octobercms/october · error · SystemException

Attribute name cannot be empty for

Error message

Attribute name cannot be empty for 

What it means

A filter of type ATTR_TYPE_DIMENSION_FIELD targets a specific field of a dimension, so the constructor requires a non-empty $attributeName carrying that field's code. Passing null or '' with a non-dimension type throws a SystemException.

Source

Thrown at modules/dashboard/classes/ReportDimensionFilter.php:52

     * @param ?string $attributeName Specifies the attribute name, e.g. a dimension field code.
     * Must not be null if the data attribute type is ATTR_TYPE_DIMENSION_FIELD.
     * Must be null if the data attribute type is ATTR_TYPE_DIMENSION.
     * @param bool $operation Specifies the filter operation.
     * One of the OPERATION_* constants.
     * @param string|array|int|float|bool $value Specifies the filter value.
     */
    public function __construct(string $dataAttributeType, ?string $attributeName, string $operation, string|array|int|float|bool $value)
    {
        $knownAttributeTypes = [
            self::ATTR_TYPE_DIMENSION,
            self::ATTR_TYPE_DIMENSION_FIELD
        ];
        if (!in_array($dataAttributeType, $knownAttributeTypes)) {
            throw new SystemException('Invalid data attribute type. Supported types: ' . implode(', ', $knownAttributeTypes));
        }

        if (!strlen($attributeName) && $dataAttributeType !== self::ATTR_TYPE_DIMENSION) {
            throw new SystemException('Attribute name cannot be empty for ' . $dataAttributeType . ' data attribute type.');
        }

        if (strlen($attributeName) && $dataAttributeType === self::ATTR_TYPE_DIMENSION) {
            throw new SystemException('Attribute name must be empty for ' . self::ATTR_TYPE_DIMENSION . ' data attribute type.');
        }

        if ($dataAttributeType === self::ATTR_TYPE_DIMENSION_FIELD) {
            ReportDimensionField::validateCode($attributeName);
        }

        $knownOperations = [
            self::OPERATION_EQUALS,
            self::OPERATION_MORE_OR_EQUALS,
            self::OPERATION_LESS_OR_EQUALS,
            self::OPERATION_MORE,
            self::OPERATION_LESS,
            self::OPERATION_STARTS_WITH,
            self::OPERATION_STRING_INCLUDES,

View on GitHub (pinned to b608633a7e)

Solutions

1. Supply the dimension field code as the attribute name, e.g. 'oc_field_status'
2. If the intent is to filter the dimension column itself, use ATTR_TYPE_DIMENSION with a null attribute name instead
3. Validate that the incoming payload contains a non-empty attribute before constructing the filter

Example fix

// before
$filter = new ReportDimensionFilter(
    ReportDimensionFilter::ATTR_TYPE_DIMENSION_FIELD,
    $payload['attribute'] ?? null,
    ReportDimensionFilter::OPERATION_EQUALS,
    'active'
);

// after
if (empty($payload['attribute'])) {
    throw new InvalidArgumentException('attribute is required for dimension_field filters');
}
$filter = new ReportDimensionFilter(
    ReportDimensionFilter::ATTR_TYPE_DIMENSION_FIELD,
    $payload['attribute'],
    ReportDimensionFilter::OPERATION_EQUALS,
    'active'
);

$attribute = $payload['attribute'] ?? null;
if ($type === ReportDimensionFilter::ATTR_TYPE_DIMENSION_FIELD && (!is_string($attribute) || $attribute === '')) {
    throw new InvalidArgumentException('attribute is required for dimension_field filters');
}

When it happens

Trigger: new ReportDimensionFilter(ReportDimensionFilter::ATTR_TYPE_DIMENSION_FIELD, null, ReportDimensionFilter::OPERATION_EQUALS, 'active') or with '' as the second argument.

Common situations: Building filters from request arrays where the attribute key is missing (null coalescing to null); copy-paste of a dimension-type filter without adding the field code; front-ends that omit the field selector when the user did not pick one.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Missing required field" and "field is required" errors: why libraries reject payloads that omit mandatory fields — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

• Invalid data attribute type. Supported types:
• Invalid filter operation. Supported types:
• Invalid configuration. All keys must be non-empty strings an
• The dimension field code cannot be empty.
• Display name cannot be empty.

AI-assisted analysis of octobercms/october@b608633a7e (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/148e216426d429ed. Report an issue: GitHub.