dbt-labs/dbt-core · error · InvalidOperation

local_md5 requires exactly 1 argument

Error message

local_md5 requires exactly 1 argument

What it means

`local_md5` computes the MD5 hash of a string locally (no warehouse round-trip) and requires exactly one positional argument. Calls with zero or with two-plus arguments are rejected with this error to keep parity with dbt-core's single-argument signature.

Solutions

1. Pass exactly one string argument
2. Concatenate multiple fields first: `local_md5(field1 ~ field2)`
3. Check the call site signature matches the macro/function definition

Example fix

// before
{% set h = local_md5(col1, col2) %}
// after
{% set h = local_md5(col1 ~ col2) %}

{% if fields | length != 1 %}{{ log('local_md5 takes exactly 1 arg') }}{% endif %}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling `{{ local_md5() }}` or `{{ local_md5(a, b) }}` — any argument count other than 1.

Common situations: Building hash keys from multiple fields and forgetting to concatenate them first, or a macro parameter list drifting out of sync with the call site.

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

• diff_of_two_dicts requires exactly 2 arguments
• has_var requires 1 argument
• local_md5's argument must be a string
• print accepts only one argument
• print requires at least one argument (a message to print)

AI-assisted analysis of dbt-labs/dbt-core@0267ce9170 (2026-09-07). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c4a18c53141f6ee5. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at crates/dbt-jinja-utils/src/functions/base.rs:1035

        Ok(Value::from(""))
    }
}

/// Calculate an MD5 hash of the given string.
///
/// Args:
///     value: String to hash
///
/// Example:
/// ```jinja
/// {% set hash = local_md5("hello") %}
/// -- Returns "5d41402abc4b2a76b9719d911017c592"
/// ```
pub fn local_md5_fn() -> impl Fn(&[Value], Kwargs) -> Result<Value, Error> {
    move |args: &[Value], _kwargs: Kwargs| -> Result<Value, Error> {
        if args.len() != 1 {
            return Err(Error::new(
                ErrorKind::InvalidOperation,
                "local_md5 requires exactly 1 argument",
            ));
        }

        let value = args[0].as_str().ok_or_else(|| {
            Error::new(
                ErrorKind::InvalidOperation,
                "local_md5's argument must be a string",
            )
        })?;
        // Create MD5 hasher
        let result = format!("{:x}", md5::compute(value.as_bytes()));
        Ok(Value::from(result))
    }
}

/// Parse a dictionary of lists into a BTreeMap<String, Vec<String>>

View on GitHub (pinned to 0267ce9170)