What is the Microsoft Extensions Configuration skill?

It is a specialized capability for Claude Code that provides domain-specific guidance on implementing the Options pattern, validation, and configuration management in .NET applications.

Why is 'ValidateOnStart' recommended?

ValidateOnStart ensures your application fails immediately during the startup sequence if configuration is invalid, preventing difficult-to-debug runtime errors in production.

When should I use IOptionsMonitor instead of IOptions?

Use IOptionsMonitor in background services or scenarios where you need to react to configuration changes (like appsettings.json edits) without restarting the application.

Does this skill support complex validation logic?

Yes, it provides patterns for IValidateOptions which allows for cross-property validation, conditional logic, and dependency injection within your validation rules.

Microsoft Extensions Configuration

Name: Microsoft Extensions Configuration
Author: Aaronontheweb

byAaronontheweb

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203

API Development

Implements robust .NET configuration patterns using strongly-typed options and fail-fast startup validation.

About

This skill equips Claude with specialized knowledge of the Microsoft.Extensions.Options framework, enabling the generation of production-ready configuration code for .NET applications. It focuses on the 'fail-fast' principle by implementing startup validation, transitioning from simple Data Annotations to complex IValidateOptions logic, and managing configuration lifetimes correctly. It is an essential tool for .NET developers building maintainable, testable, and cloud-native services where reliable configuration management is critical to stability.

Key Features

203 GitHub stars
Strongly-typed settings binding from appsettings.json
Environment-specific post-configuration and named options support
Fail-fast validation at application startup via .ValidateOnStart()
Complex cross-property validation using IValidateOptions<T>
Correct implementation of IOptions, IOptionsSnapshot, and IOptionsMonitor lifetimes

Use Cases

Managing multiple instances of identical settings types using Named Options
Implementing strict validation for production settings to prevent runtime crashes
Refactoring loose, string-based configuration into type-safe C# classes

About

Key Features

203 GitHub stars
Strongly-typed settings binding from appsettings.json
Environment-specific post-configuration and named options support
Fail-fast validation at application startup via .ValidateOnStart()
Complex cross-property validation using IValidateOptions<T>
Correct implementation of IOptions, IOptionsSnapshot, and IOptionsMonitor lifetimes

Use Cases

Managing multiple instances of identical settings types using Named Options
Implementing strict validation for production settings to prevent runtime crashes
Refactoring loose, string-based configuration into type-safe C# classes