dotnet/efcore · error · InvalidOperationException

The table ' ' cannot be used for entity type ' ' since it…

Error message

The table '{table}' cannot be used for entity type '{entityType}' since it is being used for entity type '{otherEntityType}' and the name '{keyName}' of the primary key {primaryKey} does not match the name '{otherName}' of the primary key {otherPrimaryKey}.

What it means

Thrown when entity types sharing a table have different primary-key names for that table (computed via key.GetName(table)). The validator ensures every sharing type agrees on the PK constraint name; a mismatch would produce conflicting DDL/migration. Names are compared with key.GetName(table) for each connected entity type.

Solutions

Unify the PK constraint name across all entity types sharing the table: .HasKey(e => e.Id).HasName("PK_Users") on every sharing entity (or remove all explicit HasName so they fall back to the same convention).
If the names truly must differ, the types must not share a table — remap one of them.
Generate/check a migration to confirm the resulting PK constraint name.

Example fix

// before
builder.Entity<Customer>().HasKey(c => c.Id).HasName("PK_Customers");
builder.Entity<Customer>().ToTable("Users");
builder.Entity<User>().ToTable("Users"); // default PK name

// after
builder.Entity<Customer>().HasKey(c => c.Id).HasName("PK_Users");
builder.Entity<User>().HasKey(u => u.Id).HasName("PK_Users");

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

var byTable = model.GetEntityTypes().Where(e => e.GetTableName() != null).GroupBy(e => e.GetTableName());
foreach (var grp in byTable)
{
    var names = grp.Select(e => (e, e.FindPrimaryKey()?.GetName(StoreObjectIdentifier.Table(grp.Key)))).ToList();
    var distinct = names.Where(n => n.Item2 != null).Select(n => n.Item2).Distinct().ToList();
    if (distinct.Count > 1)
        Console.WriteLine($"Table '{grp.Key}' has multiple PK names: {string.Join(", ", distinct)}");
}

Prevention

Either never set explicit PK names on shared tables, or set the same HasName on every sharing type.
When migrating an existing database, copy the canonical PK constraint name into the model.
Review PK names whenever you consolidate entity types onto one table.

When it happens

Trigger: Two entity types mapped to the same table where one has been given a custom PK name via .HasKey(...).HasName("PK_Foo") (or via HasPrincipalKey name on the relationship) and the other uses a different name. Often emerges in TPH/TPT where conventions assign names differently, or when migrations add explicit names.

Common situations: Hand-named PK constraints on one entity but not the other; merging two contexts that share a table; explicit constraint names from a migration that did not propagate to siblings.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of dotnet/efcore@3a2006ef56 (2026-08-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/373d24936e87abd0. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/EFCore.Relational/Infrastructure/RelationalModelValidator.cs:1219

        while (typesToValidate.Count > 0)
        {
            var entityType = typesToValidate.Dequeue();
            var key = entityType.FindPrimaryKey();
            var comment = entityType.GetComment();
            var isExcluded = entityType.IsTableExcludedFromMigrations(table);
            var typesToValidateLeft = typesToValidate.Count;
            var directlyConnectedTypes = unvalidatedTypes.Where(unvalidatedType =>
                entityType.IsAssignableFrom(unvalidatedType)
                || IsIdentifyingPrincipal(unvalidatedType, entityType));

            foreach (var nextEntityType in directlyConnectedTypes)
            {
                if (key != null)
                {
                    var otherKey = nextEntityType.FindPrimaryKey()!;
                    if (key.GetName(table) != otherKey.GetName(table))
                    {
                        throw new InvalidOperationException(
                            RelationalStrings.IncompatibleTableKeyNameMismatch(
                                table.DisplayName(),
                                entityType.DisplayName(),
                                nextEntityType.DisplayName(),
                                key.GetName(table),
                                key.Properties.Format(),
                                otherKey.GetName(table),
                                otherKey.Properties.Format()));
                    }
                }

                var nextComment = nextEntityType.GetComment();
                if (comment != null)
                {
                    if (nextComment != null
                        && !comment.Equals(nextComment, StringComparison.Ordinal))
                    {
                        throw new InvalidOperationException(

View on GitHub (pinned to 3a2006ef56)