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Getting started

Install the package​

dotnet add package Nixie --version 1.2.5

Nixie targets net8.0. Add using Nixie; wherever you define or spawn actors.

Define a message and actor​

An actor that does not return a response implements IActor<TRequest>:

using Nixie;

public sealed record Greet(string Name);

public sealed class GreeterActor : IActor<Greet>
{
    public Task Receive(Greet message)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Hello, {message.Name}!");
        return Task.CompletedTask;
    }
}

Spawn and send​

using ActorSystem system = new();

IActorRef<GreeterActor, Greet> greeter =
    system.Spawn<GreeterActor, Greet>("greeter");

greeter.Send(new Greet("Nixie"));
await system.Wait();

Send returns immediately. Wait() is useful in short-lived programs and tests because it waits until the current actor queues are idle.

:::tip Choose the contract first Use IActor<TRequest> when delivery is fire-and-forget. Use IActor<TRequest, TResponse> when the caller needs a reply. The corresponding actor reference exposes the right operations at compile time. :::

Next steps​