dotnet/efcore · error · InvalidOperationException

The entity type '{entityType}' was configured to use '{sproc

Error message

The entity type '{entityType}' was configured to use '{sproc}', but the store name was not specified. Configure the stored procedure name explicitly.

What it means

Thrown when StoreObjectIdentifier.Create cannot determine a name for a stored procedure, i.e. no store name was specified and none can be derived. Each stored procedure mapping requires an explicit name (or a default table name to derive from). The validator fails fast inside ValidateStoredProcedureName when sprocId is null.

Source

Thrown at src/EFCore.Relational/Infrastructure/RelationalModelValidator.cs:519

            sprocCount++;
        }

        if (sprocCount > 0
            // TODO: Support this with #28703
            //&& sprocCount < 3
            && entityType.GetTableName() == null)
        {
            throw new InvalidOperationException(RelationalStrings.StoredProcedureUnmapped(entityType.DisplayName()));
        }

        static void ValidateStoredProcedureName(
            StoreObjectType storedProcedureType,
            IEntityType entityType)
        {
            var sprocId = StoreObjectIdentifier.Create(entityType, storedProcedureType);
            if (sprocId == null)
            {
                throw new InvalidOperationException(
                    RelationalStrings.StoredProcedureNoName(
                        entityType.DisplayName(), storedProcedureType));
            }
        }
    }

    /// <summary>
    ///     Validates a single stored procedure and all entity types mapped to it.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="mappedTypes">The entity types mapped to the stored procedure.</param>
    /// <param name="storedProcedure">The stored procedure identifier.</param>
    /// <param name="logger">The logger to use.</param>
    protected virtual void ValidateStoredProcedure(
        IReadOnlyList<IEntityType> mappedTypes,
        in StoreObjectIdentifier storedProcedure,
        IDiagnosticsLogger<DbLoggerCategory.Model.Validation> logger)
        => ValidateStoredProcedureCompatibility(mappedTypes, storedProcedure, logger);

View on GitHub (pinned to dbf9771522)

Solutions

Pass an explicit name: .InsertStoredProcedure("sp_InsertBlog").
Or set a table name via ToTable so the sproc name can be derived by convention.
Provide names for all three (insert/update/delete) sproc configurations.

Example fix

// before
modelBuilder.Entity<Blog>()
    .ToTable((string)null)
    .InsertStoredProcedure();

// after
modelBuilder.Entity<Blog>()
    .InsertStoredProcedure("sp_InsertBlog");

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

foreach (var et in modelBuilder.Model.GetEntityTypes())
{
    foreach (var t in new[] { StoreObjectType.InsertStoredProcedure, StoreObjectType.UpdateStoredProcedure, StoreObjectType.DeleteStoredProcedure })
    {
        var sproc = t switch { StoreObjectType.InsertStoredProcedure => et.GetInsertStoredProcedure(), StoreObjectType.UpdateStoredProcedure => et.GetUpdateStoredProcedure(), _ => et.GetDeleteStoredProcedure() };
        if (sproc != null && StoreObjectIdentifier.Create(et, t) == null)
            throw new InvalidOperationException($"{et.DisplayName()} {t} has no store name");
    }
}

Try / catch

try { _ = ctx.Model; } catch (InvalidOperationException ex) when (ex.Message.Contains("store name was not specified")) { /* pass explicit sproc names */ }

Prevention

Always pass an explicit name to InsertStoredProcedure/UpdateStoredProcedure/DeleteStoredProcedure.
Do not null out the table name when relying on sproc-name convention.

When it happens

Trigger: Calling .InsertStoredProcedure() (parameterless) on an entity that has no table name set; configuring an UpdateStoredProcedure without a name and with no ToTable default.

Common situations: Relying on convention naming that does not apply; forgetting the name argument after switching to name-required sproc APIs.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of dotnet/efcore@dbf9771522 (2026-08-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/16eae5e3c083182f. Report an issue: GitHub.