Create Dapr Workflow .NET Application

Overview

This skill describes how to create a Dapr Workflow application using .NET.

Execution Order

You MUST follow these phases in strict order:

1. Prerequisite Checks — Run ALL checks. Stop if any fail.
2. Project Setup — Create all files and folders.
3. Verify — Verify that the project builds.
4. Create README.md — Create a readme that summarizes what is built and how to run & test the application. Do not provide instructions at the end of this phase.
5. Show final message - Your LAST output MUST be EXACTLY the message defined in the ## Show final message section. Do NOT add any other text, summary, or commentary after it.

Prerequisites

The following must be installed by the user before this skill can run:

• .NET 10 SDK
• Docker or Podman
• Dapr CLI

Additional runtime dependencies (handled during project setup):

• NuGet package: Dapr.Workflow version 1.16.1
• Start the Diagrid Dev Dashboard: docker run -p 8080:8080 ghcr.io/diagridio/diagrid-dashboard:latest

Prerequisite Checks

IMPORTANT: Run ALL of these checks BEFORE creating any files or folders. If any check fails, stop and inform the user with the relevant install link from the Prerequisites section. Do NOT proceed to Project Setup until all checks pass.

Step 1: Check the C# LSP plugin

Check if the csharp-lsp@claude-plugins-official plugin is installed. Do not run claude plugin from the session since that is not allowed. Check by inspecting the claude settings. If the plugin is not installed, instruct the user to exit claude code, run claude plugin install csharp-lsp@claude-plugins-official to install the C# language server plugin, restart claude code and enter the prompt again.

Step 2: Detect Operating System

Run uname -s 2>/dev/null || echo "Windows" to determine the OS:

• macOS: uname -s returns Darwin. All tools are expected to be available in bash.
• Linux: uname -s returns Linux. All tools are expected to be available in bash.
• Windows: returns Windows. Tools may only be on the Windows PATH and not available in the bash shell. For each subsequent check, if the direct bash command fails, retry via powershell -Command "<cmd>" (Windows PowerShell) or pwsh -Command "<cmd>" (PowerShell 7+).

Step 3: Check .NET SDK

Run dotnet --version (on Windows, retry with powershell -Command "dotnet --version" if needed). Verify the output starts with 10.. If not installed or the version is below 10, inform the user they need to install the .NET 10 SDK.

Step 4: Check Docker or Podman

Run docker info (on Windows, retry with powershell -Command "docker info" if needed). If Docker is unavailable, try podman info (on Windows, retry with powershell -Command "podman info" if needed). At least one container runtime must be available and running. If neither is available, inform the user they need to install Docker or Podman.

Step 5: Check Dapr CLI

Run dapr --version (on Windows, retry with powershell -Command "dapr --version" if needed). Verify the output contains 1.16. If not installed, inform the user they need to install the Dapr CLI.

Project Setup

Create the project root folder, then create a new ASP.NET Core web application inside it:

mkdir <ProjectRoot>
cd <ProjectRoot>
dotnet new web -n <ProjectName>
dotnet add <ProjectName> package Dapr.Workflow --version 1.16.1

The <ProjectName> should start with the <ProjectRoot> and end with App: <ProjectRoot>App.

Folder structure

<ProjectRoot>/
├── .gitignore
├── dapr.yaml
├── local.http
├── resources/
│   └── statestore.yaml
└── <ProjectName>/
    ├── <ProjectName>.csproj
    ├── Program.cs
    ├── Properties/
    │   └── launchSettings.json
    ├── Models/
    │   └── <ModelName>.cs
    ├── Workflows/
    │   └── <WorkflowName>.cs
    └── Activities/
        └── <ActivityName>.cs

.gitignore

Visual Studio style .gitignore file in the project root. Ignores build output (bin, obj), debug/release folders, and other common .NET artifacts. See REFERENCE.md for full example.

dapr.yaml

Multi-app run file in the project root. Configures the Dapr sidecar and points to the resources folder. See REFERENCE.md for full example and key points.

resources/statestore.yaml

Dapr Workflow requires a state store component (with actorStateStore set to "true"). See REFERENCE.md for full example and key points.

Properties/launchSettings.json

Configures the application port, which must match appPort in dapr.yaml. See REFERENCE.md for full example.

.csproj

Standard ASP.NET Core web project targeting net10.0 with the Dapr.Workflow package. See REFERENCE.md for full example.

Models

Record types for workflow and activity input/output, placed in a Models folder. Must be serializable since Dapr persists workflow state. See REFERENCE.md for full example and key points.

Program.cs

Uses AddDaprWorkflow to register workflow and activity types. Uses DaprWorkflowClient to schedule workflow instances and query status via HTTP endpoints. See REFERENCE.md for full example and key points.

Workflow Class

Inherits from Workflow<TInput, TOutput>, overrides RunAsync, and orchestrates activities via context.CallActivityAsync. Must be internal sealed. Place in a Workflows folder/namespace. See REFERENCE.md for full example, key points, determinism rules, and workflow patterns (chaining, fan-out/fan-in, sub-workflows).

Activity Class

Inherits from WorkflowActivity<TInput, TOutput>, overrides RunAsync, and contains the actual business logic. Must be internal sealed. Place in an Activities folder/namespace. See REFERENCE.md for full example and key points.

local.http

HTTP request file for testing the workflow endpoints. Contains a start request (POST) to schedule a new workflow instance and a status request (GET) to query the workflow state. Uses the <app-port> from launchSettings.json. See REFERENCE.md for full example.

Verify

IMPORTANT: After Project Setup you MUST show these exact verification instructions:

1. Run dotnet build on the csproj file to check for build errors.
2. Instruct the user to start the application with dapr run -f . in the project root to start the workflow app.

Create README.md

IMPORTANT: After Verify you MUST run these instructions:

Create a README.md file inside the <ProjectRoot> folder.

The README contains the following sections:

1. Summary of what this folder contains.
2. Architecture description that explains the technology stack and prerequisites to run it locally. DO NOT suggest to run Redis separately since it's part of the Dapr installation and is running in a container already.
3. A mermaid diagram that explains the workflow.
4. How to start the application using the Dapr CLI.
5. List the available endpoints in the Program.cs file and provide examples how to call these using curl. Also include a link to the local.http file.
6. How to inspect the workflow execution using the Diagrid Dev Dashboard.
7. How to run the application with Diagrid Catalyst to visually inspect the workflow.

See REFERENCE.md for additional instructions on running locally and running with Catalyst.

Show final message

IMPORTANT: This is the LAST step. After Create README.md, your final output MUST be ONLY the message below — no preamble, no summary, no additional commentary, only replace the <ProjectRoot> with the actual value:

The <ProjectRoot> workflow application is created. Open the README.md file in the <ProjectRoot> folder for a summary and instructions for running locally.