Using Neo4j with .NET
Learn to connect .NET applications to Neo4j from C# with the official .NET driver. Run Cypher queries, map results to classes, and handle errors.
In this 2-hour course, you will learn
Neo4j and .NET connect through the official Neo4j .NET driver, and this course teaches you how to use it from C#. You will install the driver, connect to a Neo4j database, execute Full definition for Cypher (opens in a new tab)Neo4j's implementation of GQL, the ISO standard query language for graph databases. It is declarative: you describe the pattern to find, and the database decides how to find it. queries, map results to your own classes, and apply the Full definition for transaction (opens in a new tab)A unit of work that either succeeds in full or leaves no trace. and error handling Full definition for pattern (opens in a new tab)A graph structure written in Cypher, such as a node joined to another node by a relationship. that production applications depend on.
The driver is the first-party library for every .NET workload that touches Neo4j, whether you are building an ASP.NET Core API, a background service, or a console tool. It handles connections, routing, and retries for you, and exposes query results as .NET types you can work with naturally. Learning the driver directly means you understand exactly how your application talks to the database and can make deliberate choices about queries, transactions, and failure handling.
Driver Life Cycle
Understand how to create, reuse, and close the Neo4j driver correctly so your application manages connections efficiently and avoids resource leaks.
Installing and Instantiation
Install the official Neo4j .NET driver via NuGet and instantiate a driver instance configured with the correct URI, credentials, and connection settings.
Read and Write Transactions
Write explicit read and write transactions in C# to execute Cypher queries safely, ensuring data consistency and enabling automatic retries on transient errors.
Best Practices
Apply production-ready patterns including result mapping to strongly typed C# classes, error handling, and parameter injection to prevent Cypher injection vulnerabilities.
3 modules, 1 hour 30 minutes.
Who this course is for
.NET developers who want to read and write Neo4j data from C# code — whether you are adding a graph database to an existing ASP.NET Core application, building a new service where Full definition for relationship (opens in a new tab)A named, directed connection between two nodes. Every relationship has a type, a start node and an end node. matter as much as records, or evaluating Neo4j for a project. You should have a working knowledge of C# and the .NET ecosystem, including NuGet and the dotnet CLI, and be comfortable with the basics of Neo4j and Full definition for Cypher (opens in a new tab)Neo4j's implementation of GQL, the ISO standard query language for graph databases. It is declarative: you describe the pattern to find, and the database decides how to find it. first — the prerequisite courses are listed beside this overview. No previous experience with the driver is required; the course begins with installation and builds one concept at a time.
What you'll build and do
This is a hands-on course built from short lessons and challenges that verify your code against a live Neo4j database. You will install the
Neo4j.Driverpackage, create a driver instance with aneo4j+s://connection string, execute Full definition for Cypher (opens in a new tab)Neo4j's implementation of GQL, the ISO standard query language for graph databases. It is declarative: you describe the pattern to find, and the database decides how to find it. statements with parameters, and map results onto your own C# classes so the rest of your application works with typed objects instead of raw records.The later modules take you through Neo4j's type system — graph, temporal, and spatial values — and finish with write Full definition for transaction (opens in a new tab)A unit of work that either succeeds in full or leaves no trace. the driver retries automatically and error handling that distinguishes transient errors from permanent ones. You finish with a working set of Full definition for pattern (opens in a new tab)A graph structure written in Cypher, such as a node joined to another node by a relationship. — a shared driver, parameterised queries, typed mappings, and retry-aware transactions — ready to reuse in your next .NET project.
Where to go next
The queries you send through the driver are only as good as your Full definition for Cypher (opens in a new tab)Neo4j's implementation of GQL, the ISO standard query language for graph databases. It is declarative: you describe the pattern to find, and the database decides how to find it., so Intermediate Cypher Queries is the natural next course. If you also design the Full definition for data model (opens in a new tab)The labels, relationship types and properties chosen to represent a domain., Graph Data Modeling Fundamentals teaches you how to shape a graph that answers your questions efficiently, and Importing Data Fundamentals walks you through loading CSV data into the graph. This course also prepares you for the Neo4j Certified Professional exam, which validates your knowledge of Neo4j fundamentals, Cypher, and the application Full definition for pattern (opens in a new tab)A graph structure written in Cypher, such as a node joined to another node by a relationship. you practice here.