OrchardCMS/OrchardCore · error · InvalidOperationException

The 'RetrieveContentTask' failed to evaluate the…

Error message

The 'RetrieveContentTask' failed to evaluate the 'ContentItemId'.

What it means

RetrieveContentTask evaluates a ContentItemId expression and throws InvalidOperationException when it cannot produce a value. This means the configured expression (e.g. a workflow variable or Liquid/JS expression) evaluated to null or empty. The workflow activity refuses to proceed without a target content item ID.

Solutions

Open the workflow definition and set a valid ContentItemId expression on the RetrieveContentTask activity.
Verify the referenced workflow variable exists and is populated by an earlier activity (e.g. ContentCreatedEvent output).
Test the expression in isolation (e.g. a Code/Log task printing the value) to confirm it resolves.
Wrap the workflow path so the task only runs when the variable is set, or use a different event providing a content item.

Example fix

// before (activity property)
ContentItemId: ""  // blank or typo'd variable
// after
ContentItemId: "{{ Workflow.Input.ContentItem.ContentItemId }}"

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Before the workflow task runs, in a preceding condition/code activity:
var id = (string)workflowContext.Input.GetValue("ContentItemId") ?? (string?)workflowContext.GetProperty("ContentItemId");
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(id)) throw new InvalidOperationException("RetrieveContentTask: ContentItemId must be set before execution.");

Try / catch

try { await task.ExecuteAsync(workflowContext, activityContext); }
catch (InvalidOperationException ex) when (ex.Message.Contains("failed to evaluate the 'ContentItemId'"))
{
    logger.LogWarning(ex, "ContentItemId expression unresolved; skipping retrieve step.");
}

Prevention

Always populate the ContentItemId expression in the workflow designer.
Reference event outputs (ContentItem.ContentItemId) rather than hand-typed IDs.
Test the expression with a Log/Notify task before the retrieve.
Name workflow variables consistently and avoid case typos.

When it happens

Trigger: GetContentItemIdAsync(workflowContext) returns null because the 'ContentItemId' expression property of the activity is empty, references a non-existent workflow variable, or the expression evaluates to null at runtime.

Common situations: Workflow designer misconfiguration: the ContentItemId field was left blank, a preceding task that sets the variable didn't run, or the variable name is misspelled (case-sensitive).

Understand the failure class

Background: "missing required argument" and "the following required arguments were not provided": what required-argument errors mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of OrchardCMS/OrchardCore@4306c0717f (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9c78783edc1a05ca. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/OrchardCore.Modules/OrchardCore.Contents/Workflows/Activities/RetrieveContentTask.cs:33

        IWorkflowScriptEvaluator scriptEvaluator,
        IStringLocalizer<RetrieveContentTask> localizer)
        : base(contentManager, scriptEvaluator, localizer)
    {
    }

    public override string Name => nameof(RetrieveContentTask);

    public override LocalizedString DisplayText => S["Retrieve Content Task"];

    public override LocalizedString Category => S["Content"];

    public override IEnumerable<Outcome> GetPossibleOutcomes(WorkflowExecutionContext workflowContext, ActivityContext activityContext)
        => Outcome(S["Retrieved"]);

    public override async Task<ActivityExecutionResult> ExecuteAsync(WorkflowExecutionContext workflowContext, ActivityContext activityContext)
    {
        var contentItemId = (await GetContentItemIdAsync(workflowContext))
            ?? throw new InvalidOperationException($"The '{nameof(RetrieveContentTask)}' failed to evaluate the 'ContentItemId'.");

        var contentItem = (await ContentManager.GetAsync(contentItemId, VersionOptions.Latest))
            ?? throw new InvalidOperationException($"The '{nameof(RetrieveContentTask)}' failed to retrieve the content item.");

        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(workflowContext.CorrelationId))
        {
            workflowContext.CorrelationId = contentItem.ContentItemId;
        }

        workflowContext.Properties[ContentEventConstants.ContentItemInputKey] = contentItem;
        workflowContext.LastResult = contentItem;

        return Outcome("Retrieved");
    }
}

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