pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error

The function call dateAdd requires 3 arguments.

Error message

The function call dateAdd requires 3 arguments.

What it means

dateAdd is a Kettle Rhino extension function that adds an amount of a given unit (y, M, d, h, m, s) to a date. It requires exactly 3 arguments: date, unit string, and integer amount. Any other argument count throws this RuntimeError.

Solutions

1. Call with three arguments: dateAdd(myDate, 'd', 1)
2. Make sure the amount is a number, not a string, to avoid the exception path inside the try block
3. Check that all three values are defined before the call

Example fix

// before
var later = dateAdd(now, 'd');
// after
var later = dateAdd(now, 'd', 1);

if (arguments.length !== 3) throw new Error('dateAdd(date, unit, amount) requires 3 arguments');
if (typeof amount !== 'number') amount = parseInt(amount, 10);

try { var nd = dateAdd(d, unit, n); } catch (e) { throw new Error('dateAdd misuse: ' + e.message); }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling dateAdd with 2 arguments (missing the amount) or 4+ arguments; passing the unit and amount in the wrong order still passes the count check but the runtime error appears when the count differs.

Common situations: Scripts ported from other JS date libraries with different signatures (e.g. moment-style dateAdd(d, {days:1})); the increment value stored in a field that is null/undefined so the developer removed it.

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

• The function call dateDiff requires 3 arguments.
• The function call getNextWorkingDay requires 1 argument.
• The function call fillString requires 2 arguments.
• The function call fireToDB requires 2 arguments.
• The function call getDayNumber requires 2 arguments.

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cca0518d1a829124. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/scriptvalues_mod/ScriptValuesAddedFunctions.java:711

            cal.add( Calendar.DATE, 1 );
            int day = cal.get( Calendar.DAY_OF_WEEK );
            if ( ( day != Calendar.SATURDAY ) && ( day != Calendar.SUNDAY ) ) {
              iOffset++;
            }
          }
        } else if ( strType.equals( "hh" ) ) {
          cal.add( Calendar.HOUR, iValue );
        } else if ( strType.equals( "mi" ) ) {
          cal.add( Calendar.MINUTE, iValue );
        } else if ( strType.equals( "ss" ) ) {
          cal.add( Calendar.SECOND, iValue );
        }
        return cal.getTime();
      } catch ( Exception e ) {
        throw Context.reportRuntimeError( e.toString() );
      }
    } else {
      throw Context.reportRuntimeError( "The function call dateAdd requires 3 arguments." );
    }
  }

  public static String fillString( Context actualContext, Scriptable actualObject, Object[] ArgList,
    Function FunctionContext ) {
    if ( ArgList.length == 2 ) {
      try {
        if ( isNull( ArgList, new int[] { 0, 1 } ) ) {
          return null;
        } else if ( isUndefined( ArgList, new int[] { 0, 1 } ) ) {
          return (String) Context.getUndefinedValue();
        }
        String fillChar = Context.toString( ArgList[0] );
        int count = (int) Context.toNumber( ArgList[1] );
        if ( fillChar.length() != 1 ) {
          throw Context.reportRuntimeError( "Please provide a valid Char to the fillString" );
        } else {
          char[] chars = new char[count];

View on GitHub (pinned to f3058517a1)