chocolatey/choco · error · NotImplementedException

Alternative sources do not allow the use of the 'all'…

Error message

Alternative sources do not allow the use of the 'all' package name/keyword.

What it means

PythonService.Install rejects the 'all' keyword: alternative sources (Python/pip) cannot install all packages. If config.PackageNames equals ApplicationParameters.AllPackages it throws NotImplementedException immediately, before building any arguments.

Solutions

List and install explicit package names with the Python source
Do not pass 'all' to alternative (Python/Ruby/Cygwin/WindowsFeatures) sources
Loop over a package list in your script instead of using 'all'

Example fix

// before
choco install all --source=python
// after
choco install requests flask --source=python

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if (config.PackageNames == ApplicationParameters.AllPackages) {
    throw new ArgumentException("The Python source does not support 'all'; pass explicit package names.");
}

Try / catch

try { pythonService.Install(config); }
catch (NotImplementedException ex) when (ex.Message.Contains("'all'")) {
    logger.Error(ex.Message); // pass explicit names
}

Prevention

Never pass 'all' to the Python (or other alternative) source
Enumerate packages explicitly in scripts
Validate PackageNames against the source type before invoking

When it happens

Trigger: Calling choco install with PackageNames == 'all' against the Python source (SourceTypes.Python).

Common situations: A script reuses an 'all' package-name variable across sources; misunderstanding that the pip source is per-package; copy-paste from a NuGet-style 'all' command.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of chocolatey/choco@0d5abdd10c (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e2bdb4e46b6b99f7. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/chocolatey/infrastructure.app/services/PythonService.cs:364

        }

        public void InstallDryRun(ChocolateyConfiguration config, Action<PackageResult, ChocolateyConfiguration> continueAction)
        {
            EnsureExecutablePathSet();
            var args = BuildArguments(config, _installArguments);
            this.Log().Info("Would have run '{0} {1}'".FormatWith(_exePath.EscapeCurlyBraces(), args.EscapeCurlyBraces()));
        }

        public ConcurrentDictionary<string, PackageResult> Install(ChocolateyConfiguration config, Action<PackageResult, ChocolateyConfiguration> continueAction)
        {
            return Install(config, continueAction, beforeModifyAction: null);
        }

        public ConcurrentDictionary<string, PackageResult> Install(ChocolateyConfiguration config, Action<PackageResult, ChocolateyConfiguration> continueAction, Action<PackageResult, ChocolateyConfiguration> beforeModifyAction)
        {
            if (config.PackageNames.IsEqualTo(ApplicationParameters.AllPackages))
            {
                throw new NotImplementedException("Alternative sources do not allow the use of the 'all' package name/keyword.");
            }

            EnsureExecutablePathSet();
            var args = BuildArguments(config, _installArguments);
            var packageResults = new ConcurrentDictionary<string, PackageResult>(StringComparer.InvariantCultureIgnoreCase);

            foreach (var packageToInstall in config.PackageNames.Split(new[] { ApplicationParameters.PackageNamesSeparator }, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries))
            {
                var pkgName = packageToInstall;
                if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(config.Version))
                {
                    pkgName = "{0}=={1}".FormatWith(packageToInstall, config.Version);
                }
                var argsForPackage = args.Replace(PackageNameToken, pkgName);

                var exitCode = _commandExecutor.Execute(
                    _exePath,
                    argsForPackage,

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