Generating C# code from Avro schemas

Chr.Avro is capable of generating rudimentary C# class and enum definitions to match Avro’s record and enum schemas. If you have a complex Avro schema, but no matching .NET type, code generation can save a lot of time.

Installing the CLI

If you haven’t already, install the Chr.Avro CLI:

$ dotnet tool install Chr.Avro.Cli --global
Tool 'chr.avro.cli' (version '10.5.0') was successfully installed.

After the CLI tool has been installed, you can invoke it using dotnet avro. If the install command fails, make sure you have the latest version of the .NET Core SDK installed.

Using the CLI

To generate code for a schema, use the generate command. The CLI supports retrieving schemas from a Confluent Schema Registry:

$ dotnet avro generate --id 42 --registry-url http://registry:8081
namespace ExampleNamespace
{
    public class ExampleClass
    {
        public long LongProperty { get; set; }
        public string StringProperty { get; set; }
    }
}

The CLI writes generated code to the console. Use your shell’s capabilities to read from and write to files. In Bash, that looks like this:

dotnet avro generate < example-class.avsc > ExampleClass.cs

And in PowerShell:

Get-Content .\example-class.avsc | dotnet avro generate | Out-File .\ExampleClass.cs

Generated enums and classes are grouped by namespace.