Key not valid for use in specified state.

[Git-North]

Checklist

• I confirm there are no unresolved issues reported on the Chocolatey Status page.
• I have verified this is the correct repository for opening this issue.
• I have verified no other issues exist related to my problem.
• I have verified this is not an issue for a specific package.
• I have verified this issue is not security related.
• I confirm I am using official, and not unofficial, or modified, Chocolatey products.

What You Are Seeing?

most commands give the following error:
Key not valid for use in specified state.

What is Expected?

For the command to run like normal
For example when run choco list: I get the following output:

Chocolatey v2.3.0
Key not valid for use in specified state.

Instead of it listing the program list.

How Did You Get This To Happen?

I Cannot recall any action I have made recently that would cause this.

System Details

• Operating System: Win 11
• Windows PowerShell version: 7.4.5
• Chocolatey CLI Version: Chocolatey v2.3.0
• Chocolatey Licensed Extension version:
• Chocolatey License type: Open Source
• Terminal/Emulator: Microsoft-Windows-Terminal / Conhost.exe

Installed Packages

Unable to run command. the output is:

Chocolatey v2.3.0
Key not valid for use in specified state.

Output Log

https://gist.github.com/Git-North/a2726d51475f267e15bab8d716781169

Additional Context

I have refreshed my crypto folder under %appdata% as google recommended however no luck with that too

@gep13 added...

See the comment here on a decision that was reached on how to proceed with this problem.

[Git-North]

#2354 an deferred issue related to this issue

[gep13]

@Git-North are you using, or have you used, any authenticated Chocolatey repository, where you were required to enter username/password, or certificate/password information? Or are you just using the default Chocolatey Community Repository? Or perhaps, you have had to set proxy information, in order to use Chocolatey CLI?

The reason that I ask is that this error seems to be related to an attempt to decrypt a value that is stored in the chocolatey.config file, so I am curious as to what might have happened to get this file into a state where it can't be read correctly.

[Git-North]

I've never used anything other then the default repository and was never asked to authenticate to anything, and never did.

Regarding the proxy, I never used any chocolatey specific proxy. Only system wide and it is currently disabled

[Git-North]

Regarding the proxy, I never used any chocolatey specific proxy. Only system wide and it is currently disabled

I don't know if any package could have done this though. If it can I'm unaware

[gep13]

Okay, thank you for the information. Part of the reason that I wanted to ask that, is due to the fact that it would be good to see the contents/format of the chocolatey.config file. However, this file can contain sensitive information, and not something that should be routinely shared with anyone.

If you were willing, if would be good to get a copy of the chocolatey.config file, and also the backup file, if it exists, from the C:\ProgramData\Chocolatey\config folder.

Seeing this file, and attempting to use it locally might help understand what is going on.

[Git-North]

https://gist.github.com/Git-North/fa8866821bca0f763866ac2bc3e5d777

[gep13]

@Git-North please accept my apologies, I misread the stacktrace for the problem that you are having here.

The problem is not with the chocolatey.config file, but rather with one of the .arguments files that was created when Chocolatey CLI installed one of the packages that you have on your machine.

Can I get you to try something? Can you navigate into the C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib folder, and then take the name of the first folder that you can see, and then run the following command:

choco info <folder name> --local-only

Assuming that this command runs as expected, you should hopefully see something like this, listed at the bottom of the output:

If that works, it means that the .arguments file associated with the package that you selected isn't causing a problem. It could be that you don't see this output, and that is fine, it just means that there isn't a .arguments file associated with that package. If that happens, can you keep going through the list of folders until you do see something in the output?

How many packages do you have installed with Chocolatey? In other words, how many folders do you have in the C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib folder? Again, assuming that the above command worked, you could try running the same command for each package, and eventually, I would expect that there should be an exception, with the same error message as before, thrown. This would help narrow down which .arguments file is causing a problem, and from there, we might be able to figure out what is going on. The fix, at least in the interim, could be as simple as to delete the .arguments file associated with the package.

[gep13]

@Git-North said...
most commands give the following error:

Can you also please confirm which commands you are seeing being impacted by this?

[gep13]

After some internal discussion, the decision has been made that any attempt to decrypt an .arguments file, shouldn't result in an exception being thrown, unless it is critical to the execution of the command being ran.

For example, if/when running choco list or choco info, an exception should not be thrown if the .arguments file can't be decrypted. Instead, a warning should be shown (indicating the location of the file that can't be decrypted), and the remainder of the command execution should continue.

However, if running the choco upgrade command, when the UseRememberedArgumentsForUpgrades feature is enabled, an exception should be thrown if the .arguments file can't be decrypted. The reason being that the content of that file is a _requirement` for executing the command, and since it can't be decrypted, the command can't be completed in its entirety. Again, in the output, the location of the specific file that can't be decrypted should be shown.

The commands that are affected by this problem are pin, install, upgrade, list, export, outdated, and uninstall. In addition, there can be problems when attempting to use alternative sources when in this state as well.

[Git-North]

pin, install, upgrade, list, export cause the same error. tried all of the commands listed when user types help except uninstall.

[Git-North]

after running choco info adb --local-only it says:

Processing directory: adb

a few times and then starts saying

Processing directory: adb
Maximum setlocal recursion level reached.

again and again and then at the very bottom it says

Processing directory: anaconda3
Processing directory: adb
Processing directory: adb

after that the terminal closes
anaconda3 is the folder after adb

[gep13]

@Git-North that seems very strange to me! (I will need to look into that specific issue, as I don't know if that is related).

Can you try the command I gave you with some other packages that you have installed? Do they have the same results?

[gep13]

@Git-North said...
after running choco info adb --local-only it says:

Would it be possible for you to show a screenshot of this happening? So far, I am not able to replicate this happening.

Can you also confirm what terminal you are using? Are you using Command Prompt? PowerShell? Something else?

Also, in a PowerShell session, can you run the following, and provide the output here?

&where.exe choco

[Git-North]

Can you also confirm what terminal you are using? Are you using Command Prompt? PowerShell? Something else?

I use pwsh 7 and when I don't I use cmd with clink

My main terminal is "microsoft-windows-terminal --pre" but I also get these outputs when I use the default conhost and some automated VBS scripts.

I'll provide the other information later today.

[Git-North]

where.exe choco
C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\bin\choco.exe

[Git-North]

Interesting update: trying the info command results in:

Key not valid for use in specified state.

error which used to run fine. cant thing of anything that would change this behaviour

[gep13]

@Git-North said...
where.exe choco
C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\bin\choco.exe

Thank you for confirming. This rules out another problem that I thought could be at play.

@Git-North said...
I use pwsh 7 and when I don't I use cmd with clink

Thank you again for confirming.

@Git-North said...
Interesting update: trying the info command results in:

I think I am getting lost in exactly what is, and what isn't working for you. Initially, you said you were seeing the:

Key not valid for use in specified state.

when running choco list, and then when I asked you to try running choco info <packageName> --local-only you mentioned that you were seeing a different error message (which I was hoping to see a screenshot of).

Can you confirm if you are now seeing the same:

Key not valid for use in specified state.

error when running a single choco info <packageName> command? If so, this would suggest, based on the code paths that are involved, that there is something corrupt in the .arguments file for that package.

If you can confirm the above is the case, we can move forward with trying to figure out what could be wrong with the .arguments file.

[Git-North]

Yes I was infact seeing a different error message. However when I later tried the same command above I got the Key not valid for use in specified state. error again

[Git-North]

I've run the following batch file I wrote for this occasion

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion

REM Set the path to the Chocolatey library folder
set "libPath=C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib"

REM Set the path to the output log file
set "logPath=%cd%\logs.txt"

REM Clear the log file if it exists
echo. > "%logPath%"

REM Loop through each folder in the library path
for /d %%F in ("%libPath%\*") do (
    set "folderName=%%~nxF"
    echo Processing !folderName!...
    echo. >> "%logPath%"
    echo Folder: !folderName! >> "%logPath%"
    choco info !folderName! --local-only >> "%logPath%"
)

echo Done. All information has been logged to %logPath%.

and got the following output
(https://gist.github.com/Git-North/61b1bce429d137eeeab12bf61c2b085c)

[Git-North]

For the record, this batch file runs choco info <folderName> --local-only for every folder.

[tfonias74]

Hi, did you find a solution? I have the same problem.
List does not work. Re-install asks me to delete the whole folder and retry, upgrade gives the "Key not valid for use in specified state" error again.

[pauby]

@tfonias74 follow the instructions above to findout which package is causing the issue.

[tfonias74]

Thanks.
I can see error in various folders and especially some like chocolatey-compatibility.extension. Can this be fixed or does it require clean install?

[pauby]

You may be able to run choco install <PACKAGE> --force to install it again. Remember to add any additional arguments you may have used when installing the package originally.

If that does not work you will need to uninstall and install the package again.

[jbuedel]

I am running into this same error. Key not valid for use in specified state. I am running choco v2.3.0.

It happens when I try to install, upgrade, or remove any package, including when I use the --force parameter.

Per the above instructions, I have tried running choco info <name> --local-only against the name of each folder in C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib. Some, but not all, give the Key not valid... error. Others give expected output. Regardless of the outcome of this test for a given package, I still get Key not valid.. when installing, upgrading, or deleting that package.

I am unclear how to proceed. Should I be manually removing my entire c:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib directory and then reinstalling choco and all those packages? Or only manually remove the ones that failed the choco info ... test?

If it helps, here is a list of my folders in chocolatey\lib. They have an asterisk if they failed the choco info ... test.

ams-eclipse-agent
ams-eclipse-server
chocolatey
*chocolatey-core.extension
*chocolatey-dotnetfx.extension
*chocolatey-windowsupdate.extension
dotnet
dotnet-6.0-aspnetruntime
dotnet-6.0-runtime
dotnet-6.0-sdk
dotnet-6.0-sdk-3xx
dotnet-aspnetruntime
dotnet-runtime
*dotnetfx
*KB2919355
*KB2919442
*KB2999226
*KB3033929
*KB3035131
*KB3063858
ravendb
tailblazer
vcredist140
*vcredist2017
vfpoledb

Lastly, I believe choco itself was upgraded on this machine today. Unfortunately I can't tell you what version it was at originally, but likely was 2-3 years old.

[jbuedel]

We ended up solving it. We deleted the .arguments file for every package that failed the choco info ... test (described above).

[Git-North]

I made this batch script for finding faulty .argument files and deleting them

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion

REM Set the directory of the script
set "scriptDir=%~dp0"

REM Set the path to the Chocolatey library folder
set "libPath=C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib"

REM Set the path to the Chocolatey .chocolatey folder
set "chocoRoot=C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\.chocolatey"

REM Set the path to the output log file in the script's directory
set "logPath=%scriptDir%logs.txt"

REM Set the path to the error log file in the script's directory
set "errorLogPath=%scriptDir%error_logs.txt"

REM Clear the log files if they exist
echo. > "%logPath%"
echo. > "%errorLogPath%"

REM Loop through each folder in the library path
for /d %%F in ("%libPath%\*") do (
    set "folderName=%%~nxF"
    echo Processing !folderName!...
    echo. >> "%logPath%"
    echo Folder: !folderName! >> "%logPath%"
    
    REM Get the output of the choco info command
    choco info !folderName! --local-only > "%scriptDir%temp_output.txt" 2>&1

    REM Log the entire output
    type "%scriptDir%temp_output.txt" >> "%logPath%"

    REM Check for the specific error message in the output file
    findstr /c:"Key not valid for use in specified state." "%scriptDir%temp_output.txt" >nul
    if !errorlevel! equ 0 (
        echo !folderName! >> "%errorLogPath%"
        echo Error: "Key not valid for use in specified state." found for !folderName!

        REM Delete the .arguments file for the package
        if exist "%chocoRoot%\!folderName!\.arguments" (
            del "%chocoRoot%\!folderName!\.arguments"
            echo Deleted .arguments file for !folderName! >> "%logPath%"
        ) else (
            echo .arguments file not found for !folderName! >> "%logPath%"
        )
    )

    REM Delete the temporary output file
    del "%scriptDir%temp_output.txt"
)

echo Done. All information has been logged to %logPath%.
echo Packages with the error have been logged to %errorLogPath%.