chocolatey/choco · error · NotImplementedException

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

Error message

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

What it means

Thrown as a NotImplementedException in CygwinService.Install when config.PackageNames equals ApplicationParameters.AllPackages (the 'all' keyword). Alternative source types like Cygwin do not support the 'all' keyword because their install mechanisms process packages one at a time through external tooling (Cygwin setup.exe) that does not have a reliable 'install everything' equivalent.

Source

Thrown at src/chocolatey/infrastructure.app/services/CygwinService.cs:224

            return args;
        }

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

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

            foreach (var packageToInstall in config.PackageNames.Split(new[] { ApplicationParameters.PackageNamesSeparator }, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries))
            {
                var argsForPackage = args.Replace(PackageNameToken, packageToInstall);

                var exitCode = _commandExecutor.Execute(
                    GetCygwinPath(RootDirectory),
                    argsForPackage,
                    config.CommandExecutionTimeoutSeconds,
                    _fileSystem.GetCurrentDirectory(),
                    (s, e) =>
                        {
                            var logMessage = e.Data;
                            if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(logMessage))

View on GitHub (pinned to 0d5abdd10c)

Solutions

1. List individual Cygwin package names explicitly: 'choco install bash wget curl --source-type=cygwin'.
2. Do not use the 'all' keyword with alternative source types — it is only supported for normal sources.
3. If you need multiple Cygwin packages, enumerate them or use a packages.config file with the normal install command.

Example fix

// before: using 'all' keyword with Cygwin source
choco install all --source-type=cygwin

// after: specify individual package names
choco install bash wget curl --source-type=cygwin

// Before calling Install on an alternative source, reject the 'all' keyword
if (!config.SourceType.IsEqualTo(SourceTypes.Normal) &&
    config.PackageNames.IsEqualTo(ApplicationParameters.AllPackages))
{
    throw new InvalidOperationException(
        "The 'all' keyword is not supported by alternative source types. List individual package names.");
}

public static bool IsValidPackageNamesForAlternativeSource(string packageNames, string sourceType)
{
    if (sourceType.IsEqualTo(SourceTypes.Normal)) return true;
    return !packageNames.IsEqualTo(ApplicationParameters.AllPackages);
}

try
{
    _cygwinService.Install(config, action);
}
catch (NotImplementedException ex) when (ex.Message.Contains("'all' package name"))
{
    logger.Error("Cannot use 'all' with Cygwin source. Specify individual Cygwin package names.");
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling CygwinService.Install (via 'choco install all --source-type=cygwin') where config.PackageNames is exactly equal to ApplicationParameters.AllPackages. The equality check uses IsEqualTo (case-insensitive) before any package processing begins.

Common situations: A user or script runs 'choco install all --source-type=cygwin' expecting to install all available Cygwin packages. This is explicitly blocked for alternative sources. The 'all' keyword is only valid for normal Chocolatey/NuGet sources.

Related errors

• The '{0}' source does not support installing packages
• Package name is required. Please pass at least one package n
• Force dependencies can only be used with force also turned o
• When specifying the subcommand '{0}', you must also specify
• No rule with the name {0} could be found.

AI-assisted analysis of chocolatey/choco@0d5abdd10c (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/32f2fb74aeda27bd. Report an issue: GitHub.