Unity-Technologies/UnityCsReference · error · ArgumentException

'{targetName}' is not a valid build target name

Error message

'{targetName}' is not a valid build target name

What it means

NamedBuildTarget's constructor rejects any target name not present in the internal k_ValidNames set. This guards construction of the named build target singletons; passing an arbitrary or misspelled string violates the closed set of supported names.

Source

Thrown at Editor/Mono/BuildPipeline/NamedBuildTarget.cs:93

        public static readonly NamedBuildTarget Stadia = new NamedBuildTarget("Stadia");
        ///<summary>LinuxHeadlessSimulation.</summary>
        public static readonly NamedBuildTarget LinuxHeadlessSimulation = new NamedBuildTarget("LinuxHeadlessSimulation");
        ///<summary>CloudRendering.</summary>
        [System.Obsolete("CloudRendering is deprecated, please use LinuxHeadlessSimulation (UnityUpgradable) -> LinuxHeadlessSimulation", false)]
        public static readonly NamedBuildTarget CloudRendering = LinuxHeadlessSimulation;
        ///<summary>EmbeddedLinux.</summary>
        public static readonly NamedBuildTarget EmbeddedLinux  = new NamedBuildTarget("EmbeddedLinux");
        ///<summary>QNX.</summary>
        public static readonly NamedBuildTarget QNX  = new NamedBuildTarget("QNX");

        ///<summary>Name of the build target.</summary>
        public string TargetName { get; }

        internal NamedBuildTarget(string targetName)
        {
            if (!k_ValidNames.Contains(targetName))
            {
                throw new ArgumentException($"'{targetName}' is not a valid build target name");
            }

            TargetName = targetName;
        }

        ///<summary>Returns the appropriate BuildTargetGroup that corresponds to the specified NamedBuildTarget.</summary>
        ///<param name="namedBuildTarget">Named build target.</param>
        public BuildTargetGroup ToBuildTargetGroup()
        {
            switch (TargetName)
            {
                case "Server":
                    return BuildTargetGroup.Standalone;
                default:
                    return BuildPipeline.GetBuildTargetGroupByName(TargetName);
            }
        }

View on GitHub (pinned to 225b0fbdb5)

Solutions

1. Use the predefined static NamedBuildTarget fields (Standalone, iOS, Android, PS5, etc.) instead of constructing from a string.
2. If you must construct from a string, validate against k_ValidNames (or the public TargetName list) first.
3. Correct the misspelled/deprecated name to the current canonical name.

Example fix

// before
var t = new NamedBuildTarget("iphone"); // not a valid name

// after
var t = NamedBuildTarget.iOS; // canonical, valid

static readonly HashSet<string> ValidNames = new() { "Standalone","Server","iOS","Android","PS4","PS5","XboxOne","GameCoreScarlett","GameCoreXboxOne","EmbeddedLinux","QNX","Kepler","WebGL","tvOS" };
if (!ValidNames.Contains(targetName))
    throw new ArgumentException($"'{targetName}' is not a known NamedBuildTarget name.");

static bool IsValidNamedBuildTargetName(string name) => ValidNames.Contains(name);

When it happens

Trigger: Calling `new NamedBuildTarget(targetName)` with a string that is not in k_ValidNames (e.g. a typo, a deprecated name, or a custom platform string not registered).

Common situations: Code that constructs a NamedBuildTarget dynamically from user input or config; referencing a build target name that existed in an older Unity version but was renamed/removed; serialization desync where a stored name is stale.

Related errors

• There is no a valid NamedBuildTarget for BuildTargetGroup '{
• Build profile is invalid.
• The 'locationPathName' parameter for BuildPipeline.BuildPlay
• For the '{0}' target the 'locationPathName' parameter for Bu
• '{standaloneSubtarget}' is not a valid subtarget for the Sta

AI-assisted analysis of Unity-Technologies/UnityCsReference@225b0fbdb5 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/37cd99ee35600066. Report an issue: GitHub.