Neo4j Driver Dotnet Skill

When to Use

• Writing C# or .NET code connecting to Neo4j
• Setting up IDriver, DI registration, or session/transaction lifecycle
• Questions about ExecutableQuery, IResultCursor, async patterns, result mapping
• Debugging sessions, type mapping, null safety, or error handling in .NET

When NOT to Use

• Writing/optimizing Cypher queries → neo4j-cypher-skill
• Upgrading from older driver version → neo4j-migration-skill

Install

dotnet add package Neo4j.Driver

Driver Lifecycle

IDriver — thread-safe, connection-pooled, expensive to create. Create one per application.

using Neo4j.Driver;

// URI schemes:
//   neo4j+s://xxx.databases.neo4j.io   — TLS + cluster routing (Aura)
//   neo4j://localhost                   — unencrypted + cluster routing
//   bolt+s://localhost:7687             — TLS + single instance
//   bolt://localhost:7687               — unencrypted + single instance

await using var driver = GraphDatabase.Driver(
    "neo4j+s://xxx.databases.neo4j.io",
    AuthTokens.Basic("neo4j", "password"));

await driver.VerifyConnectivityAsync();   // fail fast on startup

IDriver and IAsyncSession implement IAsyncDisposable — always await using, never plain using.

// ❌ Wrong — synchronous Dispose() may block thread pool
using var driver = GraphDatabase.Driver(uri, auth);

// ✅ Correct
await using var driver = GraphDatabase.Driver(uri, auth);

Auth options: AuthTokens.Basic(u, p) / AuthTokens.Bearer(token) / AuthTokens.Kerberos(ticket) / AuthTokens.None

Environment Variables

Load connection config from environment / appsettings.json — never hardcode credentials.

// appsettings.json
{
  "Neo4j": {
    "Uri": "neo4j+s://xxx.databases.neo4j.io",
    "User": "neo4j",
    "Password": "secret",
    "Database": "neo4j"
  }
}

// Access via IConfiguration (injected in Program.cs)
var uri      = builder.Configuration["Neo4j:Uri"];
var user     = builder.Configuration["Neo4j:User"];
var password = builder.Configuration["Neo4j:Password"];
var database = builder.Configuration["Neo4j:Database"] ?? "neo4j";

Override with environment variables (standard .NET behavior): Neo4j__Uri=neo4j+s://... (double underscore = colon separator). Never commit appsettings.json with real credentials — use appsettings.Development.json (gitignored) or env vars in CI/production.

DI Registration (ASP.NET Core)

Register IDriver as singleton — never Scoped or Transient. Never register IAsyncSession in DI.

// Program.cs
builder.Services.AddSingleton<IDriver>(_ =>
    GraphDatabase.Driver(
        builder.Configuration["Neo4j:Uri"],
        AuthTokens.Basic(
            builder.Configuration["Neo4j:User"],
            builder.Configuration["Neo4j:Password"])));

// Shutdown hook — dispose the singleton cleanly
builder.Services.AddHostedService<Neo4jShutdownService>();

// Neo4jShutdownService.cs
public class Neo4jShutdownService(IDriver driver, IHostApplicationLifetime lifetime)
    : IHostedService
{
    public Task StartAsync(CancellationToken _)
    {
        lifetime.ApplicationStopping.Register(() =>
            driver.DisposeAsync().AsTask().GetAwaiter().GetResult());
        return Task.CompletedTask;
    }
    public Task StopAsync(CancellationToken _) => Task.CompletedTask;
}

// Inject into services — sessions opened per unit of work
public class PersonService(IDriver driver)
{
    public async Task<List<string>> GetNamesAsync(CancellationToken ct = default)
    {
        var (records, _, _) = await driver
            .ExecutableQuery("MATCH (p:Person) RETURN p.name AS name")
            .WithConfig(new QueryConfig(database: "neo4j"))
            .ExecuteAsync(ct);
        return records.Select(r => r.Get<string>("name")).ToList();
    }
}

Choose the Right API

ExecutableQuery — Recommended Default

Fluent builder; manages session, transaction, retries, and bookmarks automatically.

// Read
var (records, summary, keys) = await driver
    .ExecutableQuery("MATCH (p:Person {name: $name})-[:KNOWS]->(f) RETURN f.name AS name")
    .WithParameters(new { name = "Alice" })
    .WithConfig(new QueryConfig(
        database: "neo4j",
        routing: RoutingControl.Readers))    // route reads to replicas
    .ExecuteAsync(cancellationToken);

foreach (var r in records)
    Console.WriteLine(r.Get<string>("name"));

// Use ResultConsumedAfter for wall-clock timing (ResultAvailableAfter = time-to-first-byte only)
Console.WriteLine($"{summary.ResultConsumedAfter.TotalMilliseconds} ms");

// Write
var (_, writeSummary, _) = await driver
    .ExecutableQuery("CREATE (p:Person {name: $name, age: $age})")
    .WithParameters(new { name = "Bob", age = 30 })
    .WithConfig(new QueryConfig(database: "neo4j"))
    .ExecuteAsync();
Console.WriteLine($"Created {writeSummary.Counters.NodesCreated} nodes");

// WithMap — project inline
var names = await driver
    .ExecutableQuery("MATCH (p:Person) RETURN p.name AS name")
    .WithConfig(new QueryConfig(database: "neo4j"))
    .WithMap(r => r["name"].As<string>())
    .ExecuteAsync();   // names.Result is IReadOnlyList<string>

Never await omitted: ExecuteAsync() returns Task — missing await compiles silently but query never runs.

Never string-interpolate Cypher. Always WithParameters() — prevents injection, enables plan caching.

Managed Transactions

Use for large result sets (lazy streaming) or multiple queries per transaction. Callback auto-retried on transient failure — keep it idempotent, no side effects inside.

await using var session = driver.AsyncSession(conf => conf.WithDatabase("neo4j"));

// Read — routes to replicas
var names = await session.ExecuteReadAsync(async tx =>
{
    var cursor = await tx.RunAsync(
        "MATCH (p:Person) WHERE p.name STARTS WITH $prefix RETURN p.name AS name",
        new { prefix = "Al" });
    return await cursor.ToListAsync(r => r.Get<string>("name"));
    // Consume cursor INSIDE callback — invalid after callback returns
});

// Write — void, no async needed
await session.ExecuteWriteAsync(tx =>
    tx.RunAsync("MERGE (p:Person {name: $name})", new { name = "Carol" }));

// Write — async when needing counters
var summary = await session.ExecuteWriteAsync(async tx =>
{
    var cursor = await tx.RunAsync(
        "CREATE (p:Person {name: $name})", new { name = "Alice" });
    return await cursor.ConsumeAsync();   // drains cursor, returns IResultSummary
});
Console.WriteLine($"Created {summary.Counters.NodesCreated} nodes");

Cursor rules:

• Consume with ToListAsync() or FetchAsync() loop inside the callback
• Returning a cursor from the callback → transaction closes → cursor invalid → exception

// ❌ Returns cursor — tx closes immediately after lambda returns
var cursor = await session.ExecuteReadAsync(async tx =>
    await tx.RunAsync("MATCH (p:Person) RETURN p.name AS name"));
await cursor.FetchAsync();   // throws

// ✅ Consume inside
var names = await session.ExecuteReadAsync(async tx =>
{
    var cursor = await tx.RunAsync("MATCH (p:Person) RETURN p.name AS name");
    return await cursor.ToListAsync(r => r.Get<string>("name"));
});

Async void trap:

// ❌ CS1998 warning — async with no await; RunAsync Task discarded
await session.ExecuteWriteAsync(async tx =>