apache/maven · error · IllegalArgumentException

missing function requires exactly one argument

Error message

missing function requires exactly one argument

What it means

missing() is a built-in function of Maven 4.1 profile activation conditions (<activation><condition>). ConditionFunctions.missing throws IllegalArgumentException unless exactly one string argument (a path, globs allowed) is given; the activator records 'Error parsing profile activation condition' and the profile stays inactive.

Source

Thrown at impl/maven-impl/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/impl/model/profile/ConditionFunctions.java:219

        if (args.size() != 1) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("exists function requires exactly one argument");
        }
        String path = ConditionParser.toString(args.get(0));
        return context.exists(path, true);
    }

    /**
     * Checks if a file or directory is missing at the given path.
     *
     * @param args A list containing a single string argument representing the path
     * @return {@code true} if the file or directory does not exist, {@code false} otherwise
     * @throws IllegalArgumentException if the number of arguments is not exactly one
     * @throws ModelBuilderException if a problem occurs while walking the file system
     * @throws InterpolatorException if an error occurs during interpolation
     */
    public Object missing(List<Object> args) {
        if (args.size() != 1) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("missing function requires exactly one argument");
        }
        String path = ConditionParser.toString(args.get(0));
        return !context.exists(path, true);
    }

    /**
     * Checks if a version is within a specified version range.
     *
     * @param args A list containing two strings: the version to check and the version range
     * @return true if the version is within the range, false otherwise
     * @throws IllegalArgumentException if the number of arguments is not exactly two
     */
    public Object inrange(List<Object> args) {
        if (args.size() != 2) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("inrange function requires exactly two arguments");
        }
        String version = ConditionParser.toString(args.get(0));
        String range = ConditionParser.toString(args.get(1));

View on GitHub (pinned to e4093d4e12)

Solutions

1. Use exactly one argument: missing('marker.file')
2. For several paths, combine: missing('a') or missing('b')
3. Prefer the single-purpose form: if you need 'file exists', use exists() instead of not(missing(...)) chaining

Example fix

<!-- before -->
<condition>missing('marker.file', 'other.file')</condition>

<!-- after -->
<condition>missing('marker.file') or missing('other.file')</condition>

static boolean arityOk(String condition, String fn, int min, int max) {
    int i = condition.indexOf(fn + "(");
    if (i < 0) return true;
    String args = condition.substring(i + fn.length() + 1, condition.indexOf(')', i));
    int n = args.isBlank() ? 0 : args.split(",", -1).length;
    return n >= min && n <= max;
}
boolean ok = arityOk(condition, "missing", 1, 1);

try {
    Object r = new ConditionParser(functions, resolver).parse(condition);
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
    // report and treat the profile as inactive
}

When it happens

Trigger: A condition like missing() with no path or missing('a', 'b') with two — the valid form is missing('marker.file'), the negation of exists().

Common situations: Leaving an empty argument list while scaffolding the condition; listing several files instead of combining with 'or'; copy-paste from exists() where an extra flag argument was already wrong.

Related errors

• exists function requires exactly one argument
• length function requires exactly one argument
• upper function requires exactly one argument
• lower function requires exactly one argument
• substring function requires 2 or 3 arguments

AI-assisted analysis of apache/maven@e4093d4e12 (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/467953120340f04d. Report an issue: GitHub.