hibernate/hibernate-orm · error · ParameterLabelException

Unlabeled ordinal parameter ('?' rather than ?1)

Error message

Unlabeled ordinal parameter ('?' rather than ?1)

What it means

Error "Unlabeled ordinal parameter ('?' rather than ?1)" thrown in hibernate/hibernate-orm.

Source

Thrown at hibernate-core/src/main/java/org/hibernate/query/hql/internal/SemanticQueryBuilder.java:4514

				new SqmNamedParameter<>(
						ctx.getChild( 1 ).getText(),
						parameterDeclarationContextStack.getCurrent().isMultiValuedBindingAllowed(),
						expressibleType,
						nodeBuilder()
				)
		);
	}

	@Override
	public SqmPositionalParameter<?> visitPositionalParameter(HqlParser.PositionalParameterContext ctx) {
		return visitPositionalParameter( ctx, null );
	}

	private <T> SqmPositionalParameter<T> visitPositionalParameter(
			HqlParser.PositionalParameterContext ctx,
			SqmBindableType<T> expressibleType) {
		if ( ctx.getChildCount() == 1 ) {
			throw new ParameterLabelException( "Unlabeled ordinal parameter ('?' rather than ?1)" );
		}
		parameterStyle = parameterStyle.withPositional();
		return resolveParameter(
				new SqmPositionalParameter<>(
						Integer.parseInt( ctx.getChild( 1 ).getText() ),
						parameterDeclarationContextStack.getCurrent().isMultiValuedBindingAllowed(),
						expressibleType,
						nodeBuilder()
				)
		);
	}

	private <T extends AbstractSqmParameter<?>> T resolveParameter(T parameter) {
		if ( parameters == null ) {
			parameters = new HashMap<>();
		}
		final Object key = parameter.getName() == null ? parameter.getPosition() : parameter.getName();
		final var existingParameter = parameters.putIfAbsent( key, parameter );

View on GitHub (pinned to fad1729dce)

Solutions

1. Ordinal parameters must be labelled starting from ?1; a bare '?' is not allowed here. Replace '?' with an explicitly numbered parameter such as ?1, or use a named parameter.

When it happens

Trigger: A bare '?' placeholder is used instead of a labelled ordinal parameter: Unlabeled ordinal parameter ('?' rather than ?1)

Common situations: HQL queries written with unlabelled '?' placeholders; Hibernate requires '?1', '?2', ... labels.

AI-assisted analysis of hibernate/hibernate-orm@fad1729dce (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7fd1d1a3884e2f00. Report an issue: GitHub.