Getting started

This walkthrough assumes a .NET 10 project with either Nodal.Neo4j or Nodal.TigerGraph installed. Start with Install and configure for NuGet commands, reproducible package versions, dependency injection, and provider lifetime guidance.

0. Add a provider package

Choose one provider

dotnet add package Nodal.Neo4j --prerelease
# or
dotnet add package Nodal.TigerGraph --prerelease

Add migrations only when this application owns graph schema changes:

dotnet add package Nodal.Migrations --prerelease

Add provider-neutral path and pattern analytics when the application needs similarity, communities, sequences, or temporal transitions:

dotnet add package Nodal.Analytics --prerelease

1. Define the graph model

using Nodal.Core.Metadata;

[GraphNode("Person")]
public sealed class Person(string id, string name)
{
    [GraphKey]
    public string Id { get; } = id;

    public string Name { get; set; } = name;
}

[GraphRelation("KNOWS", Directed = true)]
public sealed class Knows(int sinceYear)
{
    public int SinceYear { get; set; } = sinceYear;
}

2. Create a context

using Nodal.Core;
using Nodal.Core.Execution;
using Nodal.Core.Query;

public sealed class SocialGraphContext(IGraphProvider provider) : NodalContext(provider)
{
    public GraphSet<Person> People => Set<Person>();

    public RelationSet<Person, Knows, Person> Friendships =>
        Relations<Person, Knows, Person>();
}

3. Select a provider

Neo4j

await using var provider = new Neo4jProvider(new Neo4jOptions
{
    Endpoint = new Uri("neo4j://localhost:7687"),
    Username = "neo4j",
    Password = "secret",
    Database = "neo4j"
});

var context = new SocialGraphContext(provider);

TigerGraph

var httpClient = new HttpClient();
var provider = new TigerGraphProvider(
    httpClient,
    new TigerGraphOptions
    {
        Endpoint = new Uri("https://example.i.tgcloud.io/"),
        Username = "tigergraph",
        Password = "secret"
    },
    graphName: "SocialGraph");

var context = new SocialGraphContext(provider);

4. Query and save

var ada = await context.People
    .Match(person => person.Id == "person-42")
    .SingleAsync();

var alan = new Person("person-84", "Alan");
context.People.Add(alan);
context.Friendships.Connect(ada, new Knows(2026), alan);

await context.SaveChangesAsync();

Provider construction is the only part that changes. The model and application workflow stay the same.

5. Apply the initial schema when needed

Provider packages already include their migration dialect. The separate Nodal.Migrations package supplies migration definitions and orchestration:

using Nodal.Migrations;

public sealed class InitialSocialGraph : NodalMigration
{
    public override string Id => "20260821_001_initial_social_graph";

    protected override void Up(MigrationBuilder migration) => migration
        .CreateNode<Person>()
        .CreateRelation<Knows, Person, Person>()
        .CreateIndex<Person, string>(person => person.Name);

    protected override void Down(MigrationBuilder migration) => migration
        .DropRelation<Knows>()
        .DropNode<Person>();
}

await context.Database.MigrateAsync([new InitialSocialGraph()]);

Neo4j migration execution is available directly. TigerGraph requires an explicit administrative transport because schema changes and installed-query management are privileged operations. See Migrations before running schema changes in production.

6. Verify the integration

dotnet restore
dotnet build
dotnet list package

Run one bounded query against a non-production graph before enabling writes. Use AsNoTracking() for read-only checks and keep credentials in the host's secret configuration rather than source control.