What causes "Missing required parameter: {}" in NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra?

Supply the missing positional argument the message names.

NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra · error · IllegalArgumentException

Missing required parameter: {}

Error message

Missing required parameter: {}

What it means

Thrown by checkRequiredParam when the params array is shorter than the required positional index. Each subcommand mandates a minimum number of positional arguments (e.g. a host/repository path), and this fires before the option loop when a slot is absent.

Source

Thrown at Ghidra/Features/BSim/src/main/java/ghidra/features/bsim/query/BSimControlLaunchable.java:357

					forceShutdown = true;
					break;
				default:
					throw new AssertionError("Missing option handling: " + option);
			}
		}

		if (sawNoLocalAuth) {	// Turn off authentication for local connections
			authConfigPresent = true;
			localAuthentication = AUTHENTICATION_NONE;
		}
		if (connectingUserName == null) {
			connectingUserName = ClientUtil.getUserName();
		}
	}

	private void checkRequiredParam(String[] params, int index, String name) {
		if (params.length <= index) {
			throw new IllegalArgumentException("Missing required parameter: " + name);
		}
		String p = params[index];
		if (p.startsWith("--")) {
			throw new IllegalArgumentException(
				"Missing required parameter (" + name + ") before specified option: " + p);
		}
	}

	private int parsePositiveIntegerOption(String option, String optionValue) {
		try {
			int value = Integer.valueOf(optionValue);
			if (value < 0) {
				throw new IllegalArgumentException("Negative value not permitted for " + option);
			}
			return value;
		}
		catch (NumberFormatException e) {
			throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid integer value specified for " + option);

View on GitHub (pinned to d5f144c24d)

Solutions

Supply the missing positional argument the message names.
Check the subcommand's usage via --help for the required positionals.
Verify your script/alias passes the full argument list.

Example fix

// before
bsim control configure --port 5432
// after
bsim control configure myhost --port 5432

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Ensure enough positional arguments exist before launching.
int required = requiredPositionalsFor(command);
if (positionalArgs.size() < required) {
    System.err.println("Command " + command + " requires " + required + " positional argument(s).");
    printUsage(command);
    return;
}

Try / catch

try {
    launchable.checkRequiredParam(params, index, name);
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
    if (e.getMessage().startsWith("Missing required parameter:")) {
        printUsage(command);
    }
    throw e;
}

Prevention

Track each subcommand's required positional count and validate before dispatch.
Print usage whenever a required positional is missing.
In scripts, assert the argument count before invoking.

When it happens

Trigger: Calling a subcommand with fewer positional arguments than required, so `params.length <= index` at line 357.

Common situations: Forgetting a required positional (e.g. omitting the host), assuming it is optional, or a script dropping an argument.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra@d5f144c24d (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e222d9ad5f3c04d6. Report an issue: GitHub.