JosefNemec/Playnite · error · Exception

Non empty process name must be specified.

Error message

Non empty process name must be specified.

What it means

Thrown by the MonitorProcessName constructor (via IsNullOrWhiteSpace check) when processName is null, empty, or whitespace. NOTE: it throws the base Exception type rather than ArgumentNullException, and the message is the only signal. The class is used to watch whether a named process is running for game-tracking purposes.

Source

Thrown at source/Playnite/Common/ProcessMonitor.cs:176

                {
                    return process.Id;
                }
            }

            return 0;
        }
    }
}

public class MonitorProcessName
{
    public string ProcessName { get; }

    public MonitorProcessName(string processName)
    {
        if (processName.IsNullOrWhiteSpace())
        {
            throw new Exception("Non empty process name must be specified.");
        }

        ProcessName = processName;
    }

    public int IsProcessRunning()
    {
        foreach (var process in Process.GetProcesses().Where(a => a.SessionId != 0))
        {
            using (process)
            {
                if (process.ProcessName == ProcessName)
                {
                    return process.Id;
                }
            }
        }

View on GitHub (pinned to 5911f4e964)

Solutions

1. Validate the process name is non-whitespace before constructing MonitorProcessName.
2. Fix the game/emulator action configuration so the tracking process name is set.
3. Guard upstream callers against null action.ProcessName.

Example fix

// before
var mon = new MonitorProcessName(action.ProcessName);

// after — guard empty names
if (action.ProcessName.IsNullOrWhiteSpace())
{
    logger.Warn("Skipping monitor: empty process name");
    return;
}
var mon = new MonitorProcessName(action.ProcessName);

if (processName.IsNullOrWhiteSpace()) throw new ArgumentException("process name required");

static bool IsValidProcessName(string s) => !s.IsNullOrWhiteSpace();

try { return new MonitorProcessName(name); }
catch (Exception ex) when (name.IsNullOrWhiteSpace()) { logger.Warn("empty process name"); return null; }

When it happens

Trigger: Constructing new MonitorProcessName(name) where name is null/empty/whitespace; passing a value loaded from a game's action config that was never populated; a binding/designer that instantiates with a default empty string.

Common situations: A game action with an empty tracking process name (manual edit or imported library missing the field); scripting/plugin code building a monitor from an unvalidated property.

Related errors

• Cannot start process, executable path is specified.
• Another Playnite instance didn't shutdown in time.
• Backup output path not specified!
• No URL was given.
• Source directory does not exist or could not be found: {sour

AI-assisted analysis of JosefNemec/Playnite@5911f4e964 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7bfd0b2b304fc504. Report an issue: GitHub.