A modern RPC framework for .NET and Unity that provides unified real-time communication and API services using gRPC.
MagicOnion is a modern RPC framework for .NET and Unity that provides both real-time bidirectional communication and traditional API services. It is built on gRPC for high-performance, binary HTTP/2 transport, but uses C# interfaces as the service protocol instead of requiring .proto files. This solves the problem of building networked applications like microservices, game backends, and cross-platform APIs with a unified, code-first approach.
.NET developers building microservices, real-time applications, or game backends, and Unity developers needing networked multiplayer features or client-server communication.
Developers choose MagicOnion because it combines the performance of gRPC with the simplicity of a code-first C# interface schema, eliminating the need for separate IDL files. It unifies real-time and RPC services in one framework, reducing complexity and enabling seamless code sharing across server and client projects.
Unified Realtime/API framework for .NET platform and Unity.
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Combines gRPC-style RPC services with real-time StreamingHub in one framework, enabling both API calls and server-to-client broadcasting without separate setups, as shown in the README's architecture diagrams.
Uses C# interfaces as the service schema, eliminating the need for .proto files and simplifying code sharing between server and client projects, reducing boilerplate and errors.
Supports servers on .NET 8+ and clients from .NET Framework 4.6.1 to .NET 8, including Unity 2022.3+, making it versatile for cross-platform development.
Provides bidirectional streaming and broadcasting capabilities for real-time scenarios, ideal for multiplayer games or live dashboards, as demonstrated in the README.
Heavily reliant on C# and the .NET platform, making it unsuitable for projects involving multiple programming languages or teams wanting language-agnostic APIs.
Requires configuring gRPC channels, service registrations, and shared interfaces, which can be more involved than simpler frameworks like SignalR, as seen in the multi-step quick start.
Since it uses C# interfaces instead of .proto files, generating clients for non-.NET languages is challenging without manual translation or extra tooling.
MagicOnion is an open-source alternative to the following products:
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