pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · RuntimeException

The function call date2str requires 1, 2, 3, or 4 arguments.

Error message

The function call date2str requires 1, 2, 3, or 4 arguments.

What it means

Thrown by date2str() when it is called with more than 4 arguments; the function's switch only handles signatures with 1 to 4 arguments (date, [format], [locale], [timezone]) and the default branch rejects anything else.

Solutions

1. Remove extra arguments; use at most 4: date, format, locale, timezone.
2. If you need custom behavior beyond the 4 supported parameters, format in two steps or use a User Defined Java Expression / UDF.

Example fix

// before
date2str(d, 'yyyy-MM-dd', 'en', 'UTC', 'extra')
// after
date2str(d, 'yyyy-MM-dd', 'en', 'UTC')

function safeDate2str() {
  var args = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments);
  if (args.length > 4) args = args.slice(0, 4);
  if (args.length < 1) throw new Error('date2str needs a date');
  return date2str.apply(null, args);
}

try { return date2str(d, fmt, loc, tz); }
catch (e) { if (/requires 1, 2, 3, or 4/.test(e.message)) return date2str(d); throw e; }

When it happens

Trigger: Invoking date2str with 5+ arguments in a Script step, e.g. date2str(d, fmt, loc, tz, extra).

Common situations: Copy-pasted JavaScript from another environment (native JS Date formatting habits), or mistakenly appending extra parameters expecting them to be ignored like in some JS engines.

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

• Please provide a valid date to the function call date2str.
• The function call lower requires 1 argument.
• The function call num2str requires at least 1 argument.
• The function call upper requires 1 argument.
• Could not convert to local format.

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/69e197aa436a6ff8. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/script/ScriptAddedFunctions.java:1177

          // If the timezone is not recognized, java will automatically
          // take GMT.
          TimeZone tz = TimeZone.getTimeZone( sArg4 );

          if ( sArg3.length() == 2 ) {
            Locale dfLocale = EnvUtil.createLocale( sArg3.toLowerCase() );
            dfFormatter = new SimpleDateFormat( sArg2, dfLocale );
            dfFormatter.setTimeZone( tz );
            oRC = dfFormatter.format( dArg1 );
          } else {
            throw new RuntimeException( "Locale is not 2 characters long." );
          }
        } catch ( Exception e ) {
          throw new RuntimeException( "Could not convert to the given local format." );
        }
        break;
      default:
        throw new RuntimeException( "The function call date2str requires 1, 2, 3, or 4 arguments." );
    }
    return oRC;
  }

  public static Object isRegExp( ScriptEngine actualContext, Bindings actualObject, Object[] ArgList,
    Object FunctionContext ) {

    if ( ArgList.length >= 2 ) {
      if ( isNull( ArgList, new int[] { 0, 1 } ) ) {
        return null;
      } else if ( isUndefined( ArgList, new int[] { 0, 1 } ) ) {
        return undefinedValue;
      }
      String strToMatch = (String) ArgList[0];
      for ( int i = 1; i < ArgList.length; i++ ) {
        Pattern p = Pattern.compile( (String) ArgList[i] );
        Matcher m = p.matcher( strToMatch );
        if ( m.matches() ) {

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