Documentation

Installation

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This page explains how to select the right Nalix packages for your project and verify that your environment meets the prerequisites.

Prerequisites

RequirementMinimum
.NET SDK10.0 or later (download)
C# language version14 (default with .NET 10)
IDEVisual Studio 2026, JetBrains Rider 2025.3+, or VS Code with C# Dev Kit

Choose Your Package Set

Install only the packages required for your role. Every package is available on NuGet.

Server (hosted — recommended)

The hosted server model provides a fluent builder and managed lifecycle. This is the recommended starting point for new projects.

dotnet add package Nalix.Hosting

Nalix.Hosting transitively references Nalix.Network, Nalix.Runtime, Nalix.Framework, Nalix.Codec, Nalix.Environment, and Nalix.Abstractions.

Server (manual wiring)

If you need full control over startup order without the hosting builder:

dotnet add package Nalix.Network
dotnet add package Nalix.Runtime
dotnet add package Nalix.Framework
dotnet add package Nalix.Codec
dotnet add package Nalix.Environment
dotnet add package Nalix.Abstractions

Client

dotnet add package Nalix.SDK

Nalix.SDK transitively references Nalix.Codec, Nalix.Environment, and Nalix.Abstractions.

Shared contracts

If your packet definitions live in a separate assembly:

dotnet add package Nalix.Abstractions
dotnet add package Nalix.Codec

Summary

ScenarioPackages
Hosted serverNalix.Hosting
Manual serverNalix.Network, Nalix.Runtime, Nalix.Framework, Nalix.Codec, Nalix.Environment, Nalix.Abstractions
ClientNalix.SDK
Shared contractsNalix.Abstractions, Nalix.Codec
Full stackServer set + Client set, sharing one contracts assembly

Multi-Project Solutions

If you split contracts, server, and client into separate projects (see the Quick Start for the layout), pin the Nalix package version once in a root Directory.Build.props instead of repeating it per project — this prevents version drift between your server and client:

<Project>
  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFramework>net10.0</TargetFramework>
    <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
    <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
    <NalixVersion>$(VersionFromYourReleasePlan)</NalixVersion>
  </PropertyGroup>
</Project>

When upgrading, bump NalixVersion, clear obj/bin if source-generated contracts changed, then dotnet build to confirm every project is aligned.

Configuration File

When using Nalix.Hosting, Bootstrap.Initialize() sets NALIX_BASE_PATH to AppContext.BaseDirectory and automatically generates data/config/server.ini on first launch (standalone ConfigurationManager.Instance defaults to default.ini inside Directories.ConfigurationDirectory). Section headers automatically strip the Options suffix from ConfigurationLoader class names:

[NetworkSocket]
Port=57206
Backlog=512

[Dispatch]
MaxPerConnectionQueue=4096
DropPolicy=DropNewest
BlockTimeout=00:00:01

[Transport]
Address=127.0.0.1
Port=57206
ConnectTimeoutMillis=30000
BufferSize=65536

Validate Options at Startup

When resolving an options class via ConfigurationManager.Instance.Get<TOptions>(), Nalix automatically invokes Validate() if TOptions implements IValidatableConfiguration (such as NetworkSocketOptions, PoolingOptions, TokenBucketOptions, and HostingOptions) and runs source-generated data-annotation checks ([ValueRange], [Length], [Required]):

using Nalix.SDK.Options;
using Nalix.Network.Options;
using Nalix.Environment.Configuration;

// Server: loads [NetworkSocket] and automatically validates IValidatableConfiguration
NetworkSocketOptions socket = ConfigurationManager.Instance.Get<NetworkSocketOptions>();

// Client: loads [Transport] and validates [ValueRange] / [Length] annotations
TransportOptions transport = ConfigurationManager.Instance.Get<TransportOptions>();