Async lambda pitfalls

Async lambdas and anonymous methods are powerful features that let you create delegates representing asynchronous operations. Use them with APIs that are designed for asynchronous delegates. This article shows the right patterns first, and then explains what goes wrong when you pass async lambdas to APIs that expect synchronous delegates.

Async lambdas assigned to Action delegates

Create an overload that accepts Func<Task> and await the result:

public static class TimingHelperFixed
{
    public static double Time(Action action, int iterations = 10)
    {
        var sw = Stopwatch.StartNew();
        for (int i = 0; i < iterations; i++)
            action();
        return sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds / iterations;
    }

    public static async Task<double> TimeAsync(Func<Task> func, int iterations = 10)
    {
        var sw = Stopwatch.StartNew();
        for (int i = 0; i < iterations; i++)
            await func();
        return sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds / iterations;
    }
}

public static class ActionFixDemo
{
    public static async Task Run()
    {
        // Now the async lambda maps to Func<Task>, and
        // the timer awaits each iteration to complete.
        double seconds = await TimingHelperFixed.TimeAsync(async () =>
        {
            await Task.Delay(100);
        }, iterations: 3);
        Console.WriteLine($"Async (fixed): {seconds:F4}s per iteration");
    }
}

Public Module TimingHelperFixed
    Public Function Time(action As Action, Optional iterations As Integer = 10) As Double
        Dim sw = Stopwatch.StartNew()
        For i As Integer = 0 To iterations - 1
            action()
        Next
        Return sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds / iterations
    End Function

    Public Async Function Time(func As Func(Of Task), Optional iterations As Integer = 10) As Task(Of Double)
        Dim sw = Stopwatch.StartNew()
        For i As Integer = 0 To iterations - 1
            Await func()
        Next
        Return sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds / iterations
    End Function
End Module

Public Module ActionFixDemo
    Public Async Function Run() As Task
        ' Now the async lambda maps to Func(Of Task), and
        ' the timer waits for each iteration to complete.
        Dim seconds As Double = Await TimingHelperFixed.Time(
            Async Function()
                Await Task.Delay(100)
            End Function, iterations:=3)
        Console.WriteLine($"Async (fixed): {seconds:F4}s per iteration")
    End Function
End Module

Whenever you pass an async lambda to a method, verify the parameter's delegate type. If the parameter is Action, Action<T>, or any other void-returning delegate, switch to a task-returning delegate for asynchronous operations.

An async lambda can match a void-returning delegate type like Action in addition to Func<Task>. When the target parameter is an Action, the compiler maps the async lambda to an async void method. The caller has no way to track completion.

Consider a timing helper that accepts an Action:

public static class TimingHelper
{
    public static double Time(Action action, int iterations = 10)
    {
        var sw = Stopwatch.StartNew();
        for (int i = 0; i < iterations; i++)
            action();
        return sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds / iterations;
    }
}

public static class ActionPitfallDemo
{
    public static void Run()
    {
        // Synchronous lambda — timing is accurate.
        double syncSeconds = TimingHelper.Time(() =>
        {
            Thread.Sleep(100);
        }, iterations: 3);
        Console.WriteLine($"Sync: {syncSeconds:F4}s per iteration");

        // Async lambda — becomes async void, returns immediately.
        double asyncSeconds = TimingHelper.Time(async () =>
        {
            await Task.Delay(100);
        }, iterations: 3);
        Console.WriteLine($"Async (buggy): {asyncSeconds:F4}s per iteration");
    }
}

Public Module TimingHelper
    Public Function Time(action As Action, Optional iterations As Integer = 10) As Double
        Dim sw = Stopwatch.StartNew()
        For i As Integer = 0 To iterations - 1
            action()
        Next
        Return sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds / iterations
    End Function
End Module

Public Module ActionPitfallDemo
    Public Sub Run()
        ' Synchronous lambda — timing is accurate.
        Dim syncSeconds As Double = TimingHelper.Time(
            Sub() Thread.Sleep(100), iterations:=3)
        Console.WriteLine($"Sync: {syncSeconds:F4}s per iteration")

        ' Async lambda — becomes Async Sub, returns immediately.
        Dim asyncSeconds As Double = TimingHelper.Time(
            Async Sub() Await Task.Delay(100), iterations:=3)
        Console.WriteLine($"Async (buggy): {asyncSeconds:F4}s per iteration")
    End Sub
End Module

When you pass a synchronous lambda, the measured time is accurate. With an async lambda, the Action delegate returns as soon as the first await yields, so the timer captures only the synchronous portion instead of the full operation.

Parallel.ForEach with async lambdas

In .NET 6 and later, use ForEachAsync, which accepts a Func<TSource, CancellationToken, ValueTask>:

public static class ParallelForEachFixDemo
{
    public static async Task RunAsync()
    {
        var sw = Stopwatch.StartNew();
        await Parallel.ForEachAsync(
            Enumerable.Range(0, 10),
            new ParallelOptions { MaxDegreeOfParallelism = 4 },
            async (i, ct) =>
            {
                await Task.Delay(200, ct);
            });
        Console.WriteLine($"Parallel.ForEachAsync (fixed): {sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds:F2}s");
    }
}

Public Module ParallelForEachFixDemo
    Private Function ProcessItemAsync(i As Integer, ct As CancellationToken) As ValueTask
        Return New ValueTask(Task.Delay(200, ct))
    End Function

    Public Async Function RunAsync() As Task
        Dim sw = Stopwatch.StartNew()
        Await Parallel.ForEachAsync(
            Enumerable.Range(0, 10),
            New ParallelOptions With {.MaxDegreeOfParallelism = 4},
            AddressOf ProcessItemAsync)
        Console.WriteLine($"Parallel.ForEachAsync (fixed): {sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds:F2}s")
    End Function
End Module

Alternatively, project the items into tasks and use WhenAll:

public static class WhenAllAlternativeDemo
{
    public static async Task RunAsync()
    {
        var sw = Stopwatch.StartNew();
        var tasks = Enumerable.Range(0, 10)
            .Select(async i =>
            {
                await Task.Delay(200);
            });
        await Task.WhenAll(tasks);
        Console.WriteLine($"Task.WhenAll: {sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds:F2}s");
    }
}

Public Module WhenAllAlternativeDemo
    Public Async Function RunAsync() As Task
        Dim sw = Stopwatch.StartNew()
        Dim tasks = Enumerable.Range(0, 10).
            Select(Async Function(i)
                       Await Task.Delay(200)
                   End Function)
        Await Task.WhenAll(tasks)
        Console.WriteLine($"Task.WhenAll: {sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds:F2}s")
    End Function
End Module

ForEach accepts an Action<T> for its body parameter. Passing an async lambda creates an async void delegate. Parallel.ForEach returns as soon as each delegate hits its first yielding await:

public static class ParallelForEachBugDemo
{
    public static void Run()
    {
        var sw = Stopwatch.StartNew();
        Parallel.ForEach(Enumerable.Range(0, 10), async i =>
        {
            await Task.Delay(200);
        });
        // Completes almost immediately — the async lambdas are fire-and-forget.
        Console.WriteLine($"Parallel.ForEach (buggy): {sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds:F2}s");
    }
}

Public Module ParallelForEachBugDemo
    Public Sub Run()
        Dim sw = Stopwatch.StartNew()
        Parallel.ForEach(Enumerable.Range(0, 10),
            Async Sub(i As Integer)
                Await Task.Delay(200)
            End Sub)
        ' Completes almost immediately — the async lambdas are fire-and-forget.
        Console.WriteLine($"Parallel.ForEach (buggy): {sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds:F2}s")
    End Sub
End Module

The loop completes in milliseconds instead of the expected duration because the async lambdas become fire-and-forget operations.

Task.Factory.StartNew with async lambdas

Run automatically unwraps async lambdas. It accepts Func<Task> and Func<Task<TResult>> overloads and returns the inner task:

public static class StartNewFix1Demo
{
    public static async Task RunAsync()
    {
        var sw = Stopwatch.StartNew();
        await Task.Run(async () =>
        {
            await Task.Delay(1000);
        });
        Console.WriteLine($"Task.Run (fixed): {sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds:F2}s");
    }
}

Public Module StartNewFix1Demo
    Public Async Function RunAsync() As Task
        Dim sw = Stopwatch.StartNew()
        Await Task.Run(Async Function()
                           Await Task.Delay(1000)
                       End Function)
        Console.WriteLine($"Task.Run (fixed): {sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds:F2}s")
    End Function
End Module

If you need StartNew-specific options (such as LongRunning), call Unwrap on the result:

public static class StartNewFix2Demo
{
    public static async Task RunAsync()
    {
        var sw = Stopwatch.StartNew();
        await Task.Factory.StartNew(async () =>
        {
            await Task.Delay(1000);
        }).Unwrap();
        Console.WriteLine($"StartNew + Unwrap (fixed): {sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds:F2}s");
    }
}

Public Module StartNewFix2Demo
    Public Async Function RunAsync() As Task
        Dim sw = Stopwatch.StartNew()
        Await Task.Factory.StartNew(Async Function()
                                        Await Task.Delay(1000)
                                    End Function).Unwrap()
        Console.WriteLine($"StartNew + Unwrap (fixed): {sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds:F2}s")
    End Function
End Module

When you pass an async lambda to StartNew, the return type is Task<Task> (or Task<Task<TResult>>). The outer task represents only the synchronous part of the delegate—it completes at the first yielding await. The inner task represents the full asynchronous operation:

public static class StartNewBugDemo
{
    public static async Task RunAsync()
    {
        var sw = Stopwatch.StartNew();
        // t is Task<Task> — the outer task completes at the first yielding await.
        Task<Task> t = Task.Factory.StartNew(async () =>
        {
            await Task.Delay(1000);
        });
        await t; // Awaits only the outer task.
        Console.WriteLine($"StartNew (buggy): {sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds:F2}s");
    }
}

Public Module StartNewBugDemo
    Public Async Function RunAsync() As Task
        Dim sw = Stopwatch.StartNew()
        ' t is Task(Of Task) — the outer task completes at the first yielding Await.
        Dim t As Task(Of Task) = Task.Factory.StartNew(Async Function()
                                                           Await Task.Delay(1000)
                                                       End Function)
        Await t ' Awaits only the outer task.
        Console.WriteLine($"StartNew (buggy): {sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds:F2}s")
    End Function
End Module

If you treat the outer task as the whole operation, you'll observe completion before the async work actually finishes.

Summary

When you pass an async lambda to any method, verify the target parameter's delegate type:

See also

• Common async/await bugs
• Task-based asynchronous pattern (TAP)
• Consume the task-based asynchronous pattern