Falls back to reflection

STJ Source Gen Setup

// Define serializable types
[JsonSerializable(typeof(Product))]
[JsonSerializable(typeof(List<Product>))]
[JsonSourceGenerationOptions(
    PropertyNamingPolicy = JsonKnownNamingPolicy.CamelCase)]
internal partial class AppJsonContext : JsonSerializerContext { }

// Register in ASP.NET Core
builder.Services.ConfigureHttpJsonOptions(options =>
{
    options.SerializerOptions.TypeInfoResolverChain.Insert(0,
        AppJsonContext.Default);
});

See [skill:dotnet-serialization] for comprehensive serialization patterns.

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Factory Patterns Replacing Activator.CreateInstance

Activator.CreateInstance uses runtime reflection to create instances and is incompatible with AOT. Replace with factory patterns that use explicit construction.

Simple Factory

// BAD: Reflection-based creation -- breaks under AOT
public T CreateHandler<T>() where T : class
    => (T)Activator.CreateInstance(typeof(T))!;

// GOOD: Factory with explicit registration
public class HandlerFactory
{
    private readonly Dictionary<Type, Func<IHandler>> _factories = new();

    public void Register<T>(Func<T> factory) where T : IHandler
        => _factories[typeof(T)] = () => factory();

    public IHandler Create<T>() where T : IHandler
        => _factories[typeof(T)]();
}

// Registration
var factory = new HandlerFactory();
factory.Register<OrderHandler>(() => new OrderHandler(repository, logger));
factory.Register<PaymentHandler>(() => new PaymentHandler(gateway));

Strategy Pattern via DI

// BAD: Dynamic type resolution
public IPaymentProcessor GetProcessor(string type)
{
    var processorType = Type.GetType($"MyApp.Payments.{type}Processor");
    return (IPaymentProcessor)Activator.CreateInstance(processorType!)!;
}

// GOOD: Keyed services (.NET 8+)
builder.Services.AddKeyedScoped<IPaymentProcessor, CreditCardProcessor>("CreditCard");
builder.Services.AddKeyedScoped<IPaymentProcessor, BankTransferProcessor>("BankTransfer");
builder.Services.AddKeyedScoped<IPaymentProcessor, WalletProcessor>("Wallet");

// Resolve at runtime without reflection
app.MapPost("/pay", (
    [FromQuery] string type,
    IServiceProvider sp) =>
{
    var processor = sp.GetRequiredKeyedService<IPaymentProcessor>(type);
    return processor.ProcessAsync();
});

Enum-Based Factory

// For a fixed set of types, use a switch expression
public static IExporter CreateExporter(ExportFormat format) => format switch
{
    ExportFormat.Csv => new CsvExporter(),
    ExportFormat.Json => new JsonExporter(),
    ExportFormat.Pdf => new PdfExporter(),
    _ => throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(format))
};

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Library Compatibility Assessment

Assessment Checklist

Before adopting a NuGet package in an AOT project:

1. Check for IsAotCompatible in the package source -- packages that set this are validated against AOT analyzers
2. Check for [RequiresDynamicCode] / [RequiresUnreferencedCode] annotations -- these indicate AOT-incompatible APIs
3. Run AOT analyzers against your usage -- dotnet build /p:EnableAotAnalyzer=true
4. Check the package's GitHub issues for AOT/trimming reports -- search for "Native AOT", "trimming", "IL2026", "IL3050"
5. Look for source-generated alternatives -- many reflection-based libraries now have source-gen companions

Common Library Status

Library	AOT Status	AOT-Safe Alternative
AutoMapper	Breaks	Mapperly
MediatR	Partial (explicit registration)	Direct method calls or factory
FluentValidation	Partial	Manual validation or source gen
Dapper	Compatible (.NET 8+ AOT support)	--
Entity Framework Core	Partial (precompiled queries)	Dapper for AOT-heavy paths
Refit	Compatible (7+ with source gen)	--
Polly	Compatible (v8+)	--
Serilog	Partial	[LoggerMessage] source gen
Hangfire	Breaks	Custom IHostedService

Testing Compatibility

# Build with all analyzers enabled
dotnet build /p:EnableAotAnalyzer=true /p:EnableTrimAnalyzer=true /p:TrimmerSingleWarn=false

# Warnings indicate AOT-incompatible usage
# IL3050 = RequiresDynamicCode (definitely breaks)
# IL2026 = RequiresUnreferencedCode (may break)

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AOT Application Architecture Template

src/
  MyApp/
    Program.cs                   # CreateSlimBuilder, explicit DI
    MyApp.csproj                 # PublishAot=true, EnableAotAnalyzer=true
    JsonContext.cs               # [JsonSerializable] for all API types
    Endpoints/
      OrderEndpoints.cs          # Minimal API route groups
      ProductEndpoints.cs
    Services/
      OrderService.cs            # Business logic (no reflection)
      IOrderService.cs
    Repositories/
      OrderRepository.cs         # Data access (Dapper or EF precompiled)
    Extensions/
      ServiceCollectionExtensions.cs  # Grouped DI registrations

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Agent Gotchas

1. Do not use Activator.CreateInstance in AOT projects. It requires runtime reflection that is not available. Use factory patterns, DI keyed services, or switch expressions instead.
2. Do not use assembly scanning for DI registration (Scan, RegisterAssemblyTypes, FromAssemblyOf). These use reflection to discover types at runtime. Register services explicitly.
3. Do not use System.Text.Json without a [JsonSerializable] context in AOT. Without a source-generated context, STJ falls back to reflection and fails at runtime.
4. Do not assume a library is AOT-compatible without testing. Run dotnet build /p:EnableAotAnalyzer=true and check for IL3050/IL2026 warnings against your specific usage.
5. Do not use Type.GetType() or Assembly.GetTypes() for runtime discovery. These rely on metadata that may be trimmed. Use compile-time known types.

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References

• Native AOT deployment
• Source generation in .NET
• System.Text.Json source generation
• LoggerMessage source generation
• Mapperly object mapper
• Prepare .NET libraries for trimming