How to Handle Primary Key in Entity Framework 5 Code First

Question

In my EF5 code-first models, creation of new records works better if the database sets the primary key. I am using a Guid for primary key and if `DatabaseGeneratedOption.Identity` is set, SQL Server will always create the `uniqueidentifier`. However, this causes issues when I am trying to initially seed the database. If I set the Guid in my seed method, SQL Server overrides it. If I don't set the Guid, I get a new record every time. What is a recommended solution to seed the database using pre-set Guids and keep `DatabaseGeneratedOption.Identity` set for my normal operations? Example class model: ``` [Key] [DatabaseGenerated(DatabaseGeneratedOption.Identity)] public Guid Id { get; set; } public RecordName { get; set; } public DateTime? Created { get; set; } public DateTime? Updated { get; set; } ``` Example seed method: ``` var record = new Record() { Id = new Guid("3B80725E-9550-4933-807F-C2FAA0942225"), RecordName = "New Record", Created = DateTime.UtcNow, Updated = DateTime.UtcNow,…

Accepted Answer

AddOrUpdate has an overload that allows you to specify the key

From MSDN

So you need to supply the method with the natural key:

```
context.Record.AddOrUpdate(c => c.RecordName, new Record()
            {
                RecordName = "New Record",
                Created = DateTime.UtcNow,
                Updated = DateTime.UtcNow,
             })
```

How to Handle Primary Key in Entity Framework 5 Code First

Solution

Problem