NeverendingShift.Hangfire 0.1.0

NeverendingShift.Hangfire

Advanced Hangfire extensions providing thread-safe access to PerformingContext throughout your background jobs. Works with both .NET Framework 4.8 and .NET 5+.

Features

• ✅ Thread-safe PerformingContext access using AsyncLocal<T>
• ✅ Works with .NET Framework 4.6.2 and .NET 5+
• ✅ Simple registration with or without DI
• ✅ Extension methods for common operations
• ✅ Handy attributes so you don't have to figure them out yourself

Installation

dotnet add package NeverendingShift.Hangfire

Or via Package Manager:

Install-Package NeverendingShift.Hangfire

Quick Start

.NET 5+ / .NET Core (with Dependency Injection)

using NeverendingShift.Hangfire;

// Program.cs or Startup.cs
services.AddHangfirePerformingContextAccessor();

services.AddHangfire((sp, config) =>
{
    config
        .UseSqlServerStorage("YourConnectionString")
        .UsePerformingContextAccessor(sp);
});

services.AddHangfireServer();

.NET Framework 4.8 (without DI)

using NeverendingShift.Hangfire;

// Global.asax.cs or App_Start
var accessor = new PerformingContextAccessor();

GlobalConfiguration.Configuration
    .UseSqlServerStorage("YourConnectionString")
    .UsePerformingContextAccessor(accessor);

// Make accessor available to your jobs (e.g., via a static property or DI container)
JobHelper.PerformingContextAccessor = accessor;

.NET Framework 4.8 with DI Container (e.g., Autofac)

using NeverendingShift.Hangfire;

// Register in your container
builder.RegisterType<PerformingContextAccessor>()
    .As<IPerformingContextAccessor>()
    .SingleInstance();

builder.RegisterType<PerformingContextAccessorFilter>()
    .SingleInstance();

// Configure Hangfire
var accessor = container.Resolve<IPerformingContextAccessor>();
GlobalConfiguration.Configuration
    .UseSqlServerStorage("YourConnectionString")
    .UsePerformingContextAccessor(accessor);

Usage Examples

Basic Job with Progress Reporting

public class DataProcessingJob
{
    private readonly IPerformingContextAccessor _contextAccessor;

    public DataProcessingJob(IPerformingContextAccessor contextAccessor)
    {
        _contextAccessor = contextAccessor;
    }

    public async Task ProcessAsync(string dataId)
    {
        // Report progress
        _contextAccessor.SetProgress(0, "Starting...");
        
        // Get job information
        var jobId = _contextAccessor.GetCurrentJobId();
        _contextAccessor.WriteLine($"Processing data {dataId} in job {jobId}");

        await Step1();
        _contextAccessor.SetProgress(33, "Step 1 complete");

        await Step2();
        _contextAccessor.SetProgress(66, "Step 2 complete");

        await Step3();
        _contextAccessor.SetProgress(100, "Complete!");
        
        _contextAccessor.WriteLine("Processing complete", ConsoleTextColor.Green);
    }
}

Progress Tracking with Loop

public async Task ProcessRecordsAsync(List<Record> records)
{
    var total = records.Count;
    
    for (int i = 0; i < total; i++)
    {
        await ProcessRecord(records[i]);
        
        var progress = (int)((i + 1) / (double)total * 100);
        _contextAccessor.SetProgress(progress, $"Processed {i + 1}/{total}");
    }
}

Storing Custom Metadata

public async Task ProcessOrderAsync(int orderId)
{
    var startTime = DateTime.UtcNow;
    
    // Store custom parameters that persist with the job
    _contextAccessor.SetJobParameter("OrderId", orderId);
    _contextAccessor.SetJobParameter("StartTime", startTime);
    
    await ProcessOrder(orderId);
    
    var duration = DateTime.UtcNow - startTime;
    _contextAccessor.SetJobParameter("Duration", duration.TotalSeconds);
    _contextAccessor.SetJobParameter("Status", "Completed");
}

Conditional logic (Works Inside and Outside Jobs)

public class SharedService
{
    private readonly IPerformingContextAccessor _contextAccessor;

    public async Task DoWorkAsync()
    {
        if (_contextAccessor.IsInJobContext())
        {
            // Running in Hangfire - use Hangfire console
            _contextAccessor.Current.WriteLine("Processing work item");
            _contextAccessor.SetProgress(50);
        }
        else
        {
            // Running outside Hangfire - use regular logging
            Console.WriteLine("Processing work item");
        }
        
        await ProcessWork();
    }
}

Using Context Items for Scoped Data

public async Task ProcessWorkflowAsync()
{
    // Store data in context items (scoped to this job execution)
    _contextAccessor.SetItem("WorkflowId", Guid.NewGuid());
    _contextAccessor.SetItem("StartTime", DateTime.UtcNow);
    
    await Step1(); // Can access items from nested methods
    await Step2();
    await Step3();
    
    // Retrieve stored data
    var workflowId = _contextAccessor.GetItem<Guid>("WorkflowId");
    var startTime = _contextAccessor.GetItem<DateTime>("StartTime");
    var duration = DateTime.UtcNow - startTime;
    
    _contextAccessor.WriteLine($"Workflow {workflowId} completed in {duration.TotalSeconds:F2}s");
}

private async Task Step1()
{
    var workflowId = _contextAccessor.GetItem<Guid>("WorkflowId");
    _contextAccessor.WriteLine($"Step 1 for workflow {workflowId}");
    await Task.Delay(100);
}

API Reference

IPerformingContextAccessor

public interface IPerformingContextAccessor
{
    PerformingContext Current { get; set; }
}

Extension Methods

// Get current job ID
string GetCurrentJobId(this IPerformingContextAccessor accessor)

// Report progress (0-100)
void SetProgress(this IPerformingContextAccessor accessor, int value, string message = null)

// Store custom job parameter
void SetJobParameter(this IPerformingContextAccessor accessor, string name, object value)

// Retrieve job parameter
T GetJobParameter<T>(this IPerformingContextAccessor accessor, string name)

// Check if in job context
bool IsInJobContext(this IPerformingContextAccessor accessor)

// Get job creation time
DateTime? GetJobCreatedAt(this IPerformingContextAccessor accessor)

// Context items (scoped storage)
void SetItem(this IPerformingContextAccessor accessor, object key, object value)
T GetItem<T>(this IPerformingContextAccessor accessor, object key)
IDictionary<object, object> GetItems(this IPerformingContextAccessor accessor)

Framework Compatibility

Best Practices

1. Always Inject as Dependency

// ✅ Good - use dependency injection
public MyJob(IPerformingContextAccessor contextAccessor) { }

// ❌ Bad - don't create instances directly
var accessor = new PerformingContextAccessor();

2. Check Context Before Use

// ✅ Good - check if in job context
if (_contextAccessor.IsInJobContext())
{
    _contextAccessor.WriteLine("Running in Hangfire");
}

// ❌ Bad - assumes context exists
_contextAccessor.Current.WriteLine("This may throw!");

3. Use Extension Methods

// ✅ Good - use extension methods
_contextAccessor.SetProgress(50, "Half done");
var jobId = _contextAccessor.GetCurrentJobId();

// ❌ Less ideal - direct property access
_contextAccessor.Current?.SetJobParameter("Progress", 50);

Thread Safety

The implementation uses AsyncLocal<T> to maintain context across async/await boundaries:

// ✅ Thread-safe PerformingContext access
BackgroundJob.Enqueue(() => SomeMethodAsync());
BackgroundJob.Enqueue(() => SomeMethodAsync());

Performance

• Minimal Overhead: Uses AsyncLocal<T> with negligible performance impact
• No Locking: Thread-safe without locks or synchronization
• Singleton: Registered as singleton to minimize allocations

Troubleshooting

Context is Always Null

Problem: Current property returns null in jobs.

Solutions:

1. Ensure you registered the accessor (.AddHangfirePerformingContextAccessor() or manual registration)
2. Verify .UsePerformingContextAccessor() is called in Hangfire configuration
3. Check that jobs are executed by Hangfire server (not called directly)

Progress Not Updating

Problem: Progress values set but not visible in dashboard.

Solutions:

1. Use a storage provider that supports job parameters (SQL Server, PostgreSQL, etc.)
2. Ensure values are between 0-100
3. Check your Hangfire dashboard version

.NET Framework Compilation Errors

Problem: Extension methods not available in .NET Framework project.

Solution: Ensure your project targets .NET Framework 4.6.1 or higher, which is compatible with netstandard2.0.

Example Projects

Check the samples directory for complete working examples:

• NetCore.Sample - .NET 6+ with DI
• NetFramework48.Sample - .NET Framework 4.8 without DI
• NetFramework48.Autofac.Sample - .NET Framework 4.8 with Autofac

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Author

Daniel Barwikowski
GitHub: @dbarwikowski

Support

• 🐛 Report a bug
• 💡 Request a feature
• 📖 Documentation

Made with ❤️ for the Hangfire community