Discriminated unions for .NET with fluent error handling. ErrorOr<T> provides railway-oriented programming, nullable-to-ErrorOr extensions (OrNotFound, OrValidation, OrError), Match/Then/Else/Switch/FailIf fluent API, and rich typed errors mapped to HTTP status codes.
Railway-Oriented Programming for .NET with source-generated ASP.NET Core Minimal API integration. Zero boilerplate, full
Native AOT support.
Features
Discriminated Unions - ErrorOr<T> represents success or a list of typed errors
Fluent API - Chain operations with Then, Else, Match, Switch, and FailIf
Nullable Extensions - Convert nullable values with OrNotFound(), OrValidation(), and more
Source Generator - Auto-generates MapErrorOrEndpoints() from attributed static methods
Smart Binding - Automatic parameter inference based on HTTP method and type
OpenAPI Ready - Typed Results<...> unions for complete API documentation
Native AOT - Reflection-free code generation with JSON serialization contexts
Middleware Support - Emits fluent calls for , ,
[Authorize]
[EnableRateLimiting]
[OutputCache]
Installation
dotnet add package ErrorOrX.Generators
This package includes both the source generator and the ErrorOrX runtime library.
Quick Start
// Program.cs
var app = WebApplication.CreateSlimBuilder(args).Build();
app.MapErrorOrEndpoints();
app.Run();
// TodoApi.cs
using ErrorOr;
public static class TodoApi
{
[Get("/todos/{id}")]
public static ErrorOr<Todo> GetById(int id, ITodoService svc)
=> svc.GetById(id).OrNotFound($"Todo {id} not found");
[Post("/todos")]
public static ErrorOr<Todo> Create(CreateTodoRequest req, ITodoService svc)
=> svc.Create(req); // 201 Created
[Delete("/todos/{id}")]
public static ErrorOr<Deleted> Delete(int id, ITodoService svc)
=> svc.Delete(id) ? Result.Deleted : Error.NotFound();
}
Error Types
Create structured errors mapped to HTTP status codes:
Error.Validation("User.InvalidEmail", "Email format is invalid") // 400
Error.Unauthorized("Auth.InvalidToken", "Token has expired") // 401
Error.Forbidden("Auth.InsufficientRole", "Admin role required") // 403
Error.NotFound("User.NotFound", "User does not exist") // 404
Error.Conflict("User.Duplicate", "Email already registered") // 409
Error.Failure("Db.ConnectionFailed", "Database unavailable") // 500
Error.Unexpected("Unknown", "An unexpected error occurred") // 500
Error.Custom(422, "Validation.Complex", "Complex validation failed")
Nullable-to-ErrorOr Extensions
Convert nullable values to ErrorOr<T> with auto-generated error codes:
// Error code auto-generated from type name (e.g., "Todo.NotFound")
return _todos.Find(t => t.Id == id).OrNotFound($"Todo {id} not found");
return user.OrUnauthorized("Invalid credentials");
return record.OrValidation("Record is invalid");
// Custom errors
return value.OrError(Error.Custom(422, "Custom.Code", "Custom message"));
return value.OrError(() => BuildExpensiveError()); // Lazy evaluation
Extension
Error Type
HTTP
Description
.OrNotFound()
NotFound
404
Resource not found
.OrValidation()
Validation
400
Input validation failed
.OrUnauthorized()
Unauthorized
401
Authentication required
.OrForbidden()
Forbidden
403
Insufficient permissions
.OrConflict()
Conflict
409
State conflict
.OrFailure()
Failure
500
Operational failure
.OrUnexpected()
Unexpected
500
Unexpected error
.OrError(Error)
Any
Any
Custom error
.OrError(Func)
Any
Any
Lazy custom error
Fluent API
Chain operations using railway-oriented programming patterns:
// Chain operations - errors short-circuit the pipeline
var result = ValidateOrder(request)
.Then(order => ProcessPayment(order))
.Then(order => CreateShipment(order))
.FailIf(order => order.Total <= 0, Error.Validation("Order.InvalidTotal", "Total must be positive"));
// Handle both cases
return result.Match(
order => Ok(order),
errors => BadRequest(errors.First().Description));
// Provide fallback on error
var user = GetUser(id).Else(errors => DefaultUser);
// Side effects
GetUser(id).Switch(
user => Console.WriteLine($"Found: {user.Name}"),
errors => Logger.LogError(errors.First().Description));
Result Markers
Use semantic markers for endpoints without response bodies:
Result.Success // 200 OK (no body)
Result.Created // 201 Created (no body)
Result.Updated // 204 No Content
Result.Deleted // 204 No Content
Smart Parameter Binding
The generator automatically infers parameter sources:
[Post("/todos")]
public static ErrorOr<Todo> Create(
CreateTodoRequest req, // -> Body (POST + complex type)
ITodoService svc) // -> Service (interface)
=> svc.Create(req);
[Get("/todos/{id}")]
public static ErrorOr<Todo> GetById(
int id, // -> Route (matches {id})
ITodoService svc) // -> Service
=> svc.GetById(id).OrNotFound();
Middleware Attributes
Middleware attributes are automatically translated to fluent calls:
