Popcorn > Quick Start > DotNet

Table Of Contents

Drop Popcorn v8 into a minimal-API app in five minutes. For a full walkthrough (models, test data, multiple endpoints) see Getting Started.

v7 vs v8. This is the v8 (source-generator) path — it works under PublishAot=True and PublishTrimmed=True. If you’re on the v7 Skyward.Api.Popcorn / .DotNetCore packages and aren’t ready to migrate, the v7 quick start is in the migration guide.

1. Install the packages

<PackageReference Include="Skyward.Api.Popcorn.SourceGen.Shared" Version="8.0.0-preview.1" />
<PackageReference Include="Skyward.Api.Popcorn.SourceGen"        Version="8.0.0-preview.1" PrivateAssets="all" />

SourceGen is marked developmentDependency — it only contributes the Roslyn analyzer, never a runtime DLL. SourceGen.Shared is the runtime library that carries attributes, envelopes, and middleware.

2. Declare a JsonSerializerContext

Popcorn’s generator discovers types through standard System.Text.Json [JsonSerializable] attributes. Register each top-level response type — the generator walks nested types automatically.

using System.Text.Json.Serialization;
using Popcorn.Shared;

[JsonSerializable(typeof(ApiResponse<List<Car>>))]
[JsonSerializable(typeof(ApiResponse<Car>))]
internal partial class AppJsonSerializerContext : JsonSerializerContext { }

3. Wire up Program.cs

using System.Text.Json;
using Popcorn.Shared;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateSlimBuilder(args);

builder.Services.AddHttpContextAccessor();
builder.Services.AddPopcorn();

builder.Services.ConfigureHttpJsonOptions(o =>
{
    o.SerializerOptions.TypeInfoResolverChain.Insert(0, AppJsonSerializerContext.Default);
    o.SerializerOptions.AddPopcornOptions(); // installs generator-emitted converters
});

var app = builder.Build();
app.UsePopcornExceptionHandler(); // unhandled exceptions → ApiError envelope

app.MapGet("/cars", (IPopcornAccessor access) =>
    access.CreateResponse(new List<Car>
    {
        new(1, "Pontiac", "Firebird", 1981),
        new(2, "Porsche", "Cayman",    2005),
    }));

app.Run();

public record Car(int Id, string Make, string Model, int Year);

CreateSlimBuilder is the AOT-friendly host builder; if you don’t plan to publish as AOT you can use WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args) instead.

4. Make a request

GET /cars
→ { "Success": true, "Data": [{ "Id":1, "Make":"Pontiac", "Model":"Firebird", "Year":1981 }, ...] }

GET /cars?include=[Make,Model]
→ { "Success": true, "Data": [{ "Make":"Pontiac", "Model":"Firebird" }, ...] }

Where to go next

• Getting Started for a fuller walkthrough with multiple models, default-include attributes, and nested sub-entity queries.
• Include Parameter Syntax for the full ?include= grammar (negation, wildcards, nesting).
• Default Includes for [Default] / [Always] / [SubPropertyDefault] attribute usage.
• Performance for benchmarked ratios vs raw System.Text.Json and v7.
• dotnet/PopcornAotExample/ for a reference project that publishes with PublishAot=True + PublishTrimmed=True.