ruby/rubygems · error · ArgumentError

override target must be :all or a gem name string, got #{tar

Error message

override target must be :all or a gem name string, got #{target.inspect}

What it means

Error "override target must be :all or a gem name string, got #{target.inspect}" thrown in ruby/rubygems.

Source

Thrown at lib/bundler/dsl.rb:290

      add_dependency(name, version, options)
    end

    def method_missing(name, *args)
      raise GemfileError, "Undefined local variable or method `#{name}' for Gemfile"
    end

    def check_primary_source_safety
      check_path_source_safety
      check_rubygems_source_safety
    end

    private

    def validate_override_target!(target)
      return if target == :all
      return if target.is_a?(String)
      raise ArgumentError, "override target must be :all or a gem name string, got #{target.inspect}"
    end

    def validate_override_field!(field)
      return if SUPPORTED_OVERRIDE_FIELDS.include?(field)
      supported = SUPPORTED_OVERRIDE_FIELDS.map {|f| "`#{f}:`" }.join(", ")
      raise ArgumentError, "unsupported override field `#{field}:`; supported fields: #{supported}"
    end

    def validate_override_operation!(operation)
      case operation
      when String
        Gem::Requirement.new(operation)
      when nil
        # ok
      when Symbol
        return if SUPPORTED_OVERRIDE_SYMBOL_OPERATIONS.include?(operation)
        raise ArgumentError, "unsupported override operation: #{operation.inspect}"
      else

View on GitHub (pinned to 86cbb817a3)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at lib/bundler/dsl.rb:290 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of ruby/rubygems@86cbb817a3 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/67fe5af52fe74f33. Report an issue: GitHub.