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Add Azure SignalR by using Visual Studio Connected Services

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With Visual Studio, you can connect any of the following to Azure SignalR service by using the Connected Services feature:

  • .NET Framework console app
  • ASP.NET Model-View-Controller (MVC) (.NET Framework)
  • ASP.NET Core
  • .NET Core (including console app, WPF, Windows Forms, class library)
  • .NET Core Worker Role
  • Azure Functions
  • Universal Windows Platform App
  • Xamarin
  • Cordova

The connected service functionality adds all the needed references and connection code to your project, and modifies your configuration files appropriately.

Note

This topic applies to Visual Studio on Windows. For Visual Studio for Mac, see Connected services in Visual Studio for Mac.

Prerequisites

Connect to Azure SignalR using Connected Services

  1. Open your project in Visual Studio.

  2. In Solution Explorer, right-click the Connected Services node, and, from the context menu, select Add Connected Service.

  3. In the Connected Services tab, select the + icon for Service Dependencies.

    Add Service Dependency

  4. In the Add Dependency page, select Azure SignalR Service.

    Add Azure SignalR Service

    If you aren't signed in already, sign in to your Azure account. If you don't have an Azure account, you can sign up for a free trial.

  5. In the Configure Azure SignalR screen, select an existing Azure SignalR component, and select Next.

    If you need to create a new component, go to the next step. Otherwise, skip to step 7.

    Connect to existing Azure SignalR component

  6. To create an Azure SignalR service instance:

    1. Select Create a new Azure SignalR Service instance at the bottom of the screen.

    2. Fill out the Azure SignalR Service: Create new screen, and select Create.

      New Azure SignalR Service instance

    3. When the Configure Azure SignalR Service screen is displayed, the new instance appears in the list. Select the new instance in the list, and select Next.

  7. Enter a connection string name, or choose the default, and choose whether you want the connection string stored in a local secrets file, or in Azure Key Vault.

    Specify connection string

  8. The Summary of changes screen shows all the modifications that will be made to your project if you complete the process. If the changes look OK, choose Finish.

    Summary of changes

  9. The connection appears under the Service Dependencies section of the Connected Services tab.

    Service dependencies

Connect to Azure SignalR using Connected Services

Note

For .NET Framework projects, Connected Services UI is slightly different. To see the differences, compare to the Visual Studio 2019 version of this page.

  1. Open your project in Visual Studio.

  2. In Solution Explorer, right-click the Connected Services node, and, from the context menu, select Add to open the menu of available services.

    Screenshot showing Connected Services context menu options.

  3. Choose Azure SignalR Service. The Connect to dependency page appears.

    Screenshot showing Connect to dependency for Azure SignalR.

    If you aren't signed in already, sign in to your Azure account. If you don't have an Azure account, you can sign up for a free trial.

  4. Select an existing Azure SignalR component, and select Next.

    If you need to create a new component, go to the next step. Otherwise, skip to step 7.

    Screenshot showing "Connect to existing Azure SignalR component" screen.

  5. To create an Azure SignalR service instance:

    1. Select Create new at the middle right of the screen.

    2. Fill out the Azure SignalR Service: Create new screen, and select Create.

      Screenshot showing "New Azure SignalR Service instance" screen.

    3. When the Configure Azure SignalR Service screen is displayed, the new instance appears in the list. Select the new instance in the list, and select Next.

  6. Enter a connection string name, or choose the default, and choose whether you want the connection string stored in a local secrets file, or in Azure Key Vault.

    Screenshot showing "Specify connection string" screen.

  7. The Summary of changes screen shows all the modifications that will be made to your project if you complete the process. If the changes look OK, choose Finish.

    Screenshot showing "Summary of changes" screen.

  8. In Solution Explorer, double-click on the Connected Services node to open the Connected Services tab. The connection appears under the Service Dependencies section:

    Screenshot showing "Service Dependencies" section.

    If you click on the three dots next to the dependency you added, you can see various options such as Connect to reopen the wizard and change the connection. You can also click the three dots at the top right of the window to see options to start local dependencies, change settings, and more.

Next steps

Continue by following the Azure SignalR quickstart. You can skip the initial setup, since you've already done that, and continue with the section Add Azure SignalR to the web app. The code you use varies depending on your version of ASP.NET Core, so you might have to modify the code in the tutorial to suit your project template if your ASP.NET Core version doesn't match the version used in the quickstart.

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