spectreconsole/spectre.console · error · CakeException

No NuGet API key was provided.

Error message

No NuGet API key was provided.

What it means

Thrown by the Cake 'Publish-NuGet' build task when the 'nuget-key' argument is missing or blank. The task reads Argument<string?>("nuget-key", null) and throws CakeException before attempting any push, so the build aborts deterministically rather than failing mid-publish.

Source

Thrown at build.cs:84

        Verbosity = DotNetVerbosity.Minimal,
        NoLogo = true,
        NoRestore = true,
        NoBuild = true,
        OutputDirectory = "./.artifacts",
        MSBuildSettings = new DotNetMSBuildSettings()
            .TreatAllWarningsAs(MSBuildTreatAllWarningsAs.Error)
    });
});

Task("Publish-NuGet")
    .WithCriteria(ctx => BuildSystem.IsRunningOnGitHubActions, "Not running on GitHub Actions")
    .IsDependentOn("Package")
    .Does(ctx =>
{
    var apiKey = Argument<string?>("nuget-key", null);
    if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(apiKey))
    {
        throw new CakeException("No NuGet API key was provided.");
    }

    foreach (var file in ctx.GetFiles("./.artifacts/*.nupkg"))
    {
        ctx.Information("Publishing {0}...", file.GetFilename().FullPath);
        DotNetNuGetPush(file.FullPath, new DotNetNuGetPushSettings
        {
            Source = "https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json",
            ApiKey = apiKey,
        });
    }
});

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// Targets

Task("Publish")
    .IsDependentOn("Publish-NuGet");

View on GitHub (pinned to 0acc92fada)

Solutions

1. Pass the key explicitly: `dotnet cake --target=Publish-NuGet --nuget-key=YOUR_KEY`
2. In GitHub Actions, expose the secret as a step env/argument, e.g. `--nuget-key=${{ secrets.NUGET_API_KEY }}`, and verify the secret name matches
3. If you do not intend to publish, run a different target (e.g. Package) instead of Publish-NuGet
4. Add a CI guard that fails fast with a clearer message when the secret is unset

Example fix

// before
var apiKey = Argument<string?>("nuget-key", null);
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(apiKey))
{
    throw new CakeException("No NuGet API key was provided.");
}

// after (helpful guidance in the message)
var apiKey = Argument<string?>("nuget-key", null);
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(apiKey))
{
    throw new CakeException(
        "No NuGet API key was provided. Pass --nuget-key=VALUE or set the NUGET_API_KEY secret in CI.");
}

// In the build script or a pre-check step, fail with guidance before the task runs:
var apiKey = Argument<string?>("nuget-key", null);
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(apiKey))
{
    Information("Set --nuget-key=VALUE or the NUGET_API_KEY secret to publish.");
    return; // or skip the Publish-NuGet target via criteria

When it happens

Trigger: Invoking the Publish-NuGet target (directly or via its dependents) without passing --nuget-key=VALUE on the command line and without the NUGET_KEY/nuget-key variable set in the CI environment. The task is also gated by WithCriteria(IsRunningOnGitHubActions), so it only runs inside GitHub Actions.

Common situations: Running `dotnet cake --target=Publish-NuGet` locally without credentials; a GitHub Actions workflow that forgot to map a secret into the `nuget-key` argument; the secret name was renamed so the variable resolves empty.

Related errors

• Failed to read colors.json at {file.Path}
• Failed to read emoji.json at {file.Path}
• Failed to read spinners_default.json at {file.Path}
• Failed to read spinners_sindresorhus.json at {file.Path}

AI-assisted analysis of spectreconsole/spectre.console@0acc92fada (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2531c690f9bac206. Report an issue: GitHub.