memstechtips/Winhance · error · JsonException

Unexpected token type {reader.TokenType} when reading string

Error message

Unexpected token type {reader.TokenType} when reading string array.

What it means

JsonException from StringOrStringArrayConverter.Read when the JSON token at the property position is neither null, a string, nor the start of an array. The converter exists to accept either a single string or a string[] for AppxPackageName backward-compat; anything else (a number, boolean, object, or raw value) is rejected as malformed.

Source

Thrown at src/Winhance.Core/Features/Common/Converters/StringOrStringArrayConverter.cs:42

        if (reader.TokenType == JsonTokenType.StartArray)
        {
            var list = new List<string>();
            while (reader.Read())
            {
                if (reader.TokenType == JsonTokenType.EndArray)
                    break;

                if (reader.TokenType == JsonTokenType.String)
                {
                    var item = reader.GetString();
                    if (item != null)
                        list.Add(item);
                }
            }
            return list.ToArray();
        }

        throw new JsonException($"Unexpected token type {reader.TokenType} when reading string array.");
    }

    public override void Write(Utf8JsonWriter writer, string[]? value, JsonSerializerOptions options)
    {
        if (value == null)
        {
            writer.WriteNullValue();
            return;
        }

        writer.WriteStartArray();
        foreach (var item in value)
        {
            writer.WriteStringValue(item);
        }
        writer.WriteEndArray();
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to f23d554eb2)

Solutions

1. Open the config JSON and find the property the converter is reading; ensure its value is a string, null, or array of strings.
2. Quote numeric package names: change `"AppxPackageName": 12345` to `"AppxPackageName": "12345"`.
3. Re-export the config from a known-good Winhance install to regenerate a schema-valid file.
4. Tolerate the malformed input by coercion in the converter (see exampleFix) only if backward-compat is required.

Example fix

// before: only null/string/array accepted; numbers/bools/object throw
throw new JsonException($"Unexpected token type {reader.TokenType} when reading string array.");

// after: coerce numbers/bools to their string form for resilience, still reject objects
if (reader.TokenType == JsonTokenType.Number || reader.TokenType == JsonTokenType.True || reader.TokenType == JsonTokenType.False)
    return new[] { reader.GetRawText() };
throw new JsonException($"Unexpected token type {reader.TokenType} when reading string array.");

// Before deserializing, schema-check that AppxPackageName is string/array/null.
using var doc = JsonDocument.Parse(jsonText);
if (doc.RootElement.TryGetProperty("AppxPackageName", out var el))
    if (el.ValueKind is not (JsonValueKind.String or JsonValueKind.Array or JsonValueKind.Null))
        return; // reject the file before deserialization

catch (System.Text.Json.JsonException ex) when (ex.Message.Contains("Unexpected token type"))
{
    // Report the path/line from ex; tell the user which property has the wrong JSON value kind.
}

When it happens

Trigger: Deserializing a config/settings JSON where a property typed as string[] (with the converter attached) holds a non-string scalar — e.g. `"AppxPackageName": 123`, `"AppxPackageName": true`, or `"AppxPackageName": {"Name":"..."}`. The reader is positioned at that token and none of the null/string/startarray branches match.

Common situations: A config file exported by a different/older Winhance version serialized the field as a number or object. A user hand-edited the JSON and put a non-string. A schema migration left a stale value type. A numeric-only package name was serialized without quotes by a broken exporter.

Understand the failure class

• Parsing and encoding errors: unexpected token, malformed input — why parsers reject input and how to find the real culprit.

Related errors

• Configuration file is invalid or corrupted.

AI-assisted analysis of memstechtips/Winhance@f23d554eb2 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e60272006f7b7f04. Report an issue: GitHub.