.NET SDK

Use Autonomi.Ffi to connect directly to the Autonomi Network from your .NET application. Your application loads the compiled network library through the AntFfi namespace; no separate daemon is required. This page is an installation and API reference for connection, retrieval, types, and errors, rather than a download walkthrough.

To manage networking outside your application instead, start the local daemon and use its service-backed clients.

Install

Use .NET development tools capable of targeting .NET 8. Create a console project and add the package:

dotnet new console --framework net8.0 --output NativeRead
dotnet add NativeRead/NativeRead.csproj package Autonomi.Ffi

The package contains the libraries your application loads, including the compiled network client. You do not need a Rust source build or a separate network service.

Connection and retrieval API

Use Client from the AntFfi namespace. Asynchronous methods return Task or Task<T> without an Async suffix. Await connection before calling retrieval methods on the returned client.

Method	Return type	Purpose
Client.ConnectDefault(dataDir)	Task<Client>	Connect using built-in public peers, with no payment wallet attached.
client.DataGetPublic(addressHex)	Task<byte[]>	Retrieve public content by its address.
client.DataGetPrivate(dataMapHex)	Task<byte[]>	Retrieve private content using its serialized DataMap.
client.Dispose()	void	Release the native client handle.

Public retrieval does not require a wallet or payment. Dispose the client with using. Passing a directory string as dataDir changes the process-wide HOME environment variable; isolate the client in a separate process if your application needs a different home directory. The connection and retrieval methods listed here take no CancellationToken; see client lifetime.

Type mappings

Value	C# type	Format
Public address (addressHex)	string	64 hexadecimal characters, without 0x.
Private DataMap (dataMapHex)	string	Hex-encoded serialized DataMap, not a public address or raw file bytes.
Retrieved content	byte[]	File content, not text decoded by the SDK.

Keep a private DataMap secret and backed up: anyone who has it can retrieve the content.

Errors

Catch ClientException around awaited client calls. Handle file-system exceptions separately if your application writes the returned bytes to disk.

• Native library cannot load: match your application's architecture to the bundled platforms. No Linux musl-specific library is bundled.

• Invalid address: pass the full 64-character hexadecimal public address without 0x, not a URL or a private DataMap.

• Connection or retrieval fails: check UDP connectivity and public peer availability. A network failure does not mean the file is missing.

Full API reference

See the Native SDK Reference for file-download methods, storage methods, upload result fields, payment configuration, and external signing. The default read-only client is not configured for paid uploads.

Related pages

• Other SDK languages include Node.js and Python.

• Build with the SDKs: compare direct libraries and service-backed clients.