elsa-workflows/elsa-core · error · InvalidOperationException

MongoDB physicalization supports dedicated document…

Error message

MongoDB physicalization supports dedicated document collections only.

What it means

MongoDbPhysicalizationPlanner.Plan maps a persistence schema to MongoDB physical objects, but it only implements the DedicatedDocumentCollection strategy where each storage unit becomes its own collection. Passing any other PhysicalizationTarget throws InvalidOperationException during planning.

Solutions

Set policy.Target = PhysicalizationTarget.DedicatedDocumentCollection in your StoragePhysicalizationPolicy when using the MongoDB provider.
If another target is required, use the persistence provider that implements it instead of the MongoDB planner.
Centralize policy construction per provider so the relational and MongoDB configurations are not shared.

Example fix

// before
var policy = new StoragePhysicalizationPolicy { StorageUnit = "orders", Target = PhysicalizationTarget.SharedTable };
var plan = planner.Plan(schema, policy); // throws

// after
var policy = new StoragePhysicalizationPolicy { StorageUnit = "orders", Target = PhysicalizationTarget.DedicatedDocumentCollection };
var plan = planner.Plan(schema, policy);

Defensive patterns

Strategy: type-guard

Validate before calling

if (policy.Target != PhysicalizationTarget.DedicatedDocumentCollection)
    throw new NotSupportedException($"MongoDB provider only supports DedicatedDocumentCollection, got {policy.Target}.");

Type guard

static bool IsMongoCompatible(StoragePhysicalizationPolicy p) => p.Target == PhysicalizationTarget.DedicatedDocumentCollection;

Try / catch

try
{
    var plan = planner.Plan(schema, policy);
}
catch (InvalidOperationException ex) when (ex.Message.Contains("physicalization"))
{
    logger.LogError(ex, "Incompatible physicalization target {Target}", policy.Target);
    throw;
}

Prevention

Configure PhysicalizationTarget per persistence provider; do not share policy objects between relational and MongoDB setups.
Only ever set PhysicalizationTarget.DedicatedDocumentCollection when using the MongoDB provider.
Assert the target in startup configuration tests so misconfiguration fails fast.

When it happens

Trigger: Calling Plan with a StoragePhysicalizationPolicy whose Target is anything other than PhysicalizationTarget.DedicatedDocumentCollection (e.g. a shared-table or embedded strategy).

Common situations: Configuring the physicalization policy copied from a relational-provider setup; a shared policy object defaulting to a non-Mongo target; switching persistence providers without updating the target enum.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of elsa-workflows/elsa-core@fe9217bdfa (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a705d2efa451f6f9. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/modules/Elsa.Persistence.VNext.MongoDb/Physicalization/MongoDbPhysicalizationPlanner.cs:11

using Elsa.Persistence.VNext;
using Elsa.Persistence.VNext.Physicalization;

namespace Elsa.Persistence.VNext.MongoDb.Physicalization;

public class MongoDbPhysicalizationPlanner : IPhysicalizationPlanner
{
    public PhysicalizationPlan Plan(PersistenceSchema schema, StoragePhysicalizationPolicy policy)
    {
        if (policy.Target != PhysicalizationTarget.DedicatedDocumentCollection)
            throw new InvalidOperationException("MongoDB physicalization supports dedicated document collections only.");

        PhysicalizationPolicyValidator.GetStorageUnit(schema, policy);

        var collectionName = NormalizeName(policy.PhysicalName ?? policy.StorageUnit);
        var operations = new List<PhysicalizationOperation>
        {
            new("CreateCollection", $"Create dedicated MongoDB collection {collectionName} for {policy.StorageUnit}.")
        };

        foreach (var index in policy.Indexes)
        {
            var fields = string.Join(",", index.Fields.Select(field => $"Data.{field}:1"));
            var uniqueness = index.IsUnique ? "unique" : "non-unique";
            operations.Add(new(
                "CreateIndex",
                $"Create {uniqueness} MongoDB index {index.Name} on {collectionName} ({fields})."));
        }

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