pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleStepException

ScriptValuesMetaMod.Exception.FieldToReplaceNotFound

ScriptValuesMetaMod.Exception.FieldToReplaceNotFound

Error message

ScriptValuesMetaMod.Exception.FieldToReplaceNotFound

What it means

Thrown in Script.addValues when a field is marked for replacement but cannot be found in the incoming row's row metadata AND the configured fieldname is empty. The step indexes each replace-target field by looking it up in rowMeta; a negative index means the field does not exist on the input row. This first throw site fires specifically when meta.getFieldname()[i] is empty while replace is enabled.

Solutions

1. Open the Modified Java Script Value / Script step and fill in a non-empty Fieldname for every row where Replace is checked.
2. Uncheck the Replace option for result fields that are new (not replacing an existing input field).
3. Ensure an upstream step actually produces the field named in the Fieldname column (or the Rename column).
4. Re-edit and re-save the step metadata if it was migrated from an older version.

Example fix

// before (metadata): replace=true, fieldname=""
// after (metadata): either fieldname="myField" with replace=true,
// or replace=false for a newly created output field

// before running, for each script field row:
for (int i = 0; i < meta.getFieldname().length; i++) {
  if (meta.getReplace()[i] && Utils.isEmpty(meta.getFieldname()[i])) {
    throw new IllegalStateException("Replace checked but Fieldname empty at row " + i);
  }
}

try {
  step.processRow();
} catch (KettleStepException e) {
  if (e.getMessage().contains("FieldToReplaceNotFound")) {
    logError("Fix the script step fields grid: " + e.getMessage());
  } else { throw e; }
}

When it happens

Trigger: In addValues (called from processRow) for each i where meta.getReplace()[i] is true: rowMeta.indexOfValue(meta.getFieldname()[i]) returns < 0 and Utils.isEmpty(meta.getFieldname()[i]) is true — i.e. replace is checked for a field slot with no field name configured.

Common situations: A user enabled 'replace value' on a script result row but left the Fieldname column blank; step metadata edited/renamed upstream so the saved field mapping no longer matches the row layout; copying step config between transformations with different input fields.

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

• AutoDoc.Exception.FilenameFieldNotFound
• AutoDoc.Exception.FileTypeFieldNotFound
• DynamicSQLRow.Exception.FieldNotFound
• GetTableNames.Exception.CouldnotFindField
• HTTP.Exception.CouldnotFindField

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f483044721b493c4. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/script/Script.java:149

      // What is the output row looking like?
      //
      data.outputRowMeta = getInputRowMeta().clone();
      meta.getFields( getTransMeta().getBowl(), data.outputRowMeta, getStepname(), null, null, this, repository,
        metaStore );

      // Determine the indexes of the fields used!
      //
      determineUsedFields( rowMeta );

      // Get the indexes of the replaced fields...
      //
      data.replaceIndex = new int[ meta.getFieldname().length ];
      for ( int i = 0; i < meta.getFieldname().length; i++ ) {
        if ( meta.getReplace()[ i ] ) {
          data.replaceIndex[ i ] = rowMeta.indexOfValue( meta.getFieldname()[ i ] );
          if ( data.replaceIndex[ i ] < 0 ) {
            if ( Utils.isEmpty( meta.getFieldname()[ i ] ) ) {
              throw new KettleStepException( BaseMessages.getString(
                PKG, "ScriptValuesMetaMod.Exception.FieldToReplaceNotFound", meta.getFieldname()[ i ] ) );
            }
            data.replaceIndex[ i ] = rowMeta.indexOfValue( meta.getRename()[ i ] );
            if ( data.replaceIndex[ i ] < 0 ) {
              throw new KettleStepException( BaseMessages.getString(
                PKG, "ScriptValuesMetaMod.Exception.FieldToReplaceNotFound", meta.getRename()[ i ] ) );
            }
          }
        } else {
          data.replaceIndex[ i ] = -1;
        }
      }

      data.cx = ScriptMeta.createNewScriptEngine( getStepname() );
      data.scope = data.cx.getBindings( ScriptContext.ENGINE_SCOPE );

      bFirstRun = true;

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