HangfireIO/Hangfire · error · ArgumentException

Could not find connection string with name '{nameOrConnectio

Error message

Could not find connection string with name '{nameOrConnectionString}' in application config file

What it means

Hangfire could not resolve the provided nameOrConnectionString value into a usable connection string. The value contained no semicolon (so it was not a raw connection string) and was not found in the application's connectionStrings configuration section. This code path only runs under the FEATURE_CONFIGURATIONMANAGER build target (full .NET Framework).

Source

Thrown at src/Hangfire.SqlServer/SqlServerStorage.cs:541

        {
            var defaultQueueProvider = _options.DefaultQueueProvider ?? new SqlServerJobQueueProvider(this, _options);
            QueueProviders = new PersistentJobQueueProviderCollection(defaultQueueProvider);
        }

        private static string GetConnectionString(string nameOrConnectionString)
        {
#if FEATURE_CONFIGURATIONMANAGER
            if (IsConnectionString(nameOrConnectionString))
            {
                return nameOrConnectionString;
            }

            if (IsConnectionStringInConfiguration(nameOrConnectionString))
            {
                return ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings[nameOrConnectionString].ConnectionString;
            }

            throw new ArgumentException(
                $"Could not find connection string with name '{nameOrConnectionString}' in application config file");
#else
            return nameOrConnectionString;
#endif
        }

#if FEATURE_CONFIGURATIONMANAGER
        private static bool IsConnectionString(string nameOrConnectionString)
        {
            return nameOrConnectionString.Contains(";");
        }

        private static bool IsConnectionStringInConfiguration(string connectionStringName)
        {
            var connectionStringSetting = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings[connectionStringName];

            return connectionStringSetting != null;
        }

View on GitHub (pinned to c236dd0f93)

Solutions

1. Verify the exact name exists in the <connectionStrings> section of your app.config/web.config and matches what you pass to UseSqlServerStorage.
2. Alternatively, pass the full connection string (containing a semicolon) directly instead of a name.
3. Confirm the config file is present and copied to the output directory (Copy to Output Directory = Copy if newer).

Example fix

// before — name 'HangfireDB' not in config
config.UseSqlServerStorage("HangfireDB");
// after — add to app.config
//   <connectionStrings>
//     <add name="HangfireDB" connectionString="Server=.;Database=Hangfire;Integrated Security=true" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
//   </connectionStrings>
config.UseSqlServerStorage("HangfireDB");
// or pass the full connection string directly:
config.UseSqlServerStorage("Server=.;Database=Hangfire;Integrated Security=true");

string nameOrConnectionString = /* from config */;

bool isRawConnectionString = nameOrConnectionString.Contains(";");
bool isInConfig = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings[nameOrConnectionString] != null;

if (!isRawConnectionString && !isInConfig)
    throw new InvalidOperationException($"Connection string '{nameOrConnectionString}' not found in config and is not a raw connection string.");

When it happens

Trigger: Passing a connection-string name to the SqlServerStorage constructor or UseSqlServerStorage extension when that name is absent from <connectionStrings> in app.config/web.config; typo in the name; config file not deployed to the runtime directory.

Common situations: Mistyping the connection string name; app.config transformed incorrectly during publish; using a name from a different environment's config; deploying without the connectionStrings section; passing a partial connection string without a semicolon.

Related errors

• `DisableTransactionScope` option does not support external q
• Attempts value must be equal or greater than zero.
• DelaysInSeconds value must be an array of non-negative numbe
• client
• storage

AI-assisted analysis of HangfireIO/Hangfire@c236dd0f93 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/684b8046d01279bf. Report an issue: GitHub.