---
title: "Read"
description: "Guide to reading records with the Aerospike C# client, covering existence checks, metadata, and bin retrieval."
---

# Read

> For the complete documentation index see: [llms.txt](https://aerospike.com/docs/llms.txt)
> 
> All documentation pages available in markdown.

Jump to the [Code block](#code-block) for a combined complete example.

## Setup

The following examples use the setup and record below to illustrate single record data retrieval from an Aerospike database.

```csharp
using Aerospike.Client;

// Define host configuration

Host config = new Host("127.0.0.1", 3000);

// Establishes a connection to the server

AerospikeClient client = new AerospikeClient(null, config);

// Creates a key with the namespace "sandbox", set "ufodata", and user key 5001

Key key = new Key("sandbox", "ufodata", 5001);
```

The record structure:

```plaintext
+------+----------+----------+----------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------+

| PK   | occurred | reported | posted   | report                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | location                                                   |

+------+----------+----------+----------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------+

| 5001 | 20220531 | 20220601 | 20220601 | MAP('{"shape":["circle", "flash", "disc"], "summary":"Large flying disc flashed in the sky above the student union. Craziest thing I've ever seen!", "city":"Ann Arbor", "state":"Michigan", "duration":"5 minutes"}') | GeoJSON('{"type":"Point","coordinates":[42.2808,83.743]}') |

+------+----------+----------+----------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------+
```

## Policies

Instead of using the default read [policies](https://aerospike.com/docs/database/learn/policies), we can set them on a per command basis.

The following example creates a new read policy and sets the [socket timeout](https://aerospike.com/docs/database/learn/policies#socket-timeout) for the command.

```csharp
// Create new read policy

Policy policy = new Policy();

policy.socketTimeout = 300;
```

## Read a record

### Record exists

Checking record existence is faster than getting the record because it only needs to look at the primary index.

```csharp
// Returns true if exists, false if not

bool exists = client.Exists(policy, key);

// Do something

Console.WriteLine("Exists: {0}", exists);

// Close the connection to the server

client.Close();
```

### Record metadata only

Read record metadata (generation and expiration information) without reading the bins for a specified key.

```csharp
// Get record metadata

Record record = client.GetHeader(policy, key);

// Do something

Console.WriteLine("Record: {0}", record);

// Close the connection to the server

client.Close();
```

### Whole record

Read the record metadata and all bins for a specified key.

```csharp
// Get whole record

Record record = client.Get(policy, key);

// Do something

Console.WriteLine("Record: {0}", record.ToString().Split("bins:")[1]);

// Close the connection to the server

client.Close();
```

### Specific bins

Read the record metadata and the `report` and `location` bins from the record.

```csharp
// Get bins 'report' and 'location'

Record record = client.Get(policy, key, "report", "location");

// Do something

Console.WriteLine("Record: {0}", record.ToString().Split("bins:")[1]);

// Close the connection to the server

client.Close();
```

## Code block

Expand this section for a single code block to read a record

```csharp
using Aerospike.Client;

// Define host configuration

Host config = new Host("127.0.0.1", 3000);

// Establishes a connection to the server

AerospikeClient client = new AerospikeClient(null, config);

// Creates a key with the namespace "sandbox", set "ufodata", and user key 5001

Key key = new Key("sandbox", "ufodata", 5001);

// Create new read policy

Policy policy = new Policy();

policy.socketTimeout = 300;

// Get whole record

Record record = client.Get(policy, key);

// Do something

Console.WriteLine("Record: {0}", record.ToString().Split("bins:")[1]);

// Close the connection to the server

client.Close();
```