SigNoz/signoz · error

timeShiftBy param missing in query

Error message

timeShiftBy param missing in query

What it means

Returned when validating a BuildQuery that applies the timeShift function but its Args slice is empty. The validator requires at least one argument so it can verify/normalize the shift amount.

Source

Thrown at pkg/query-service/model/v3/v3.go:1116

	for _, selectColumn := range b.SelectColumns {
		if err := selectColumn.Validate(); err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("select column is invalid %w", err)
		}
	}

	if b.Expression == "" {
		return fmt.Errorf("expression is required")
	}

	if len(b.Functions) > 0 {
		for _, function := range b.Functions {
			if err := function.Name.Validate(); err != nil {
				return fmt.Errorf("function name is invalid: %w", err)
			}
			if function.Name == FunctionNameTimeShift {
				if len(function.Args) == 0 {
					return fmt.Errorf("timeShiftBy param missing in query")
				}
				_, ok := function.Args[0].(float64)
				if !ok {
					// if string, attempt to convert to float
					timeShiftBy, err := strconv.ParseFloat(function.Args[0].(string), 64)
					if err != nil {
						return fmt.Errorf("timeShiftBy param should be a number")
					}
					function.Args[0] = timeShiftBy
				}
			} else if function.Name == FunctionNameEWMA3 ||
				function.Name == FunctionNameEWMA5 ||
				function.Name == FunctionNameEWMA7 {
				if len(function.Args) == 0 {
					return fmt.Errorf("alpha param missing in query")
				}
				alpha, ok := function.Args[0].(float64)
				if !ok {

View on GitHub (pinned to 5069bf80b0)

Solutions

1. Add at least one numeric arg representing the shift in seconds, e.g. "args":[3600]
2. If args come from a variable, ensure the variable resolves to a non-empty numeric value before sending the query

Example fix

// before
{"name":"timeShift"}
// after
{"name":"timeShift","args":[3600]}

for _, f := range qb.Functions {
  if f.Name == v3.FunctionNameTimeShift && len(f.Args) == 0 {
    return errors.New("timeShift requires a shift argument")
  }
}

func hasTimeShiftArg(f v3.Function) bool { return f.Name != v3.FunctionNameTimeShift || len(f.Args) > 0 }

When it happens

Trigger: A query with function Name == FunctionNameTimeShift and len(function.Args) == 0, e.g. JSON with "functions":[{"name":"timeShift"}] and no args array.

Common situations: Frontend bug that drops empty args, manual API calls to /api/v3/query_builder that omit args, or templates that conditionally include args and produce none.

Related errors

• error building clickhouse query: %v
• invalid expression %s: %v
• live tail is only supported for single query
• invalid data type for resource attribute: %s
• unsupported operation, exists and not exists can only be app

AI-assisted analysis of SigNoz/signoz@5069bf80b0 (2026-08-28). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4e88ef4b58129733. Report an issue: GitHub.