MSB4216 diagnostic code

This article describes the MSB4216 error code.

Message text

MSB4216: Could not run the 'taskname' task because MSBuild could not create or connect to a task host with runtime 'runtime' and architecture 'architecture'. Please ensure that (1) the requested runtime and/or architecture are available on the machine, and (2) that the required executable 'value' exists and can be run.

Remarks

Some tasks must run out of the MSBuild process. For example, the task assembly might not match the bitness (32-bit or 64-bit) of the MSBuild process. For such tasks, a process called the task host is launched to run the task. However, there are some limitations. For example, the command dotnet build can't launch a .NET Framework process as a task host. Whenever MSBuild can't create a task host, this error occurs.

The issue could be caused by a mismatch in tools. If the task is a system task, try repairing the installation or reinstalling the tools or SDK. For Visual Studio installations, see Repair Visual Studio. If you don't have Visual Studio installed, reinstall MSBuild, or if you're using dotnet build, reinstall the .NET SDK.

Check the UsingTask element for the task named in the error message for any typos or incorrect paths. See Configure targets and tasks.

If the task is a custom task, you might need to locate a different binary of the same task that matches your MSBuild or .NET SDK installation. If you have source code for the custom task and you're building it yourself, check the build configuration and make sure you're building the correct type of binary (32-bit or 64-bit), and the architecture is correct for the build environment.

Applies to

All versions of MSBuild