stride3d/stride · error · InvalidOperationException

Could not load package

Error message

Could not load package {packageInfo.Name}:{Environment.NewLine}{logger.ToText()}

What it means

The same Load method as above does find the package file but Package.Load logs errors into a LoggerResult; if logger.HasErrors the package exists yet failed to load, and the full logger text is embedded in the InvalidOperationException. This surfaces deserialization, dependency, or assembly-reference problems with the template package.

Solutions

1. Read the embedded logger output to see the specific load error (missing dependency, deserialize failure, etc.).
2. Delete the cached package from the NuGet global-packages folder and let it re-download.
3. Restore a consistent set of Stride package versions (clear all stride.* of mismatched versions and restore).
4. Reinstall/repair Stride if the corruption persists.

Example fix

// clear corrupt cache entry and restore
rm -rf ~/.nuget/packages/stride.assets.presentation
dotnet restore MyGame.csproj

var cachePath = Path.Combine(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.UserProfile),
    ".nuget", "packages", "stride.assets.presentation", StrideVersion.NuGetVersion);
if (!Directory.Exists(cachePath) || !Directory.EnumerateFileSystemEntries(cachePath).Any())
    throw new InvalidOperationException("Cached package missing or empty — restore it.");

try
{
    StrideDefaultTemplates.Load(session, logger);
}
catch (InvalidOperationException ex) when (ex.Message.StartsWith("Could not load package"))
{
    logger.Error($"Package load failed; clear the NuGet cache entry and restore: {ex.Message}");
}

When it happens

Trigger: Package.Load on Stride.Assets.Presentation or Stride.SpriteStudio.Offline logs errors — corrupt package cache entry, incompatible package version, missing dependency assemblies, or broken package metadata.

Common situations: Interrupted download leaving a partial/corrupt package in the NuGet cache; package version restored from a different feed with mismatched dependencies; disk/permission problems while reading the cache.

Understand the failure class

Background: "not installed", "pip install", "required for": how missing-dependency errors surface across open-source libraries — this error's family across 34 libraries.

Related errors

• Could not find package
• Asset returned by CreateAssets has no location. Use…
• Could not find installation path for package
• Could not locate native library
• Could not restore (needed to regenerate shader code). Check…

AI-assisted analysis of stride3d/stride@96fad776d2 (2026-09-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/28914f9808725b30. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at sources/engine/Stride.Assets/Templates/StrideDefaultTemplates.cs:39

    /// Loads default templates. Pass <paramref name="loadAssemblyReferences"/>=false in headless
    /// test runners so the .sdpkg's referenced assemblies (Stride.Particles etc.) don't get loaded
    /// from .nuget cache — a later sample regen loads them from the sample's bin/ via a different
    /// path, producing duplicate Assembly objects and a DataContract alias conflict at runtime.
    /// </summary>
    public static void Load(bool loadAssemblyReferences = true)
    {
        // Only TemplateFolders are needed here (loaded regardless of this flag); skip the package's
        // assets — they're unused for template registration and slow to load.
        var loadParams = new PackageLoadParameters { LoadAssemblyReferences = loadAssemblyReferences, AutoLoadTemporaryAssets = false };
        foreach (var packageInfo in new[] { new { Name = "Stride.Assets.Presentation", Version = StrideVersion.NuGetVersion }, new { Name = "Stride.SpriteStudio.Offline", Version = StrideVersion.NuGetVersion } })
        {
            var logger = new LoggerResult();
            var packageFile = PackageStore.Instance.GetPackageFileName(packageInfo.Name, new PackageVersionRange(new PackageVersion(packageInfo.Version)));
            if (packageFile is null)
                throw new InvalidOperationException($"Could not find package {packageInfo.Name} {packageInfo.Version}. Ensure packages have been resolved.");
            var package = Package.Load(logger, packageFile.ToOSPath(), loadParams);
            if (logger.HasErrors)
                throw new InvalidOperationException($"Could not load package {packageInfo.Name}:{Environment.NewLine}{logger.ToText()}");

            TemplateManager.RegisterPackage(package);
        }

        DotNetNewTemplateBridge.RegisterProjectTemplates();
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 96fad776d2)