pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · RuntimeException

The function call dateAdd requires 3 arguments.

Error message

The function call dateAdd requires 3 arguments.

What it means

dateAdd requires exactly three arguments: the date, the integer amount to add, and the unit string. When ArgList.length != 3 the function short-circuits and throws this RuntimeException before doing any work. It is an argument-count guard, thrown from the else branch of the argument check.

Solutions

1. Call with exactly three positional arguments: dateAdd(date, amount, unit).
2. Add the missing amount or unit argument.
3. Split extra data into separate script variables instead of additional arguments.

Example fix

// before
var newDate = dateAdd(orderDate, 'dd');
// after
var newDate = dateAdd(orderDate, 7, 'dd');

if (arguments.length !== 3) {
  throw new Error('dateAdd requires exactly 3 arguments: (date, amount, unit)');
}
var newDate = dateAdd(dateField, amount, unit);

function hasThreeArgs() { return arguments.length === 3; }

try {
  var newDate = dateAdd(dateField, amount, unit);
} catch (e) {
  if (String(e.message).indexOf('requires 3 arguments') !== -1) {
    throw new Error('Call dateAdd as dateAdd(date, amount, unit)');
  } else { throw e; }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling dateAdd() with fewer than three arguments or more than three, e.g. dateAdd(date, 'dd') (missing amount) or dateAdd(date, 1, 'dd', extra).

Common situations: Confusing this API with java.util-style APIs that take (unit, amount, date); forgetting the unit argument; passing an options object instead of positional arguments.

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 date2str requires 1, 2, 3, or 4 arguments.
• The function call escapeHtml requires 1 argument.
• The function call escapeSQL requires 1 argument.
• The function call escapeXml requires 1 argument.
• The function call fillString requires 2 arguments.

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/25d4c68418e6aabb. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/script/ScriptAddedFunctions.java:681

            int day = cal.get( Calendar.DAY_OF_WEEK );
            cal.add( Calendar.DATE, 1 );
            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 new RuntimeException( e.toString() );
      }
    } else {
      throw new RuntimeException( "The function call dateAdd requires 3 arguments." );
    }
  }

  public static String fillString( ScriptEngine actualContext, Bindings actualObject, Object[] ArgList,
    Object 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) undefinedValue;
        }
        String fillChar = (String) ArgList[0];
        int count = (Integer) ArgList[1];
        if ( fillChar.length() != 1 ) {
          throw new RuntimeException( "Please provide a valid Char to the fillString" );
        } else {
          char[] chars = new char[count];

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