SonarSource/sonarqube · error · IllegalArgumentException

New code definition type is required when new code…

Error message

New code definition type is required when new code definition value is provided

What it means

The New Code Definition requires both a type and, for most types, a value. NewCodeDefinitionResolver.checkNewCodeDefinitionParam enforces that a value is never submitted without a type, throwing this IllegalArgumentException when newCodeDefinitionType is null but newCodeDefinitionValue is present.

Solutions

Provide newCodeDefinitionType (e.g. NUMBER_OF_DAYS, PREVIOUS_VERSION, REFERENCE, SPECIFIC_ANALYSIS) together with the value.
Remove the value entirely if no type change is intended.

Example fix

// before
checkNewCodeDefinitionParam(null, "30")

// after
checkNewCodeDefinitionParam("NUMBER_OF_DAYS", "30")

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// before submit
if (value != null && (type == null || type.isBlank())) {
  throw new IllegalArgumentException("Type required when value provided");
}

Try / catch

try { NewCodeDefinitionResolver.checkNewCodeDefinitionParam(type, value); } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) { promptForType(); }

Prevention

Send type and value together in API calls.
Make the type field mandatory in forms whenever a value is filled.

When it happens

Trigger: Calling the resolver/API with newCodeDefinitionValue set (e.g. '30' or a branch name) while omitting newCodeDefinitionType.

Common situations: Scripts that update only the value assuming the type is remembered; partially filled web forms; API clients that serialize empty type strings as null.

Understand the failure class

Background: "missing required argument" and "the following required arguments were not provided": what required-argument errors mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of SonarSource/sonarqube@184c821202 (2026-09-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0f1f81e131ebfdf5. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at server/sonar-webserver-common/src/main/java/org/sonar/server/common/newcodeperiod/NewCodeDefinitionResolver.java:113

    dto.setProjectUuid(projectUuid);

    if (isCommunityEdition) {
      dto.setBranchUuid(mainBranchUuid);
    }

    getNewCodeDefinitionValueProjectCreation(newCodePeriodType, newCodeDefinitionValue, defaultBranchName).ifPresent(dto::setValue);

    if (!CaycUtils.isNewCodePeriodCompliant(dto.getType(), dto.getValue())) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException("Failed to set the New Code Definition. The given value is not compatible with the Clean as You Code methodology. "
        + "Please refer to the documentation for compliant options.");
    }

    return dto;
  }

  public static void checkNewCodeDefinitionParam(@Nullable String newCodeDefinitionType, @Nullable String newCodeDefinitionValue) {
    if (newCodeDefinitionType == null && newCodeDefinitionValue != null) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException("New code definition type is required when new code definition value is provided");
    }
  }

  private static Optional<String> getNewCodeDefinitionValueProjectCreation(NewCodePeriodType type, @Nullable String value, String defaultBranchName) {
    return switch (type) {
      case PREVIOUS_VERSION -> {
        Preconditions.checkArgument(value == null, UNEXPECTED_VALUE_ERROR_MESSAGE, type);
        yield Optional.empty();
      }
      case NUMBER_OF_DAYS -> {
        requireValue(type, value);
        yield Optional.of(parseDays(value));
      }
      case REFERENCE_BRANCH -> {
        Preconditions.checkArgument(value == null, UNEXPECTED_VALUE_ERROR_MESSAGE, type);
        yield Optional.of(defaultBranchName);
      }
      default -> throw new IllegalStateException("Unexpected type: " + type);

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