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I would go with option #1 as it allows you to control when the file is generated. There's a standard scheduled task for it available called the Feed File Export Task:

It uses the same underlying code to generate the feed so you can continue to configure it at the feed level as needed.

Imar

Thanks for the suggestion!

I’ve already tried running our existing Razor-based XML feed through the Feed File Export Task, but unfortunately this results in a runtime error. The template itself works perfectly fine when executed via URL (using a query for a single product). However, when I schedule the same feed via the standard Feed File Export Task, I get the following error:

System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
   at CompiledRazorTemplates.Dynamic.RazorEngine_xxxxxxxx.Init()
   at CompiledRazorTemplates.Dynamic.RazorEngine_xxxxxxxx.GenerateXML()
   ...

This suggests something goes wrong inside the Init() method, which is defined like this in our Razor mapping:

private void Init()
{
    // Set up config flags
    IncludeStockStatus = false;
    ...

    // Get query string parameter
    var lngParameter = Dynamicweb.Context.Current.Request.QueryString["languageId"]?.ToUpper() ?? "ALL";
    ...
}

From what I can tell, this error likely happens because the Request.QueryString["languageId"] line assumes an HTTP context is available, which is not the case during scheduled execution (no live HTTP request). So Dynamicweb.Context.Current.Request seems to be null in that context, which triggers the NullReferenceException.

Is there a clean way to safely access query parameters in Razor templates that will also work in scheduled tasks?

There are n o query parameters when executing as a task AFAIK. But you can check for null in the template?

    var lngParameter = Dynamicweb.Context.Current?.Request.QueryString["languageId"]?.ToUpper() ?? "ALL";
The question mark in Current? will then check if Current is null. If it is, it'll default to "All"

Imar