hcengineering/platform · error · Error

Invalid package specifier: ${rawPackageSpecifier}

Error message

Invalid package specifier: ${rawPackageSpecifier}

What it means

_parsePackageSpecifier splits a raw specifier like 'name@version' into package name and version. If the name portion comes out empty — e.g. the specifier starts with '@' without a scoped name, or is empty — it throws this error naming the offending raw specifier.

Source

Thrown at foundations/core/common/scripts/install-run.js:366

function _parsePackageSpecifier(rawPackageSpecifier) {
    rawPackageSpecifier = (rawPackageSpecifier || '').trim();
    const separatorIndex = rawPackageSpecifier.lastIndexOf('@');
    let name;
    let version = undefined;
    if (separatorIndex === 0) {
        // The specifier starts with a scope and doesn't have a version specified
        name = rawPackageSpecifier;
    }
    else if (separatorIndex === -1) {
        // The specifier doesn't have a version
        name = rawPackageSpecifier;
    }
    else {
        name = rawPackageSpecifier.substring(0, separatorIndex);
        version = rawPackageSpecifier.substring(separatorIndex + 1);
    }
    if (!name) {
        throw new Error(`Invalid package specifier: ${rawPackageSpecifier}`);
    }
    return { name, version };
}
let _npmPath = undefined;
/**
 * Get the absolute path to the npm executable
 */
function getNpmPath() {
    if (!_npmPath) {
        try {
            if (_isWindows()) {
                // We're on Windows
                const whereOutput = child_process__WEBPACK_IMPORTED_MODULE_0__.execSync('where npm', { stdio: [] }).toString();
                const lines = whereOutput.split(os__WEBPACK_IMPORTED_MODULE_2__.EOL).filter((line) => !!line);
                // take the last result, we are looking for a .cmd command
                // see https://github.com/microsoft/rushstack/issues/759
                _npmPath = lines[lines.length - 1];
            }

View on GitHub (pinned to 63e28dc964)

Solutions

1. Pass a complete specifier: rush@5.100.1 or @microsoft/rush@5.100.1
2. Ensure the '@' separator is followed by an actual package name
3. Quote the argument in your shell so it isn't expanded or split

Example fix

// before
node install-run-rush.js @ build
// after
node install-run-rush.js @microsoft/rush@5.100.1 build

const spec = process.argv[2] ?? '';
if (!spec || !/^(@[a-z0-9-~][a-z0-9-._~]*\/)?[a-z0-9-~][a-z0-9-._~]*(@.+)?$/.test(spec)) throw new Error(`Malformed package specifier: ${spec}`);

try { parseSpecifier(raw); }
catch (e) { if (/Invalid package specifier/.test(e.message)) { console.error('Use <name> or <name>@<version>, e.g. rush@5.100.1'); } else throw e; }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling the script with a package specifier argument that is empty, or like '@' / '@@version' / '@/' such that parsing yields an empty name.

Common situations: Typo in the install-run-rush.js command line (dangling '@' with no package name); shell expansion swallowing the package name; copy-pasting a partial specifier.

Related errors

• Invalid package specifier: ${rawPackageSpecifier}
• Unable to determine the required version of Rush from ${RUSH
• Failed to parse response for part ${partNumber}
• Invalid endpoint reference
• Invalid storage config:${st}

AI-assisted analysis of hcengineering/platform@63e28dc964 (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9bd0b8b0499fbf46. Report an issue: GitHub.