csharpessentials-enums

name	csharpessentials-enums
description	Use when you need enum-to-string serialization without reflection — [StringEnum] source generator produces compile-time ToString(), Parse(), and TryParse() methods that are NativeAOT-safe and zero-allocation.

CSharpEssentials.Enums

[StringEnum] is a source generator attribute that produces fast, reflection-free string conversion methods for enum types. Safe for NativeAOT and Blazor WASM.

Installation

dotnet add package CSharpEssentials.Enums

Namespace

using CSharpEssentials.Enums;

Usage

[StringEnum]
public enum OrderStatus { Pending, Processing, Shipped, Delivered, Cancelled }

[StringEnum]
public enum UserRole { Admin, Editor, Viewer }

The source generator emits at compile time:

// Generated methods (no reflection, no allocations)
string s    = OrderStatus.Shipped.ToStringFast();   // "Shipped"
bool parsed = OrderStatus.TryParse("Shipped", out OrderStatus status);
OrderStatus s = OrderStatus.Parse("Shipped");       // throws on unknown value

JSON Integration

ConditionalStringEnumConverter (in CSharpEssentials.Json) serializes [StringEnum]-decorated enums as strings and all others as integers:

// In JsonOptions setup
options.Converters.Add(new ConditionalStringEnumConverter());

// OrderStatus (has [StringEnum]) → "Shipped" in JSON
// HttpMethod (no [StringEnum])   → 2 in JSON

Best Practices

• Apply [StringEnum] to any enum that appears in API responses, logs, or database columns as text
• Combine with ConditionalStringEnumConverter so string enums serialize naturally in ASP.NET Core
• Generated methods are NativeAOT-safe — no RuntimeReflectionExtensions involved