title	description	services	documentationcenter	author	manager	editor	tags	keywords	ms.assetid	ms.service	ms.devlang	ms.topic	ms.tgt_pltfrm	ms.workload	ms.date	ms.author
Azure Functions developer reference \| Microsoft Docs	Understand how to develop Azure Functions using C#.	functions	na	christopheranderson	erikre			azure functions, functions, event processing, webhooks, dynamic compute, serverless architecture	f28cda01-15f3-4047-83f3-e89d5728301c	functions	dotnet	reference	multiple	na	05/13/2016	chrande

Azure Functions C# developer reference

[!div class="op_single_selector"]

C# script

F# script

Node.js

The C# experience for Azure Functions is based on the Azure WebJobs SDK. Data flows into your C# function via method arguments. Argument names are specified in function.json, and there are predefined names for accessing things like the function logger and cancellation tokens.

This article assumes that you've already read the Azure Functions developer reference.

How .csx works

The .csx format allows you to write less "boilerplate" and focus on writing just a C# function. For Azure Functions, you just include any assembly references and namespaces you need up top, as usual, and instead of wrapping everything in a namespace and class, you can just define your Run method. If you need to include any classes, for instance to define Plain Old CLR Object (POCO) objects, you can include a class inside the same file.

Binding to arguments

The various bindings are bound to a C# function via the name property in the function.json configuration. Each binding has its own supported types which is documented per binding; for instance, a blob trigger can support a string, a POCO, or several other types. You can use the type which best suits your need. A POCO object must have a getter and setter defined for each property.

public static void Run(string myBlob, out MyClass myQueueItem)
{
    log.Verbose($"C# Blob trigger function processed: {myBlob}");
    myQueueItem = new MyClass() { Id = "myid" };
}

public class MyClass
{
    public string Id { get; set; }
}

Logging

To log output to your streaming logs in C#, you can include a TraceWriter typed argument. We recommend that you name it log. We recommend you avoid Console.Write in Azure Functions.

public static void Run(string myBlob, TraceWriter log)
{
    log.Info($"C# Blob trigger function processed: {myBlob}");
}

Async

To make a function asynchronous, use the async keyword and return a Task object.

public async static Task ProcessQueueMessageAsync(
        string blobName, 
        Stream blobInput,
        Stream blobOutput)
    {
        await blobInput.CopyToAsync(blobOutput, 4096, token);
    }

Cancellation Token

In certain cases, you may have operations which are sensitive to being shut down. While it's always best to write code which can handle crashing, in cases where you want to handle graceful shutdown requests, you define a CancellationToken typed argument. A CancellationToken will be provided if a host shutdown is triggered.

public async static Task ProcessQueueMessageAsyncCancellationToken(
        string blobName, 
        Stream blobInput,
        Stream blobOutput,
        CancellationToken token)
    {
        await blobInput.CopyToAsync(blobOutput, 4096, token);
    }

Importing namespaces

If you need to import namespaces, you can do so as usual, with the using clause.

using System.Net;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

public static Task<HttpResponseMessage> Run(HttpRequestMessage req, TraceWriter log)

The following namespaces are automatically imported and are therefore optional:

System
System.Collections.Generic
System.IO
System.Linq
System.Net.Http
System.Threading.Tasks
Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs
Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Host.

Referencing External Assemblies

For framework assemblies, add references by using the #r "AssemblyName" directive.

#r "System.Web.Http"

using System.Net;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

public static Task<HttpResponseMessage> Run(HttpRequestMessage req, TraceWriter log)

The following assemblies are automatically added by the Azure Functions hosting environment:

mscorlib,
System
System.Core
System.Xml
System.Net.Http
Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs
Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Host
Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Extensions
System.Web.Http
System.Net.Http.Formatting.

In addition, the following assemblies are special cased and may be referenced by simplename (e.g. #r "AssemblyName"):

Newtonsoft.Json
Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Storage
Microsoft.ServiceBus
Microsoft.AspNet.WebHooks.Receivers
Microsoft.AspNEt.WebHooks.Common
Microsoft.Azure.NotificationHubs

If you need to reference a private assembly, you can upload the assembly file into a bin folder relative to your function and reference it by using the file name (e.g. #r "MyAssembly.dll"). For information on how to upload files to your function folder, see the following section on package management.

Package management

To use NuGet packages in a C# function, upload a project.json file to the the function's folder in the function app's file system. Here is an example project.json file that adds a reference to Microsoft.ProjectOxford.Face version 1.1.0:

{
  "frameworks": {
    "net46":{
      "dependencies": {
        "Microsoft.ProjectOxford.Face": "1.1.0"
      }
    }
   }
}

Only the .NET Framework 4.6 is supported, so make sure that your project.json file specifies net46 as shown here.

When you upload a project.json file, the runtime gets the packages and automatically adds references to the package assemblies. You don't need to add #r "AssemblyName" directives. Just add the required using statements to your run.csx file to use the types defined in the NuGet packages.

How to upload a project.json file

Begin by making sure your function app is running, which you can do by opening your function in the Azure portal.

This also gives access to the streaming logs where package installation output will be displayed.
To upload a project.json file, use one of the methods described in the How to update function app files section of the Azure Functions developer reference topic.
After the project.json file is uploaded, you see output like the following example in your function's streaming log:

2016-04-04T19:02:48.745 Restoring packages.
2016-04-04T19:02:48.745 Starting NuGet restore
2016-04-04T19:02:50.183 MSBuild auto-detection: using msbuild version '14.0' from 'D:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\14.0\bin'.
2016-04-04T19:02:50.261 Feeds used:
2016-04-04T19:02:50.261 C:\DWASFiles\Sites\facavalfunctest\LocalAppData\NuGet\Cache
2016-04-04T19:02:50.261 https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json
2016-04-04T19:02:50.261 
2016-04-04T19:02:50.511 Restoring packages for D:\home\site\wwwroot\HttpTriggerCSharp1\Project.json...
2016-04-04T19:02:52.800 Installing Newtonsoft.Json 6.0.8.
2016-04-04T19:02:52.800 Installing Microsoft.ProjectOxford.Face 1.1.0.
2016-04-04T19:02:57.095 All packages are compatible with .NETFramework,Version=v4.6.
2016-04-04T19:02:57.189 
2016-04-04T19:02:57.189 
2016-04-04T19:02:57.455 Packages restored.

Environment variables

To get an environment variable or an app setting value, use System.Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable, as shown in the following code example:

public static void Run(TimerInfo myTimer, TraceWriter log)
{
    log.Info($"C# Timer trigger function executed at: {DateTime.Now}");
    log.Info(GetEnvironmentVariable("AzureWebJobsStorage"));
    log.Info(GetEnvironmentVariable("WEBSITE_SITE_NAME"));
}

public static string GetEnvironmentVariable(string name)
{
    return name + ": " + 
        System.Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable(name, EnvironmentVariableTarget.Process);
}

Reusing .csx code

You can use classes and methods defined in other .csx files in your run.csx file. To do that, use #load directives in your run.csx file. In the following example, a logging routine named MyLogger is shared in myLogger.csx and loaded into run.csx using the #load directive:

Example run.csx:

#load "mylogger.csx"

public static void Run(TimerInfo myTimer, TraceWriter log)
{
    log.Verbose($"Log by run.csx: {DateTime.Now}"); 
    MyLogger(log, $"Log by MyLogger: {DateTime.Now}");
}

Example mylogger.csx:

public static void MyLogger(TraceWriter log, string logtext)
{
    log.Verbose(logtext); 
}

Using a shared .csx is a common pattern when you want to strongly type your arguments between functions using a POCO object. In the following simplified example, a HTTP trigger and queue trigger share a POCO object named Order to strongly type the order data:

Example run.csx for HTTP trigger:

#load "..\shared\order.csx"

using System.Net;

public static async Task<HttpResponseMessage> Run(Order req, IAsyncCollector<Order> outputQueueItem, TraceWriter log)
{
    log.Info("C# HTTP trigger function received an order.");
    log.Info(req.ToString());
    log.Info("Submitting to processing queue.");

    if (req.orderId == null)
    {
        return new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.BadRequest);
    }
    else
    {
        await outputQueueItem.AddAsync(req);
        return new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.OK);
    }
}

Example run.csx for queue trigger:

#load "..\shared\order.csx"

using System;

public static void Run(Order myQueueItem, out Order outputQueueItem,TraceWriter log)
{
    log.Info($"C# Queue trigger function processed order...");
    log.Info(myQueueItem.ToString());

    outputQueueItem = myQueueItem;
}

Example order.csx:

public class Order
{
    public string orderId {get; set; }
    public string custName {get; set;}
    public string custAddress {get; set;}
    public string custEmail {get; set;}
    public string cartId {get; set; }

    public override String ToString()
    {
        return "\n{\n\torderId : " + orderId + 
                  "\n\tcustName : " + custName +             
                  "\n\tcustAddress : " + custAddress +             
                  "\n\tcustEmail : " + custEmail +             
                  "\n\tcartId : " + cartId + "\n}";             
    }
}

You can use a relative path with the #load directive:

#load "mylogger.csx" loads a file located in the function folder.
#load "loadedfiles\mylogger.csx" loads a file located in a folder in the function folder.
#load "..\shared\mylogger.csx" loads a file located in a folder at the same level as the function folder, that is, directly under wwwroot.

The #load directive works only with .csx (C# script) files, not with .cs files.

Next steps

For more information, see the following resources:

Best Practices for Azure Functions
Azure Functions developer reference
Azure Functions F# developer reference
Azure Functions NodeJS developer reference
Azure Functions triggers and bindings

Provide feedback

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly

functions-reference-csharp.md

functions-reference-csharp.md

Azure Functions C# developer reference

How .csx works

Binding to arguments

Logging

Async

Cancellation Token

Importing namespaces

Referencing External Assemblies

Package management

How to upload a project.json file

Environment variables

Reusing .csx code

Next steps

Files

functions-reference-csharp.md

Latest commit

History

functions-reference-csharp.md

File metadata and controls

Azure Functions C# developer reference

How .csx works

Binding to arguments

Logging

Async

Cancellation Token

Importing namespaces

Referencing External Assemblies

Package management

How to upload a project.json file

Environment variables

Reusing .csx code

Next steps