microsoft/aspire · error · InvalidOperationException

Unable to read Chromium profile metadata from

Error message

Unable to read Chromium profile metadata from '{0}' while resolving browser profile '{1}'.

What it means

When parsing Chromium's 'Local State' metadata file to resolve a profile, an IOException while reading the file is wrapped in this InvalidOperationException (with localStatePath and profile interpolated). The library treats an unreadable metadata file as a resolution failure rather than silently ignoring the profile.

Solutions

Close all running Chromium/Chrome instances so the Local State file is not locked, then retry.
Retry after a short delay if the file was transiently locked (AV scan, sync tool).
Verify the user data directory is a complete, healthy Chrome profile copy.
Catch this exception and fall back to specifying the profile by directory name without metadata lookup.

Example fix

// before
var dir = resolver.ResolveProfileDirectory(userData, "Work");
// after
try
{
    var dir = resolver.ResolveProfileDirectory(userData, "Work");
}
catch (InvalidOperationException) when (chromeIsRunning)
{
    // prompt user to close Chrome and retry
}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: retry

Validate before calling

// Ensure no Chromium processes hold the metadata file
var chromeRunning = Process.GetProcessesByName("chrome").Length > 0;
if (chromeRunning) { /* prompt to close or use a copy */ }

Try / catch

try
{
    var dir = resolver.ResolveProfileDirectory(userData, profile);
}
catch (InvalidOperationException ex) when (ex.InnerException is IOException)
{
    await Task.Delay(500);
    // retry once, else fall back to directory-name resolution
}

Prevention

Close running Chromium instances before resolving profiles.
Exclude the profile directory from AV/backup locks during resolution.
Work on a complete copy of the profile rather than the live one.

When it happens

Trigger: ResolveProfileDirectory attempts to read <userDataDirectory>/Local State and the underlying file read throws IOException — e.g., disk error, file locked by a running browser, or the path is a directory.

Common situations: Chrome is running and holds the Local State file with conflicting locks; the profile directory was partially copied/synced; antivirus or backup software temporarily locks the file; disk/network drive issues.

Understand the failure class

Background: "failed to read file", EACCES, ENOENT and "could not read <path>" errors: when a program can't read a file from disk — this error's family across 49 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of microsoft/aspire@25830f84bd (2026-09-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9cb393cfb78e6aa2. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/Aspire.Hosting.Browsers/ChromiumBrowserResolver.cs:94

        //       "Profile 1": { "name": "Work", "shortcut_name": "Work" }
        //     }
        //   }
        // }
        var localStatePath = Path.Combine(userDataDirectory, "Local State");
        if (File.Exists(localStatePath))
        {
            try
            {
                using var localStateStream = File.OpenRead(localStatePath);
                using var localStateDocument = JsonDocument.Parse(localStateStream);
                if (TryResolveProfileDirectory(localStateDocument.RootElement, userDataDirectory, profile) is { } profileDirectory)
                {
                    return profileDirectory;
                }
            }
            catch (IOException ex)
            {
                throw new InvalidOperationException(
                    string.Format(CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, BrowserMessageStrings.BrowserLogsUnableToReadProfileMetadata, localStatePath, profile),
                    ex);
            }
            catch (UnauthorizedAccessException ex)
            {
                throw new InvalidOperationException(
                    string.Format(CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, BrowserMessageStrings.BrowserLogsUnableToReadProfileMetadata, localStatePath, profile),
                    ex);
            }
            catch (JsonException ex)
            {
                throw new InvalidOperationException(
                    string.Format(CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, BrowserMessageStrings.BrowserLogsInvalidProfileMetadata, localStatePath, profile),
                    ex);
            }
        }

        throw new InvalidOperationException(

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