What causes "context.setGlobal() requires a name argument" in karatelabs/karate?

Pass a non-null string name first: context.setGlobal('key', value).

karatelabs/karate · error · RuntimeException

context.setGlobal() requires a name argument

Error message

context.setGlobal() requires a name argument

What it means

context.setGlobal(name, value) stores a variable in the server-global (cross-request) scope and rejects calls without a non-null name argument with this RuntimeException. The name is required because globals are keyed by it.

Solutions

Pass a non-null string name first: context.setGlobal('key', value).
Check argument order — name must be args[0]; value second (optional).
Guard the name variable before the call.
If the value is what's missing, note value is optional (defaults to null); only the name is required.

Example fix

// before
context.setGlobal(userName); // name undefined/null
// after
context.setGlobal('currentUser', userName);

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// JS in markup
if (typeof name !== 'string' || !name) throw new Error('setGlobal requires a name');

Prevention

Pass name first, value second: setGlobal('key', value)
Use string-literal keys where possible
Guard variables that supply the key
Document global keys used across handlers

When it happens

Trigger: Calling context.setGlobal() with no arguments or with null as the first argument in server markup JavaScript — commonly when the variable holding the name is undefined or when arguments are passed in the wrong order.

Common situations: Sharing state across requests in Karate mock servers (the testContextGlobalIsolatedAcrossRequests scenario exercises this); refactoring handlers where the name/value pair got swapped or dropped.

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 karatelabs/karate@a22eb90246 (2026-09-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/453240c7b624aee9. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at karate-core/src/main/java/io/karatelabs/http/ServerMarkupContext.java:373

                return null;
            };
            case "uuid" -> (JavaInvokable) args -> uuid();
            case "init" -> (JavaInvokable) args -> {
                init();
                return session;  // Return session so scripts can do: session = context.init()
            };
            case "close" -> (JavaInvokable) args -> {
                close();
                return null;
            };
            case "switch" -> (JavaInvokable) args -> {
                if (args.length == 0) throw new RuntimeException("switch() requires a template argument");
                switchTemplate(args[0].toString());
                return null;
            };
            case "setGlobal" -> (JavaInvokable) args -> {
                if (args.length == 0 || args[0] == null) {
                    throw new RuntimeException("context.setGlobal() requires a name argument");
                }
                String name = args[0].toString();
                Object value = args.length > 1 ? args[1] : null;
                setGlobal(name, value);
                return null;
            };
            case "getGlobal" -> (JavaInvokable) args -> {
                if (args.length == 0 || args[0] == null) {
                    throw new RuntimeException("context.getGlobal() requires a name argument");
                }
                String name = args[0].toString();
                Object defaultValue = args.length > 1 ? args[1] : null;
                return getGlobal(name, defaultValue);
            };

            // Properties
            case "ajax" -> isAjax();
            case "sessionId" -> session != null ? session.getId() : null;

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