microsoft/aspire · error · InvalidOperationException

. needs to be set when a custom Execution Strategy is…

Error message

{nameof(NpgsqlEntityFrameworkCorePostgreSQLSettings)}.{nameof(NpgsqlEntityFrameworkCorePostgreSQLSettings.DisableRetry)} needs to be set when a custom Execution Strategy is configured.

What it means

EnrichNpgsqlDbContext detects a custom ExecutionStrategy registered on the DbContextOptions and throws because automatic retry cannot be combined with a custom strategy — the developer must explicitly set DisableRetry to acknowledge retrying is disabled.

Solutions

Set DisableRetry = true in NpgsqlEntityFrameworkCorePostgreSQLSettings (builder.EnrichNpgsqlDbContext<TContext>(settings => settings.DisableRetry = true))
Remove the custom execution strategy so EF Core uses the default NpgsqlExecutionStrategy and let Aspire manage retries
Register the custom strategy only when explicitly disabling Aspire retry

Example fix

// before
builder.EnrichNpgsqlDbContext<MyDbContext>(); // DbContext uses custom execution strategy
// after
builder.EnrichNpgsqlDbContext<MyDbContext>(settings => settings.DisableRetry = true);

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

bool hasCustomStrategy = myDbContextOptions.ExecutionStrategy is not null &&
    myDbContextOptions.ExecutionStrategy.GetType() != typeof(NpgsqlExecutionStrategy);
if (hasCustomStrategy)
    aspireSettings.DisableRetry = true; // set before EnrichNpgsqlDbContext

Try / catch

try
{
    builder.EnrichNpgsqlDbContext<MyDbContext>();
}
catch (InvalidOperationException ex) when (ex.Message.Contains("DisableRetry"))
{
    logger.LogError(ex, "Custom execution strategy conflicts with Aspire retry settings.");
    throw;
}

Prevention

Decide up front whether Aspire or the DbContext owns retry policy
Set DisableRetry whenever the DbContext configures its own execution strategy
Avoid subclassing NpgsqlExecutionStrategy when using Aspire enrichment

When it happens

Trigger: Calling EnrichNpgsqlDbContext on a DbContext whose options already have an execution strategy whose exact type is not NpgsqlExecutionStrategy (e.g. from UseNpgsql with EnableRetryOnFailure customization or a custom ExecutionStrategy impl), while NpgsqlEntityFrameworkCorePostgreSQLSettings.DisableRetry is false/not set.

Common situations: Migrating an existing DbContext that configured its own retrying strategy into Aspire's enrichment pipeline; subclassing NpgsqlExecutionStrategy for custom logic; mixing UseNpgsql(...) options with Aspire enrichment.

Understand the failure class

Background: Conflicting config options: "cannot be used together" — configuration validation errors across open-source libraries — this error's family across 162 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of microsoft/aspire@25830f84bd (2026-09-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/79b3fb09769c6f53. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/Components/Aspire.Npgsql.EntityFrameworkCore.PostgreSQL/AspireEFPostgreSqlExtensions.cs:161

                        var extension = optionsBuilder.Options.FindExtension<NpgsqlOptionsExtension>();

                        if (!settings.DisableRetry)
                        {
                            var executionStrategy = extension?.ExecutionStrategyFactory?.Invoke(new ExecutionStrategyDependencies(null!, optionsBuilder.Options, null!));

                            if (executionStrategy != null)
                            {
                                if (executionStrategy is NpgsqlRetryingExecutionStrategy)
                                {
                                    // Keep custom Retry strategy.
                                    // Any sub-class of NpgsqlRetryingExecutionStrategy is a valid retry strategy
                                    // which shouldn't be replaced even with DisableRetry == false
                                }
                                else if (executionStrategy.GetType() != typeof(NpgsqlExecutionStrategy))
                                {
                                    // Check NpgsqlExecutionStrategy specifically (no 'is'), any sub-class is treated as a custom strategy.

                                    throw new InvalidOperationException($"{nameof(NpgsqlEntityFrameworkCorePostgreSQLSettings)}.{nameof(NpgsqlEntityFrameworkCorePostgreSQLSettings.DisableRetry)} needs to be set when a custom Execution Strategy is configured.");
                                }
                                else
                                {
                                    options.EnableRetryOnFailure();
                                }
                            }
                            else
                            {
                                options.EnableRetryOnFailure();
                            }
                        }

                        if (settings.CommandTimeout.HasValue)
                        {
                            if (extension != null &&
                                extension.CommandTimeout.HasValue &&
                                extension.CommandTimeout != settings.CommandTimeout)
                            {

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