Core Concepts

Bitwarden Server follows clean architecture principles with clear separation of concerns between domain logic, data access, and application services.

Architectural Patterns

Layered Architecture

The application is organized into distinct layers:

Layer Responsibilities

Presentation Layer (src/Api/Controllers/)

HTTP request/response handling
Input validation
DTO mapping
Authorization checks

Application Layer (src/Core/Services/)

Business logic orchestration
Transaction management
Cross-cutting concerns
Domain event coordination

Domain Layer (src/Core/Entities/, src/Core/{Domain}/)

Entity definitions
Business rules
Domain invariants
Value objects

Data Access Layer (src/Infrastructure.Dapper/, src/Infrastructure.EntityFramework/)

Database queries
ORM mappings
Data persistence
Query optimization

Core Patterns

Repository Pattern

Repositories abstract data access and provide a collection-like interface:

src/Core/Repositories/IRepository.cs

public interface IRepository<T, TId> 
    where TId : IEquatable<TId> 
    where T : class, ITableObject<TId>
{
    Task<T?> GetByIdAsync(TId id);
    Task<T> CreateAsync(T obj);
    Task ReplaceAsync(T obj);
    Task UpsertAsync(T obj);
    Task DeleteAsync(T obj);
}

Benefits:

Decouples business logic from data access
Enables unit testing with mocks
Allows switching between Dapper and EF
Centralizes query logic

Example Implementation:

src/Infrastructure.Dapper/Repositories/UserRepository.cs

public class UserRepository : Repository<User, Guid>, IUserRepository
{
    public async Task<User?> GetByEmailAsync(string email)
    {
        using (var connection = new SqlConnection(ConnectionString))
        {
            var results = await connection.QueryAsync<User>(
                "[dbo].[User_ReadByEmail]",
                new { Email = email },
                commandType: CommandType.StoredProcedure);

            return results.SingleOrDefault();
        }
    }
}

Service Pattern

Services contain business logic and coordinate between repositories:

src/Core/Services/IUserService.cs

public interface IUserService
{
    Task<User> GetUserByIdAsync(Guid userId);
    Task<IdentityResult> CreateUserAsync(User user, string masterPasswordHash);
    Task SaveUserAsync(User user, bool push = false);
    Task<IdentityResult> DeleteAsync(User user);
}

Service Responsibilities:

Validate business rules
Coordinate multiple repositories
Manage transactions
Trigger side effects (emails, events, push notifications)

Example:

public class UserService : IUserService
{
    private readonly IUserRepository _userRepository;
    private readonly IMailService _mailService;
    private readonly IPushNotificationService _pushService;
    
    public async Task SaveUserAsync(User user, bool push = false)
    {
        // Business logic validation
        if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(user.Email))
        {
            throw new BadRequestException("Email is required.");
        }
        
        // Data access
        await _userRepository.ReplaceAsync(user);
        
        // Side effects
        if (push)
        {
            await _pushService.PushSyncAsync(user.Id);
        }
    }
}

Entity Pattern

Entities represent domain objects with identity:

src/Core/Entities/User.cs

public class User : ITableObject<Guid>, IStorableSubscriber, IRevisable
{
    public Guid Id { get; set; }
    public string Email { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public DateTime CreationDate { get; set; } = DateTime.UtcNow;
    public DateTime RevisionDate { get; set; } = DateTime.UtcNow;
    
    public void SetNewId()
    {
        Id = CoreHelpers.GenerateComb();
    }
    
    // Business logic methods
    public bool HasMasterPassword()
    {
        return MasterPassword != null;
    }
}

Entity Interfaces:

src/Core/Entities/ITableObject.cs

public interface ITableObject<TId> where TId : IEquatable<TId>
{
    TId Id { get; set; }
    void SetNewId();
}

public interface IRevisable
{
    DateTime RevisionDate { get; set; }
}

Key Characteristics:

Have unique identity (Id)
Contain business logic methods
Maintain their own invariants
Track creation and revision dates

Domain Organization

Domain-Driven Design Structure

The codebase is organized by domain:

Core/
├── AdminConsole/       # Organization management domain
│   ├── Entities/
│   │   ├── Organization.cs
│   │   ├── OrganizationUser.cs
│   │   └── Policy.cs
│   ├── Services/
│   │   ├── IOrganizationService.cs
│   │   └── Implementations/
│   └── Enums/
├── Vault/              # Vault domain
│   ├── Entities/
│   │   └── Cipher.cs
│   └── Services/
├── Auth/               # Authentication domain
└── Billing/            # Billing domain

Bounded Contexts

Each domain represents a bounded context with:

Entities - Core domain objects
Services - Domain operations
Repositories - Data access contracts
Enums - Domain-specific enumerations
Models - DTOs and value objects

Key Entities

User

Represents a Bitwarden user account:

src/Core/Entities/User.cs

public class User : ITableObject<Guid>
{
    public Guid Id { get; set; }
    public string Email { get; set; }        // Unique identifier
    public string? Name { get; set; }
    public string? MasterPassword { get; set; }  // Hashed
    public string? Key { get; set; }         // Encrypted user key
    public bool Premium { get; set; }
    public DateTime CreationDate { get; set; }
    public DateTime AccountRevisionDate { get; set; }
    
    // Business logic
    public bool HasMasterPassword() => MasterPassword != null;
    public bool IsExpired() => PremiumExpirationDate.HasValue && 
                                PremiumExpirationDate.Value <= DateTime.UtcNow;
}

Organization

Represents a shared vault organization:

src/Core/AdminConsole/Entities/Organization.cs

public class Organization : ITableObject<Guid>, IStorableSubscriber
{
    public Guid Id { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public string BillingEmail { get; set; }
    public PlanType PlanType { get; set; }
    public int? Seats { get; set; }
    public bool UseGroups { get; set; }
    public bool UsePolicies { get; set; }
    public bool UseSecretsManager { get; set; }
    public DateTime CreationDate { get; set; }
    
    // Business logic
    public bool IsExpired() => ExpirationDate.HasValue && 
                                ExpirationDate.Value <= DateTime.UtcNow;
    public string DisplayName() => WebUtility.HtmlDecode(Name);
}

Cipher

Represents a vault item (password, note, card, identity):

src/Core/Vault/Entities/Cipher.cs

public class Cipher : ITableObject<Guid>, ICloneable
{
    public Guid Id { get; set; }
    public Guid? UserId { get; set; }         // Personal vault
    public Guid? OrganizationId { get; set; } // Organization vault
    public CipherType Type { get; set; }      // Login, SecureNote, Card, Identity
    public string Data { get; set; }          // Encrypted JSON
    public DateTime CreationDate { get; set; }
    public DateTime RevisionDate { get; set; }
    public DateTime? DeletedDate { get; set; } // Soft delete
    
    // Attachment management
    public Dictionary<string, CipherAttachment.MetaData> GetAttachments() { }
    public void SetAttachments(Dictionary<string, CipherAttachment.MetaData> data) { }
}

Entity Relationships

Key Relationships

User ↔ Cipher: One-to-many (personal vault items)
Organization ↔ Cipher: One-to-many (organization vault items)
User ↔ Organization: Many-to-many via OrganizationUser
Cipher ↔ Collection: Many-to-many via CollectionCipher
User ↔ Group: Many-to-many via GroupUser

Dependency Injection

All dependencies are registered in Startup.cs:

src/Api/Startup.cs

public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
{
    // Repositories
    services.AddScoped<IUserRepository, UserRepository>();
    services.AddScoped<IOrganizationRepository, OrganizationRepository>();
    services.AddScoped<ICipherRepository, CipherRepository>();
    
    // Services
    services.AddScoped<IUserService, UserService>();
    services.AddScoped<IOrganizationService, OrganizationService>();
    services.AddScoped<ICipherService, CipherService>();
    
    // Infrastructure
    services.AddScoped<IMailService, MailService>();
    services.AddScoped<IPushNotificationService, PushNotificationService>();
}

Service Lifetimes

Scoped - Most services and repositories (per HTTP request)
Singleton - Application cache, configuration
Transient - Lightweight utilities

Command Pattern

Complex operations use the command pattern:

public interface ICreateOrganizationCommand
{
    Task<Organization> CreateAsync(OrganizationSignup signup);
}

public class CreateOrganizationCommand : ICreateOrganizationCommand
{
    private readonly IOrganizationRepository _organizationRepository;
    private readonly IOrganizationUserRepository _organizationUserRepository;
    private readonly IPaymentService _paymentService;
    private readonly IMailService _mailService;
    
    public async Task<Organization> CreateAsync(OrganizationSignup signup)
    {
        // Multi-step operation
        var org = new Organization { /* ... */ };
        await _organizationRepository.CreateAsync(org);
        
        var orgUser = new OrganizationUser { /* ... */ };
        await _organizationUserRepository.CreateAsync(orgUser);
        
        await _paymentService.CreateSubscriptionAsync(org);
        await _mailService.SendOrganizationConfirmedEmailAsync(org, orgUser);
        
        return org;
    }
}

Error Handling

Custom Exceptions

src/Core/Exceptions/

public class BadRequestException : Exception { }
public class NotFoundException : Exception { }
public class UnauthorizedException : Exception { }

Exception Middleware

Exceptions are caught and converted to appropriate HTTP responses:

app.UseMiddleware<ExceptionHandlerMiddleware>();

// BadRequestException → 400
// NotFoundException → 404
// UnauthorizedException → 401

Authorization

Permission-Based Authorization

public class OrganizationAuthorizationHandler : 
    AuthorizationHandler<OrganizationOperationRequirement, Organization>
{
    protected override Task HandleRequirementAsync(
        AuthorizationHandlerContext context,
        OrganizationOperationRequirement requirement,
        Organization resource)
    {
        var userId = context.User.GetUserId();
        var orgUser = GetOrganizationUser(userId, resource.Id);
        
        if (requirement.Name == nameof(OrganizationOperations.Update))
        {
            if (orgUser?.Type == OrganizationUserType.Owner ||
                orgUser?.Type == OrganizationUserType.Admin)
            {
                context.Succeed(requirement);
            }
        }
        
        return Task.CompletedTask;
    }
}

Event Sourcing

Audit events are tracked for compliance:

public interface IEventService
{
    Task LogUserEventAsync(Guid userId, EventType type);
    Task LogCipherEventAsync(Cipher cipher, EventType type);
    Task LogOrganizationEventAsync(Organization org, EventType type);
}

Events are written to the Events service and processed asynchronously.

Caching Strategy

public interface IApplicationCacheService
{
    Task<T> GetOrSetAsync<T>(string key, Func<Task<T>> factory, TimeSpan? expiration = null);
    Task RemoveAsync(string key);
}

Cached data:

Organization abilities (permissions)
User premium status
Feature flags

Setup

Architecture

Contributing

Architectural Patterns

Layered Architecture

Layer Responsibilities

Core Patterns

Repository Pattern

Service Pattern

Entity Pattern

Domain Organization

Domain-Driven Design Structure

Bounded Contexts

Key Entities

User

Organization

Cipher

Entity Relationships

Key Relationships

Dependency Injection

Service Lifetimes

Command Pattern

Error Handling

Custom Exceptions

Exception Middleware

Authorization

Permission-Based Authorization

Event Sourcing

Caching Strategy

See Also

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Setup

Architecture

Contributing

Documentation Index

​Architectural Patterns

​Layered Architecture

​Layer Responsibilities

​Core Patterns

​Repository Pattern

​Service Pattern

​Entity Pattern

​Domain Organization

​Domain-Driven Design Structure

​Bounded Contexts

​Key Entities

​User

​Organization

​Cipher

​Entity Relationships

​Key Relationships

​Dependency Injection

​Service Lifetimes

​Command Pattern

​Error Handling

​Custom Exceptions

​Exception Middleware

​Authorization

​Permission-Based Authorization

​Event Sourcing

​Caching Strategy

​See Also

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Architectural Patterns

Layered Architecture

Layer Responsibilities

Core Patterns

Repository Pattern

Service Pattern

Entity Pattern

Domain Organization

Domain-Driven Design Structure

Bounded Contexts

Key Entities

User

Organization

Cipher

Entity Relationships

Key Relationships

Dependency Injection

Service Lifetimes

Command Pattern

Error Handling

Custom Exceptions

Exception Middleware

Authorization

Permission-Based Authorization

Event Sourcing

Caching Strategy

See Also