new-dto

Create New DTO (Data Transfer Object)

Scaffold request and response DTOs that separate API contracts from domain entities.

Required Pattern

Response DTO

// Immutable record — returned from API endpoints
public record {EntityName}Dto(
    Guid Id,
    string Name,
    string Description,
    DateTime CreatedAt,
    DateTime UpdatedAt);

Create Request DTO

// Input validation via DataAnnotations or FluentValidation
public record Create{EntityName}Request(
    [Required, StringLength(200, MinimumLength = 1)]
    string Name,

    [StringLength(2000)]
    string? Description);

Update Request DTO

public record Update{EntityName}Request(
    [Required, StringLength(200, MinimumLength = 1)]
    string Name,

    [StringLength(2000)]
    string? Description);

FluentValidation (Complex Rules)

public class Create{EntityName}RequestValidator : AbstractValidator<Create{EntityName}Request>
{
    public Create{EntityName}RequestValidator()
    {
        RuleFor(x => x.Name)
            .NotEmpty()
            .MaximumLength(200);

        RuleFor(x => x.Description)
            .MaximumLength(2000)
            .When(x => x.Description is not null);
    }
}

Mapping (Manual or AutoMapper)

// Prefer manual mapping for simple cases — explicit and debuggable
public static {EntityName}Dto ToDto(this {EntityName} entity) =>
    new(entity.Id, entity.Name, entity.Description, entity.CreatedAt, entity.UpdatedAt);

public static {EntityName} ToEntity(this Create{EntityName}Request request) =>
    new() { Name = request.Name, Description = request.Description };

Paged Response Wrapper

public record PagedResult<T>(
    IReadOnlyList<T> Items,
    int Page,
    int PageSize,
    int TotalCount)
{
    public int TotalPages => (int)Math.Ceiling((double)TotalCount / PageSize);
    public bool HasNext => Page < TotalPages;
    public bool HasPrevious => Page > 1;
}

Rules

• NEVER return domain entities directly from API endpoints
• NEVER accept domain entities as input — always use request DTOs
• Use record types for immutability
• Validate at the boundary using DataAnnotations or FluentValidation
• Keep DTOs in a separate Models/ or Contracts/ folder
• Map explicitly — avoid magic mapping for critical paths