Exception calling "Start" with "1" argument(s): "The specified executable is not a valid application for this OS platform." with all ef core commands

Question

When I run one of the ef core commands, I encounter the following error:

Exception calling "Start" with "1" argument(s): "The specified executable is not a valid application for this OS platform." At line:1 char:1

For example:

PM> Update-Database -Context ContentServiceCommandDbContext Build started... Build succeeded. Update-Database : Exception calling "Start" with "1" argument(s): "The specified executable is not a valid application for this OS platform." At line:1 char:1

• Update-Database -Context ContentServiceCommandDbContext

•     + CategoryInfo          : NotSpecified: (:) [Update-Database], MethodInvocationException
      + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Win32Exception,Update-Database
  

or

PM> Add-Migration ChangeSomething -Context ContentServiceCommandDbContext Build started... Build succeeded. Add-Migration : Exception calling "Start" with "1" argument(s): "The specified executable is not a valid application for this OS platform." At line:1 char:1

• Add-Migration ChangeSomething -Context ContentServiceCommandDbContext

•     + CategoryInfo          : NotSpecified: (:) [Add-Migration], MethodInvocationException
      + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Win32Exception,Add-Migration
  

and so on ...

There is a problem and it has nothing to do with version 8 or 9 of EF Core.

As you can see in the image, there is also the dotnet environment variable.

Answer 1

what is the target platform of the build? and does it match the environment you are running the migrate from.

Answer 2

Hi,@Arman Espiar. Welcome to Microsoft Q&A. 

Judging from the current situation, this seems to be related to your environment. You could try the following methods. Method 1 Configure environment variables correctly: In Visual Studio 2022, open Terminal (View->Terminal) and run the dotnet --version command. If the .Net version could be successfully output, the environment variable configuration is successful. Of course, you could also delete the dotnet file in C:\Program Files, then re-download dotnet and install it. By default, it will automatically configure the dotnet operating environment for you.

Reinstall Entity Framework Core related packages: Find Entity Framework Core related packages in C:\Users\{UserName}\.nuget\packages, delete them, and re-download them through Nuget

Method 2 Execute Code First commands in .Net Core CLI Run commands in Terminal(View->Terminal)

dotnet ef migrations add ChangeSomething

dotnet ef database update

Related Documents: Migrations Overview - EF Core | Microsoft Learn

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