The .NET Insider – Issue 23

Microsoft announced that VS Test is moving away from Newtonsoft.Json in favor of System.Text.Json. The change aims to reduce dependencies, improve performance, and align testing infrastructure with the modern .NET ecosystem. The post explains compatibility considerations, migration expectations, and what extension authors or custom integrations may need to update before the transition becomes permanent.

Anton Martyniuk walks through securing SignalR hubs using JWT authentication in ASP.NET Core. The article covers configuring JWT bearer authentication, handling access tokens for WebSocket connections, and protecting real-time communication endpoints. It also demonstrates how clients pass tokens during hub connections and how authorization policies can be applied to hubs and methods.

This post introduces TickerQ, a .NET job scheduler designed for ASP.NET Core applications. The article explores scheduling recurring jobs, delayed execution, persistence support, and distributed workloads. It’s positioned as an alternative approach for background processing scenarios where developers need lightweight scheduling capabilities integrated directly into ASP.NET Core apps.

Microsoft announced the first preview release of SkiaSharp 4.0. The update introduces improvements for cross-platform graphics development, rendering performance, and compatibility with modern .NET workloads. The preview also includes updates related to platform support and graphics APIs for developers building mobile, desktop, and cloud-powered graphics applications.

This article demonstrates how to build high-performance distributed caching solutions using .NET, PostgreSQL, and Azure services. It covers architectural patterns for scalable caching, persistence strategies, and integration with modern cloud-native .NET applications. The post highlights performance considerations and practical deployment approaches for distributed systems.

The .NET Aspire team introduced Bun runtime support alongside several container-related improvements. The update improves developer workflows for full-stack and cloud-native applications, simplifies container orchestration, and expands interoperability with modern JavaScript tooling. The post also highlights improvements to container publishing and development environments.

Ubuntu 26.04 (Resolute Raccoon) ships today with .NET 10. Here's how to install .NET 10 from the archive, use the new -resolute container tags, build Native AOT apps, and install .NET 8 and 9 from the dotnet-backports PPA.

Microsoft released an out-of-band security update for .NET 10.0.7 addressing important security-related issues. The announcement includes affected packages, update recommendations, and deployment guidance for developers and organizations running production workloads.

This post explores durable workflows in the Microsoft Agent Framework and how developers can orchestrate resilient AI-driven processes. It demonstrates workflow persistence, retries, long-running orchestration patterns, and reliable execution models for agentic applications built with .NET.

Milan Jovanović argues that API versioning should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. The article explains how strong API design, backward compatibility strategies, and careful evolution of contracts can reduce the need for maintaining multiple API versions. It’s a practical discussion about long-term API maintenance and complexity management.

Anton Martyniuk explains the hidden performance implications of returning identity values after inserts in EF Core. The post explores generated SQL behavior, extra database overhead, and optimization considerations for high-throughput applications. A useful read for developers focused on database performance tuning.

This article provides a practical guide to implementing AES encryption in .NET applications. It covers symmetric encryption fundamentals, secure key handling, encryption/decryption workflows, and implementation examples using modern .NET APIs.

Part 3 of the Microsoft Agent Framework series focuses on the core building blocks needed to create AI-powered agent systems. The article explores orchestration, memory, tools, and extensibility patterns for developers building advanced agentic applications on .NET.

Microsoft demonstrates how to build an AI-powered conference application using the modern .NET composable stack. The article combines AI services, cloud-native tooling, and modular architecture patterns to showcase practical real-world application development with .NET technologies.

Milan Jovanović explains the importance of invariants in domain-driven design and why domain models should enforce business rules directly. The article discusses maintaining consistency, protecting application integrity, and designing resilient business logic through encapsulation and validation.