pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · ParseException

The default value " + defaultValue + " should be of format…

Error message

The default value " + defaultValue + " should be of format : " + ValueMetaBase.DEFAULT_DATE_PARSE_MASK

What it means

ParseException re-thrown by PentahoAvroOutputFormat.getDateTypeForDefaultValue when the default value string cannot be parsed using ValueMetaBase.DEFAULT_DATE_PARSE_MASK (yyyy/MM/dd HH:mm:ss). The method converts a date string to epoch days for DATE-typed Avro fields.

Solutions

Set the default value to a string matching ValueMetaBase.DEFAULT_DATE_PARSE_MASK (e.g. '2024/12/31 00:00:00')
Normalize user-supplied dates with a permissive parser first, then format into the expected mask
Check for trailing whitespace or locale characters in the stored default value
Remove the default if the field does not need one
Note the inner exception's error offset to find exactly where the string stopped parsing

Example fix

// before
field.setDefault( "2024-12-31" );
// after
field.setDefault( "2024/12/31 00:00:00" ); // matches DEFAULT_DATE_PARSE_MASK

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

String MASK = org.pentaho.di.compatibility.ValueMetaBase.DEFAULT_DATE_PARSE_MASK;
new java.text.SimpleDateFormat( MASK ).parse( defaultValue ); // throws ParseException if not in mask

Type guard

boolean isValidDateDefault( String v ) { try { new java.text.SimpleDateFormat( "yyyy/MM/dd HH:mm:ss" ).parse( v ); return true; } catch ( ParseException e ) { return false; } }

Try / catch

try { int epochDay = getDateTypeForDefaultValue( defaultValue ); }
catch ( ParseException pe ) { throw new IllegalArgumentException( "Use format yyyy/MM/dd HH:mm:ss for date defaults: " + defaultValue ); }

Prevention

Always enter date defaults as yyyy/MM/dd HH:mm:ss, including the 00:00:00 time part
Avoid ISO-8601 style ('2024-12-31' or with 'T'/'Z') in default fields
Trim whitespace from values before saving the step config
Document the required mask in your transformation templates

When it happens

Trigger: mapDefaultValuesToDataTypes dispatches a DATE field to getDateTypeForDefaultValue and dateFormat.parse(defaultValue) fails — the string is not in the expected date parse mask, or is empty/garbage.

Common situations: Entering a date like '12/31/2024' or '2024-12-31' when the mask expects 'yyyy/MM/dd HH:mm:ss'; leaving the default blank; regional date-order assumptions (dd/MM vs MM/dd); hand-editing transformation XML with an unparseable default.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3689896aaf0445b8. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at plugins/avro-format/core/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/avro/output/PentahoAvroOutputFormat.java:319

   * @see org.pentaho.di.trans.steps.avro.AvroToPdiConverter #convertToPentahoType(int, String, IAvroInputField)
   * </P>
   *
   * <p>
   * @param defaultValue The default value provided.
   * @return The integer value of converted default value to Date.
   */
  private int getDateTypeForDefaultValue( String defaultValue ) throws ParseException {
    Date defaultDate;
    DateFormat dateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat( ValueMetaBase.DEFAULT_DATE_PARSE_MASK );

    try {
      defaultDate = dateFormat.parse( defaultValue );
      LocalDate localDate = defaultDate.toInstant()
              .atZone( ZoneId.systemDefault() )
              .toLocalDate();
      return (int) localDate.toEpochDay();
    } catch ( ParseException pe ) {
      throw new ParseException( "The default value " + defaultValue + " should be of format : " + ValueMetaBase.DEFAULT_DATE_PARSE_MASK, pe.getErrorOffset() );
    }

  }

  /**
   * Converts the default value to TimeStamp(in Milliseconds).
   *
   * <P>
   *  ValueMetaBase.DEFAULT_TIMESTAMP_PARSE_MASK is the default timestamp parser used for
   *  Avro To PDI and vice-versa conversions.
   * @see PentahoAvroRecordWriter#createAvroRecord
   * </P>
   *
   * <p>
   * @param defaultValue The default value provided.
   * @return The long value of converted default value to Date and Time.
   */
  private long getTimeStampTypeForDefaultValue( String defaultValue ) throws ParseException {

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