chocolatey/choco · error · ApplicationException

When specifying the subcommand '{0}', you must also specify

Error message

When specifying the subcommand '{0}', you must also specify --name.

What it means

Thrown by ChocolateyTemplateCommand.Validate when the subcommand is not 'list' and no --name was provided. Non-list template operations (e.g. 'info') require a --name to identify which template to get information about. Without a name the operation has no target.

Source

Thrown at src/chocolatey/infrastructure.app/commands/ChocolateyTemplateCommand.cs:82

            if (command == TemplateCommandType.Unknown)
            {
                if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(unparsedCommand))
                {
                    this.Log().Warn("Unknown command {0}. Setting to list.".FormatWith(unparsedCommand));
                }

                command = TemplateCommandType.List;
            }

            configuration.TemplateCommand.Command = command;
        }

        public virtual void Validate(ChocolateyConfiguration configuration)
        {
            if (configuration.TemplateCommand.Command != TemplateCommandType.List && string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(configuration.TemplateCommand.Name))
            {
                throw new ApplicationException("When specifying the subcommand '{0}', you must also specify --name.".FormatWith(configuration.TemplateCommand.Command.ToStringSafe().ToLower()));
            }
        }

        public virtual void HelpMessage(ChocolateyConfiguration configuration)
        {
            "chocolatey".Log().Info(ChocolateyLoggers.Important, "Template Command");
            "chocolatey".Log().Info(@"
List information installed templates.

Both manually installed templates and templates installed via
 .template packages are displayed.");

            "chocolatey".Log().Info(ChocolateyLoggers.Important, "Usage");
            "chocolatey".Log().Info(@"
    choco template [list]|info [<options/switches>]");

            "chocolatey".Log().Info(ChocolateyLoggers.Important, "Examples");
            "chocolatey".Log().Info(@"

View on GitHub (pinned to 0d5abdd10c)

Solutions

1. Add the --name flag: 'choco template info --name=<template-id>'.
2. Run 'choco template list' first to see available template names.
3. If you want to list all templates, use 'choco template list'.

Example fix

// before
choco template info
// after
choco template info --name="mytemplate"

// For non-list template ops, ensure --name
if (templateSubcommand != "list" && string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(templateName))
{
    Console.Error.WriteLine($"choco template {templateSubcommand} requires --name=<template>.");
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running 'choco template info' without --name=<template-name>. The condition: TemplateCommand.Command != List AND TemplateCommand.Name is empty.

Common situations: User runs 'choco template info' expecting a full listing (that is 'list'). User forgets to specify which template. Script omits --name due to variable issues.

Related errors

• When specifying the subcommand '{0}', you must also specify
• A Rule Name (-n|--name) is required when getting information
• When specifying the subcommand '{0}', you must also specify
• Package name is required. Please pass at least one package n
• No rule with the name {0} could be found.

AI-assisted analysis of chocolatey/choco@0d5abdd10c (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f1dd3abb21dde414. Report an issue: GitHub.