MSSQL Dotnet Data Access Design

Use this skill when designing or implementing SQL Server data access in .NET applications using EF Core, Dapper, stored procedures, migrations, transactions, indexing, or database-backed features.

Process

1. Identify access patterns, write/read paths, expected cardinality, tenant boundaries, retention needs, and operational constraints before choosing schema or data-access style.
2. Choose EF Core, Dapper, stored procedures, or a combination per use case. Do not make it an ideological project-wide rule.
3. Keep domain logic, DTO composition, API response formatting, and JSON serialization in the application unless there is a narrow, explicitly justified exception.
4. Design rollout, rollback or roll-forward, verification, and observability together with the code change.

Coordination

Use with dotnet-web-api-implementation for ASP.NET Core behavior, mssql-review before handoff, mssql-operations-debugging for production symptoms, and focused security-* or infra-* skills when the change touches permissions, secrets, deployment, backup, HA, or production readiness.

Focused References