abpframework/abp · error · CliUsageException

Project name cannot contain ".."! Specify a different name.

Error message

Project name cannot contain ".."! Specify a different name.

What it means

Thrown by ProjectNameValidator.ValidateParentDirectoryString when the project name passed to the ABP CLI new/create command contains "..". This guards against path-traversal-style names that could escape the intended output directory when the name is used to build filesystem paths.

Solutions

1. Remove the ".." substring from the project name (use single dots to separate segments, or none).
2. If you intended a relative output path, use the CLI's output-directory option instead of embedding it in the name.
3. Validate the name with ProjectNameValidator.Validate before invoking the CLI programmatically.

Example fix

// before
abp new Acme..BookStore

// after
abp new Acme.BookStore

static void EnsureProjectName(string name)
{
    if (name.Contains("..")) throw new ArgumentException("Project name must not contain '..'");
    Volo.Abp.Cli.Utils.ProjectNameValidator.Validate(name);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `abp new <name>` (or equivalent) where <name> contains the substring "..", e.g. "Foo..Bar", "../Escape", or "a..b". The check is a plain Contains("..") so any two consecutive dots trigger it.

Common situations: Typo with double dots in a dotted module-style name; attempt to specify a relative path as the project name; copy-paste from a namespace that contains "..".

Related errors

• Invalid npm package name detected
• Invalid npm package version detected
• Project name cannot be
• Project name cannot contain surrogate or control…
• Project name cannot contain the word

AI-assisted analysis of abpframework/abp@7ed43b1931 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/aef3f83ea3bfba48. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at framework/src/Volo.Abp.Cli.Core/Volo/Abp/Cli/Utils/ProjectNameValidator.cs:29

            "MyProjectName",
            "CON", //Windows doesn't accept these names as file name
            "AUX",
            "PRN",
            "COM1",
            "LPT2"
        };

    private static readonly string[] IllegalKeywords = new[]
    {
            "MauiBlazor",
            "Blazor"
    };

    private static void ValidateParentDirectoryString(string projectName)
    {
        if (projectName.Contains(".."))
        {
            throw new CliUsageException("Project name cannot contain \"..\"! Specify a different name.");
        }
    }

    private static void ValidateSurrogateOrControlChar(string projectName)
    {
        if (projectName.Any(chr => char.IsControl(chr) || char.IsSurrogate(chr)))
        {
            throw new CliUsageException("Project name cannot contain surrogate or control characters! Specify a different name.");
        }
    }

    private static void ValidateIllegalProjectName(string projectName)
    {
        foreach (var illegalProjectName in IllegalProjectNames)
        {
            if (projectName.Equals(illegalProjectName, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
            {
                throw new CliUsageException("Project name cannot be \"" + illegalProjectName + "\"! Specify a different name.");

View on GitHub (pinned to 7ed43b1931)