gohugoio/hugo · error

must not provide more arguments than resource object and…

Error message

must not provide more arguments than resource object and options

What it means

Thrown by js.Babel (tpl/js/js.go:101) when more than two arguments are passed. Babel accepts at most a resource object and an options map, so len(args) > 2 is rejected before ResolveArgs is even called. This mirrors the signature constraints of other resource-transform functions but is checked explicitly here.

Solutions

1. Pass at most two args: the resource and (optionally) one options map.
2. Move all configuration into a single dict: {{ js.Babel $r (dict "sourceMap" "inline" "config" "babel.config.js") }}.
3. If you need a target path, include it in the options map, not as a separate positional arg.
4. Switch to js.Build if you actually wanted the esbuild-based string-first-arg form.

Example fix

// before
{{ js.Babel $r "app.js" (dict "sourceMap" "inline") }}

// after
{{ js.Babel $r (dict "targetPath" "app.js" "sourceMap" "inline") }}

// Babel takes resource + one optional options map; do not pass a third arg:
{{ $opts := dict "sourceMap" "inline" }}
{{ js.Babel $r $opts }}

// Go caller: enforce arg count before calling Babel:
func validBabelArgs(args []any) bool { return len(args) <= 2 }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling {{ js.Babel $r $opts $extra }}, or accidentally passing a targetPath string plus a resource plus an options map (three positional args), which is the js.Build pattern but not valid for Babel.

Common situations: Confusing js.Babel's signature with js.Build (which supports a targetPath string first-arg form); copy-pasting a js.Build invocation and only swapping the function name; passing extra positional args meant as options.

Related errors

• both count and seq must be provided
• cannot encode an empty string
• cannot index slice/array with nil
• complement needs at least two arguments
• error correction level must be one of low, medium…

AI-assisted analysis of gohugoio/hugo@52c9bd7908 (2026-08-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/19983ef69687735f. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at tpl/js/js.go:101

// Forward slashes in the ID is allowed.
func (ns *Namespace) Batch(id string) (js.Batcher, error) {
	if err := esbuild.ValidateBatchID(id, true); err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	b, err := ns.d.JSBatcherClient.Store().GetOrCreate(id, func() (js.Batcher, error) {
		return ns.d.JSBatcherClient.New(id)
	})
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}
	return b, nil
}

// Babel processes the given Resource with Babel.
func (ns *Namespace) Babel(args ...any) (resource.Resource, error) {
	if len(args) > 2 {
		return nil, errors.New("must not provide more arguments than resource object and options")
	}

	r, m, err := resourcehelpers.ResolveArgs(args)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}
	var options babel.Options
	if m != nil {
		options, err = babel.DecodeOptions(m)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, err
		}
	}

	return ns.babelClient.Process(r, options)
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 52c9bd7908)