chocolatey/choco · error · ApplicationException

Source '{0}' is unable to be parsed

Error message

Source '{0}' is unable to be parsed

What it means

Thrown by NugetCommon.GetRepositoryResources when a source string cannot be parsed as either an HTTP(S) URI or a local filesystem path. The code first checks if the source resolves to a valid URI (TrySourceAsUri is not null); if not, it attempts to convert to an absolute filesystem path via filesystem.GetFullPath. If the result is still not recognized as a local path (IsLocal is false), the source is considered unparseable.

Source

Thrown at src/chocolatey/infrastructure.app/nuget/NugetCommon.cs:260

                    // Conversion to absolute paths is handled by clients, not by the libraries as per
                    // https://github.com/NuGet/NuGet.Client/pull/3783
                    if (nugetSource.TrySourceAsUri is null)
                    {
                        string fullsource;
                        try
                        {
                            fullsource = filesystem.GetFullPath(source);
                        }
                        catch
                        {
                            // If an invalid source was passed in, we don't care here, pass it along
                            fullsource = source;
                        }
                        nugetSource = new PackageSource(fullsource);

                        if (!nugetSource.IsLocal)
                        {
                            throw new ApplicationException("Source '{0}' is unable to be parsed".FormatWith(source));
                        }

                        "chocolatey".Log().Debug("Updating Source path from {0} to {1}".FormatWith(source, fullsource));
                        updatedSources.AppendFormat("{0};", fullsource);
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        updatedSources.AppendFormat("{0};", source);
                    }

                    nugetSource.ClientCertificates = sourceClientCertificates;
                    var repo = Repository.Factory.GetCoreV3(nugetSource);

                    if (nugetSource.IsHttp || nugetSource.IsHttps)
                    {
#pragma warning disable RS0030 // Do not used banned APIs
                        var httpSourceResource = repo.GetResource<HttpSourceResource>();
#pragma warning restore RS0030 // Do not used banned APIs

View on GitHub (pinned to 0d5abdd10c)

Solutions

1. Verify the source URL is a valid HTTP(S) URI: 'choco install pkg --source=https://valid.url/feed'
2. Verify the local source path exists and is accessible: 'choco install pkg --source=C:\packages'
3. Remove typos in the protocol (must be http:// or https://)
4. Check for hidden characters, quotes, or whitespace in the source string
5. If using environment variables in the path, ensure they resolve before passing

Example fix

// before
choco install mypackage --source=htps://community.chocolatey.org/api/v2/

// after
choco install mypackage --source=https://community.chocolatey.org/api/v2/

// Validate source before passing to NugetCommon
bool IsValidSource(string source)
{
    if (Uri.TryCreate(source, UriKind.Absolute, out var uri))
        return uri.Scheme == Uri.UriSchemeHttp || uri.Scheme == Uri.UriSchemeHttps;
    try
    {
        var full = Path.GetFullPath(source);
        return Directory.Exists(full) || File.Exists(full);
    }
    catch { return false; }
}

if (!IsValidSource(configSource))
{
    Console.Error.WriteLine($"Source '{configSource}' is not a valid HTTP(S) URL or local path.");
}

public static bool IsValidSourceUrl(string source)
{
    if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(source)) return false;
    if (Uri.TryCreate(source, UriKind.Absolute, out var uri))
        return uri.Scheme == Uri.UriSchemeHttp || uri.Scheme == Uri.UriSchemeHttps;
    try { Path.GetFullPath(source); return true; }
    catch { return false; }
}

try
{
    var repos = NugetCommon.GetRepositoryResources(config, logger, filesystem, cacheContext);
}
catch (ApplicationException ex) when (ex.Message.Contains("unable to be parsed"))
{
    logger.Error($"Source could not be parsed. Verify it is a valid HTTP(S) URL or local path.");
}

When it happens

Trigger: Passing a malformed source URL (e.g. 'htp://feed.example.com' with a typo in the protocol). Passing a source that is neither a valid URI nor a valid filesystem path (e.g. 'feed:||broken'). Passing an empty or whitespace-only source after the initial empty-source filtering. Passing a UNC path or environment-variable-containing path that GetFullPath cannot resolve.

Common situations: Typo in the --source URL ('https' misspelled). Source string contains unresolved environment variables or ~ that aren't expanded. Configuration file has a corrupted source entry. Network proxy or redirect URL that doesn't parse as a standard URI. Source passed with extra quotes or whitespace characters.

Related errors

• You must specify 'source' to remove an API key.
• You must specify both 'source' and 'key' to set an API key.
• When using the '--source' option with the 'choco list' comma
• The default push source configuration is not set. Either pas
• An error has occurred. This package version already exists o

AI-assisted analysis of chocolatey/choco@0d5abdd10c (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9bc48b9fe744b33a. Report an issue: GitHub.