EntityFramework Reverse POCO GeneratorReverse engineers an existing database into Entity Framework Code First POCO classes, mappings, enumerations, DbContext, FakeDbContext and stored procedure calls. EF Core 8, 9, 10 and EF6. SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle and SQLite. Requires the efrpg dotnet tool. |
EntityFramework Reverse POCO Code First GeneratorPoint this generator at your database and get production-quality Entity Framework code - the kind you'd write yourself if you had all the time in the world. Reverse-engineers your existing database and generates EF Code First POCO classes, DbContext, configuration mappings, enumerations, a fake DbContext for unit testing, and callers for stored procedures and table-valued functions. Clean, readable, fully customisable code. Every time.
See it in action (no audio)From an empty console app to querying Northwind in 40 seconds: Want the longer tour? The six-minute walkthrough goes through these in more details. This generator can create enums from your database data, support HiLo sequences and JSON column mappings. Three dialogs. No
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| Database | Example connection string |
|---|---|
| SQL Server | Data Source=(local);Initial Catalog=Northwind;Integrated Security=True;Encrypt=false;TrustServerCertificate=true |
| PostgreSQL | Server=127.0.0.1;Port=5432;Database=Northwind;User Id=myuser;Password=mypassword; |
| MySQL / MariaDB | Server=localhost;Port=3306;Database=Northwind;User Id=myuser;Password=mypassword; |
| Oracle | User Id=myschema;Password=mypassword;Data Source=localhost:1521/pdb1; |
| SQLite | Data Source=C:\path\to\Northwind.db |
A few dialect quirks worth knowing:
- SQL Server -
Encrypt=false;TrustServerCertificate=trueis usually needed against a local instance, because Microsoft.Data.SqlClient now defaults to encrypting. - Oracle - there is no database name in the connection string. The user is the schema, and one run reads one schema.
- MySQL - a database is a schema, so the reader sees only the database you connect to.
Required permissions: the account needs at least
ddladmin,datareaderanddatawriter.ddladminis needed to read default constraints.
The dialog writes these into the .tt file as Settings.DatabaseType and Settings.ConnectionString, so if you'd rather type them yourself, press Skip and edit the file:
Settings.DatabaseType = DatabaseType.SqlServer;
Settings.ConnectionString = "Data Source=(local);Initial Catalog=Northwind;Integrated Security=True;Encrypt=false;TrustServerCertificate=true";
5. Choose what to generate
The second dialog lists every table, view, stored procedure and function in the database, all ticked. Leave it as is, or untick what you don't want, then OK. The generator runs immediately and produces Northwind.cs alongside the template (or a file per class in sub-folders, if you chose that in step 4).
6. Add the EF package your project needs
This is for your code to use Entity Framework - the generator no longer needs it to read the database:
# EF Core
install-package Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer
# EF 6
install-package EntityFramework
7. When your schema changes
Save the .tt file to regenerate in Visual Studio. In Rider, right click on the .tt and select Run Template.
To change the connection, the table selection or any other setting, right-click the .tt file and pick the Reverse POCO: menu item you need.
How connection strings are used
Settings.ConnectionString (mandatory) is used to read your database schema, and is also embedded in the generated OnConfiguring method:
protected override void OnConfiguring(DbContextOptionsBuilder optionsBuilder)
{
if (!optionsBuilder.IsConfigured)
{
optionsBuilder.UseSqlServer(@"{{ConnectionString}}");
}
}
Settings.ConnectionStringName is not used by the generator itself - it's passed as the argument to the generated DbContext constructor via Settings.DefaultConstructorArgument:
public {{DbContextName}}()
: base({{DefaultConstructorArgument}})
Highly customisable output
Every aspect of the generated code is configurable - naming conventions, filtering, output structure, base classes, callbacks and more. Change it in the All settings dialog or directly in your <database>.tt file; both write to the same place. It's designed to adapt to your codebase, not the other way around.
See the full list of features →
When your database changes, just re-save the .tt file. Done.
What's new
Licence
A licence key is required to remove trial limitations. Academic use is free. Commercial use is not.
Get your licence key at ReversePOCO →
Tips for editing .tt files
For syntax highlighting and IntelliSense in .tt and .ttinclude files, go to Tools → Options → Text Editor → File Extension and register tt and ttinclude as C# files.
The EF.Reverse.POCO.v4.ttinclude file is generated from the Generator C# project via the BuildTT tool included in the repository - don't edit it directly.
Regards, Simon Hughes
- E: simon@reversepoco.co.uk
- Quotes & licensing: christine@reversepoco.co.uk