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name: akka-net-aspire-configuration description: Configure Akka.NET with .NET Aspire for local development and production deployments. Covers actor system setup, clustering, persistence, Akka.Management integration, and Aspire orchestration patterns. invocable: false

Configuring Akka.NET with .NET Aspire

When to Use This Skill

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

1. Configuration via Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration - Use strongly-typed settings classes bound from appsettings.json (see microsoft-extensions-configuration skill)
2. Akka.Hosting for DI Integration - Use the Akka.Hosting library for seamless ASP.NET Core integration
3. Aspire for Orchestration - Let Aspire manage service dependencies, networking, and environment configuration
4. Health Checks - Always configure health checks for clustering, persistence, and readiness
5. Separate Concerns - Keep actor definitions, configuration, and Aspire orchestration in separate layers
6. 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.Public