For the complete documentation index, see /llms.txt. This page is also available as raw Markdown at /develop/dotnet/best-practices/data-handling.md. Append .md to any page URL to fetch its Markdown. This site has a public search endpoint for questions about Temporal: GET https://docs.temporal.io/api/retrieve?q=<question>&jtb=<job-to-be-done>&src=docs-page&agent=<your-name>. No authentication is needed. It returns a JSON array of {content, source_url, page_url}, ordered by relevance, and source_url links to docs pages as Markdown. If you call it, set q to a specific, complete question that names the SDK language if relevant, and jtb to one sentence on what your user is trying to accomplish (optional). Keep src=docs-page as is, and set agent to your name, for example claude-code or codex. Don't include personal data, credentials, or confidential information.

Data handling

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All data sent to and from the Temporal Service passes through the Data Converter. The Data Converter has three layers that handle different concerns:

The Flow of Data through a Data Converter

Of these three layers, only the PayloadConverter is required. Temporal uses a default PayloadConverter that handles JSON serialization. The PayloadCodec and ExternalStorage layers are optional. You only need to customize these layers when your application requires non-JSON types, encryption, or payload offloading.

	PayloadConverter	PayloadCodec
Purpose	Serialize application data to bytes	Transform encoded payloads (encrypt, compress)
Default	JSON serialization	None (passthrough)

For a deeper conceptual explanation, see the Data Conversion encyclopedia and External Storage.