hyperledger/fabric · error

invalid collection name '%s'. Names can only consist of alph

Error message

invalid collection name '%s'. Names can only consist of alphanumerics, '_', and '-' and cannot begin with '_'

What it means

Returned by validateCollectionConfigs when a static collection's Name fails collectionNameRegExp — wrong characters or a leading underscore. It is the entry-level name check applied to every collection in the package before duplicate/peer-count checks run.

Source

Thrown at core/chaincode/lifecycle/scc.go:805

			collConfigs[i] = collConfig
		default:
			// this should only occur if a developer has added a new
			// collection config type
			return nil, errors.Errorf("collection config contains unexpected payload type: %T", t)
		}
	}
	return collConfigs, nil
}

func validateCollectionConfigs(collConfigs []*pb.StaticCollectionConfig, mspMgr msp.MSPManager) error {
	if len(collConfigs) == 0 {
		return nil
	}
	collNamesMap := map[string]struct{}{}
	// Process each collection config from a set of collection configs
	for _, c := range collConfigs {
		if !collectionNameRegExp.MatchString(c.Name) {
			return errors.Errorf("invalid collection name '%s'. Names can only consist of alphanumerics, '_', and '-' and cannot begin with '_'",
				c.Name)
		}
		// Ensure that there are no duplicate collection names
		if _, ok := collNamesMap[c.Name]; ok {
			return errors.Errorf("collection-name: %s -- found duplicate in collection configuration",
				c.Name)
		}
		collNamesMap[c.Name] = struct{}{}
		// Validate gossip related parameters present in the collection config
		if c.MaximumPeerCount < c.RequiredPeerCount {
			return errors.Errorf("collection-name: %s -- maximum peer count (%d) cannot be less than the required peer count (%d)",
				c.Name, c.MaximumPeerCount, c.RequiredPeerCount)
		}
		if c.RequiredPeerCount < 0 {
			return errors.Errorf("collection-name: %s -- requiredPeerCount (%d) cannot be less than zero",
				c.Name, c.RequiredPeerCount)
		}
		if err := validateCollectionConfigMemberOrgsPolicy(c, mspMgr); err != nil {

View on GitHub (pinned to 2736b63f8f)

Solutions

1. Rename the collection to match [A-Za-z0-9-]+ (no leading underscore)
2. Fix the collections config JSON used at approve/commit time

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at core/chaincode/lifecycle/scc.go:805 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of hyperledger/fabric@2736b63f8f (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cef71927df1f5a93. Report an issue: GitHub.