Why does AsyncLocal<T> return different results when code is refactored slightly?

Question

When I call WrapperAsync AsyncLocalContext.Value returns null. When I run the same code block outside the method, in the Main method, AsyncLocalContext.Value is not null (which is what I would expect).

The functionality is exactly the same yet the results are different. Is this a bug with the Asynclocal class or is there another explanation?

internal class Program
{
    private static readonly AsyncLocal<string> AsyncLocalContext = new AsyncLocal<string>();

    private static void Main()
    {
        const string text = "surprise!";

        WrapperAsync(text).Wait();
        Console.WriteLine("Get is null: " + (AsyncLocalContext.Value == null));
        // AsyncLocalContext.Value is null

        var value = GetValueAsync(text).Result;
        AsyncLocalContext.Value = value;
        Console.WriteLine("Get is null: " + (AsyncLocalContext.Value == null));
        // AsyncLocalContext.Value is not null
        Console.Read();
    }

    private static async Task WrapperAsync(string text)
    {
        var value = await GetValueAsync(text);
        AsyncLocalContext.Value = value;
    }

    private static async Task<string> GetValueAsync(string text)
    {
        await Task.Delay(0);
        return text;
    }
}

Answer 1

AsyncLocal<T> is ambient data stored on the ExecutionContext of the current thread. ExecutionContext is flowed across threads automagically in async/await call chains (see Stephen Toub's blog for details). When the app starts, the default ExecutionContext is used, but once data is stored via AsyncLocal<T>.Value, a new ExecutionContext is created for the current async call chain (see here) and the ambient data is added to it. This new context is propagated to downstream calls.

Stephen Cleary discusses this behavior here (scroll down to the AsyncLocal section) and makes the point:

[AsyncLocal] provides a way for contextual information to flow “down” asynchronous calls. Note that the value does not flow “up”.

This is why AsyncLocal<T> updates down the call chain are not reflected in upstream methods.