AL0026 - Avoid DateTime time accessors

DateTime.Now and DateTime.UtcNow make code difficult to test. Use TimeProvider instead.

Source: AL0026AvoidDateTimeNowAnalyzer.cs

Description

DateTime.Now and DateTime.UtcNow make code difficult to test. Use TimeProvider.System.GetLocalNow() or GetUtcNow() instead, which can be mocked in tests.

Bad Code

var now = DateTime.Now;
var utcNow = DateTime.UtcNow;

Good Code

var now = TimeProvider.System.GetLocalNow();
var utcNow = TimeProvider.System.GetUtcNow();

Properties

• Category: Usage
• Severity: Warning
• Enabled by default: True
• Code fix available: False

Configuration

dotnet_diagnostic.AL0026.severity = warning

Notes

TimeProvider was introduced in .NET 8 and provides a testable abstraction for time-related operations. You can inject a custom TimeProvider in tests to control time behavior.