efcore-patterns

EF Core query performance improves by using NoTracking by default to skip change tracking overhead and enabling query splitting to avoid cartesian explosion when loading multiple navigations. Apply explicit tracking only when entity modifications are needed.

The best way to handle EF Core migrations is implementing a dedicated migration service with retry strategies that executes before app startup. Never edit migrations manually; rely on CLI and automated workflows to ensure safe schema changes.

To prevent cartesian explosion in EF Core, enable query splitting for large navigations. This separates related data into multiple SQL queries, reducing memory pressure and avoiding duplicate row data during multi-navigation loads.

EF Core supports bulk updates and deletes without loading entities by using ExecuteUpdate and ExecuteDelete operations. These commands execute directly against the database, bypassing change tracking and improving performance for large dataset modifications.

Handle transient failures in EF Core by implementing an ExecutionStrategy with safe retry patterns. This automatically retries failed operations, ensuring reliability during temporary database connectivity issues or transaction deadlocks.

Use NoTracking by default in EF Core for read-only queries to improve performance by skipping change tracking. Switch to explicit tracking only when you need to modify and save entities back to the database.