JustArchiNET/ArchiSteamFarm · error · NLogConfigurationException

SteamID is invalid!

Error message

SteamID is invalid!

What it means

Thrown during SteamTarget.InitializeTarget() (an NLog custom target). NLog calls this when the target starts; ASF validates that SteamID is a real, individual Steam account ID (and that a group target, if ChatGroupID==0, is not being misconfigured). An invalid setup raises NLogConfigurationException. This is NLog-configuration-time validation, not a runtime log call.

Source

Thrown at ArchiSteamFarm/NLog/Targets/SteamTarget.cs:62

	// This is NLog config property, it must have public get() and set() capabilities
	[UsedImplicitly]
	public ulong ChatGroupID { get; set; }

	// This is NLog config property, it must have public get() and set() capabilities
	[UsedImplicitly]
	public ulong SteamID { get; set; }

	// This parameter-less constructor is intentionally public, as NLog uses it for creating targets
	// It must stay like this as we want to have our targets defined in our NLog.config
	// Keeping date in default layout also doesn't make much sense (Steam offers that), so we remove it by default
	[UsedImplicitly]
	public SteamTarget() => Layout = "${level:uppercase=true}|${logger}|${message}";

	protected override void InitializeTarget() {
		base.InitializeTarget();

		if ((SteamID == 0) || ((ChatGroupID == 0) && !new SteamID(SteamID).IsIndividualAccount)) {
			throw new NLogConfigurationException(Strings.FormatErrorIsInvalid(nameof(SteamID)));
		}
	}

	protected override async Task WriteAsyncTask(LogEventInfo logEvent, CancellationToken cancellationToken) {
		ArgumentNullException.ThrowIfNull(logEvent);

		Write(logEvent);

		if ((Bot.Bots == null) || Bot.Bots.IsEmpty) {
			return;
		}

		string message = Layout.Render(logEvent);

		if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(message)) {
			return;
		}

View on GitHub (pinned to fe57c4129f)

Solutions

1. Set SteamID in NLog.config to a valid personal-account SteamID64 (the bot owner's ID).
2. If targetting a chat group, also set ChatGroupID to the non-zero group ID.
3. Verify the SteamID64 with a tool like steamid.io; ensure it is an 'Individual' (type 1) account.
4. Remove the SteamTarget block from NLog.config if you do not need Steam log delivery.

Example fix

// before (NLog.config)
<target xsi:type="Steam" name="steam" />
// after
<target xsi:type="Steam" name="steam" SteamID="76561198000000000" />

ulong steamID = 76561198000000000UL;
var sid = new SteamKit2.SteamID(steamID);
bool valid = steamID != 0 && (chatGroupID != 0 || sid.IsIndividualAccount);
if (!valid) throw new NLogConfigurationException("SteamID invalid for SteamTarget");

static bool IsValidSteamTargetId(ulong steamID, ulong chatGroupID) {
    if (steamID == 0) return false;
    if (chatGroupID != 0) return true;
    return new SteamKit2.SteamID(steamID).IsIndividualAccount;
}

try { /* NLog loads config and initializes targets */ }
catch (NLogConfigurationException ex) when (ex.Message.Contains(nameof(SteamTarget.SteamID))) {
    // fix NLog.config SteamID / ChatGroupID, then restart logging
}

When it happens

Trigger: The NLog.config defines a SteamTarget whose SteamID is 0 (unset), or ChatGroupID is 0 while the SteamID does not resolve to an individual account (e.g. a clan/group ID was supplied where a personal account is required).

Common situations: Deploying NLog.config without filling in SteamID; pasting a steamID3/SteamID64 of a group instead of a personal account; using ${...} layout renderers in SteamID which NLog evaluates to a non-numeric or 0; running ASF under a user whose logging target was never configured.

Related errors

• Received unknown value for {0}, please report this: {1}
• Required field {field.Name} expects a non-null value.
• Required property {property.Name} expects a non-null value.
• steamID is null!
• Failed due to error: Client.IsConnected

AI-assisted analysis of JustArchiNET/ArchiSteamFarm@fe57c4129f (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a056cd51ddbf467f. Report an issue: GitHub.