SigNoz/signoz · error

aggregate attribute is required

Error message

aggregate attribute is required

What it means

When the aggregate operator requires an attribute (e.g. rate, histogram, percentile ops on logs/traces) but AggregateAttribute is the zero AttributeKey, validation fails.

Source

Thrown at pkg/query-service/model/v3/v3.go:1058

			// } else {
			// 	// the time aggregation is not needed for percentile operators
			// 	if !IsPercentileOperator(b.SpaceAggregation) {
			// 		if err := b.TimeAggregation.Validate(); err != nil {
			// 			return fmt.Errorf("time aggregation is invalid: %w", err)
			// 		}
			// 	}

			// 	if err := b.SpaceAggregation.Validate(); err != nil {
			// 		return fmt.Errorf("space aggregation is invalid: %w", err)
			// 	}
			// }
		} else {
			if err := b.AggregateOperator.Validate(); err != nil {
				return fmt.Errorf("aggregate operator is invalid: %w", err)
			}
		}
		if b.AggregateAttribute == (AttributeKey{}) && b.AggregateOperator.RequireAttribute(b.DataSource) {
			return fmt.Errorf("aggregate attribute is required")
		}
	}

	if b.Filters != nil {
		if err := b.Filters.Validate(); err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("filters are invalid: %w", err)
		}
	}
	if b.GroupBy != nil {
		// if len(b.GroupBy) > 0 && panelType == PanelTypeList {
		// 	return fmt.Errorf("group by is not supported for list panel type")
		// }

		if panelType == PanelTypeValue && len(b.GroupBy) > 0 {
			if err := b.SecondaryAggregation.Validate(); err != nil {
				return fmt.Errorf("series aggregation is required for value type panel with group by: %w", err)
			}
		}

View on GitHub (pinned to 5069bf80b0)

Solutions

1. Set aggregateAttribute with at least key and type/dataType
2. Or switch to an operator that doesn't require an attribute (noop/count)

Example fix

// before
{"aggregateOperator":"rate"}
// after
{"aggregateOperator":"rate","aggregateAttribute":{"key":"durationNano","type":"tag","dataType":"float64"}}

if q.AggregateOperator.RequireAttribute(q.DataSource) && q.AggregateAttribute == (v3.AttributeKey{}) {
	return errors.New("aggregateAttribute required")
}

func hasAggregateAttribute(q v3.BuilderQuery) bool { return q.AggregateAttribute != v3.AttributeKey{} }

When it happens

Trigger: A logs/traces builder query using an operator that needs an attribute (per RequireAttribute) with no aggregateAttribute set.

Common situations: Copying a metrics query shape to logs without specifying which attribute to aggregate over.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Missing required field" and "field is required" errors: why libraries reject payloads that omit mandatory fields — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

• query name is required
• expression is required
• CodeInvalidInput
• ErrCodeIncorrectPassword
• CodeTooManyRequests

AI-assisted analysis of SigNoz/signoz@5069bf80b0 (2026-08-28). Data as JSON: /api/errors/007acbf26dc42967. Report an issue: GitHub.