gRPC Skill

Sorcha uses gRPC for high-performance service-to-service communication, particularly for validator consensus, peer discovery, and wallet signing operations. The codebase follows .NET gRPC patterns with proto-first contract design.

Quick Start

Define a Proto Contract

// src/Services/Sorcha.*.Service/Protos/service_name.proto syntax = "proto3"; package sorcha.servicename.v1; option csharp_namespace = "Sorcha.ServiceName.Grpc.V1";

import "google/protobuf/empty.proto";

service MyService { rpc GetStatus(google.protobuf.Empty) returns (StatusResponse); rpc ProcessItem(ItemRequest) returns (ItemResponse); }

Implement the Service

// GrpcServices/MyGrpcService.cs public class MyGrpcService : Protos.MyService.MyServiceBase { private readonly ILogger<MyGrpcService> _logger;

public override async Task<StatusResponse> GetStatus(
    Empty request, ServerCallContext context)
{
    context.CancellationToken.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
    return new StatusResponse { IsHealthy = true };
}

}

Register and Map the Service

// Program.cs builder.Services.AddGrpc(options => options.EnableDetailedErrors = true);

var app = builder.Build(); app.MapGrpcService<MyGrpcService>();

Key Concepts

Concept Usage Example

Proto-first Define contracts in .proto files Protos/wallet_service.proto

Service base Inherit generated base class : WalletService.WalletServiceBase

ServerCallContext Access metadata, cancellation, deadlines context.CancellationToken

GrpcChannel Reusable client connection GrpcChannel.ForAddress(endpoint)

Streaming Server/client/bidirectional streams returns (stream Entry)

Project Structure

Services/Sorcha.*.Service/ ├── Protos/ # Proto contract files │ └── service.proto ├── GrpcServices/ # Service implementations │ └── MyGrpcService.cs └── Program.cs # gRPC registration

Common Patterns

gRPC Channel with Keep-Alive

When: Creating long-lived connections between services

builder.Services.AddSingleton(sp => { var config = sp.GetRequiredService<ServiceConfiguration>(); return GrpcChannel.ForAddress(config.Endpoint, new GrpcChannelOptions { HttpHandler = new SocketsHttpHandler { PooledConnectionIdleTimeout = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(5), KeepAlivePingDelay = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(60), KeepAlivePingTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30), EnableMultipleHttp2Connections = true } }); });

Dual-Port Kestrel Configuration

When: Separating gRPC (HTTP/2) from REST/health endpoints

builder.WebHost.ConfigureKestrel(options => { // REST + health checks options.ListenAnyIP(8080, o => o.Protocols = HttpProtocols.Http1AndHttp2); // gRPC only options.ListenAnyIP(5000, o => o.Protocols = HttpProtocols.Http2); });

See Also

• patterns - Service implementation and client patterns

• workflows - Proto compilation and deployment workflows

Related Skills

• dotnet - Runtime and C# patterns

• aspire - Service orchestration and discovery

• minimal-apis - REST endpoints alongside gRPC

Documentation Resources

Fetch latest gRPC documentation with Context7.

How to use Context7:

• Use mcp__context7__resolve-library-id to search for "grpc dotnet"

• Prefer website documentation (IDs starting with /websites/ ) when available

• Query with mcp__context7__query-docs using the resolved library ID

Recommended Queries:

• "grpc aspnet core getting started"

• "grpc streaming server client"

• "grpc interceptors authentication"