chocolatey/choco · error · ApplicationException

A single apikey command must be listed. Please see the help

Error message

A single apikey command must be listed. Please see the help menu for those commands.

What it means

The apikey command accepts at most one positional subcommand token (list/add/remove). ParseAdditionalArguments throws when unparsedArguments.Count > 1, because more than one leftover positional argument means the user supplied multiple subcommand-like tokens. It directs the user to the help menu to see the valid single commands.

Source

Thrown at src/chocolatey/infrastructure.app/commands/ChocolateyApiKeyCommand.cs:62

            configuration.Sources = null;

            optionSet
                .Add("s=|source=",
                     "Source [REQUIRED] - The source location for the key",
                     option => configuration.Sources = option.UnquoteSafe())
                .Add("k=|key=|apikey=|api-key=",
                     "ApiKey - The API key for the source. This is the authentication that identifies you and allows you to push to a source. With some sources this is either a key or it could be a user name and password specified as 'user:password'.",
                     option => configuration.ApiKeyCommand.Key = option.UnquoteSafe())
                ;
        }

        public virtual void ParseAdditionalArguments(IList<string> unparsedArguments, ChocolateyConfiguration configuration)
        {
            configuration.Input = string.Join(" ", unparsedArguments);

            if (unparsedArguments.Count > 1)
            {
                throw new ApplicationException("A single apikey command must be listed. Please see the help menu for those commands.");
            }

            var command = ApiKeyCommandType.Unknown;
            var unparsedCommand = unparsedArguments.DefaultIfEmpty(string.Empty).FirstOrDefault();

            if (!Enum.TryParse(unparsedCommand, true, out command) || command == ApiKeyCommandType.Unknown)
            {
                command = ApiKeyCommandType.List;

                if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(unparsedCommand))
                {
                    this.Log().Warn("Unknown command {0}. Setting to list.".FormatWith(unparsedCommand));
                }
                else if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(configuration.ApiKeyCommand.Key))
                {
                    this.Log().Warn("API key provided. Setting command to add.");
                    command = ApiKeyCommandType.Add;
                }

View on GitHub (pinned to 0d5abdd10c)

Solutions

Pass a single apikey subcommand (list, add, or remove) and use flags for source/key.
Use the explicit form: 'choco apikey add -s <source> -k <key>'.
Run 'choco apikey -?' to confirm accepted subcommands.

Example fix

# before
choco apikey add remove -s https://feed -k abc

# after
choco apikey add -s https://feed -k abc

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Build apikey args with at most one positional subcommand.
var verbs = new[] { "list", "add", "remove" };
var positional = tokens.Where(t => !t.StartsWith("-")).ToList();
if (positional.Count(t => verbs.Contains(t, StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase)) > 1)
{
    throw new ArgumentException("apikey accepts a single subcommand.");
}

Prevention

Always use the explicit 'choco apikey <verb> -s ... -k ...' form with flags.
Count positional tokens before invoking choco in scripts.
Consult 'choco apikey -?' when unsure of accepted subcommands.

When it happens

Trigger: Running 'choco apikey add remove', 'choco apikey list extra', or any invocation where more than one unflagged positional token remains after option parsing.

Common situations: Copying examples that concatenate subcommands; scripting that appends a source as a positional argument instead of -s; misunderstanding that apikey takes exactly one verb.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of chocolatey/choco@0d5abdd10c (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8ab37cf5ea4df1e9. Report an issue: GitHub.