pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · RhinoRuntimeError

The function call getVariable requires 2 arguments.

Error message

The function call getVariable requires 2 arguments.

What it means

The JS getVariable() function requires exactly 2 arguments: the variable name and the scope type string. If the argument count differs, the implementation throws this Rhino runtime error instead of returning a value. The two-part signature lets getVariable know both what to read and from which scope.

Solutions

1. Call getVariable with exactly 2 arguments: variable name and scope ('s','r','p','g').
2. If the variable may be missing, wrap the call or supply a default in your script.
3. Confirm you are not conflating getVariable with Java-side getVariable methods.

Example fix

// before
var v = getVariable('MY_VAR');
// after
var v = getVariable('MY_VAR', 'r');

if (arguments.length !== 2) throw new Error('getVariable(name, scope) needs exactly 2 args');

try { v = getVariable(name, 'r'); } catch (e) { v = defaultValue; }

When it happens

Trigger: getVariable('MY_VAR') with no scope argument, or getVariable('A','r','extra') with an extra argument, in a Modified Java Script Value step.

Common situations: Porting scripts from JavaScript engines where getVariable took one argument; forgetting the scope letter; calling with zero arguments when the variable name was built dynamically.

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 decode requires more than 1 argument.
• The function call getInputRowMeta doesn't require arguments.
• The function call getOutputRowMeta doesn't require…
• The function call isDate requires 1 argument.
• The function call isNum requires 1 argument.

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/912b4df1be0225bc. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/scriptvalues_mod/ScriptValuesAddedFunctions.java:1939

        Object scmo = actualObject.get( "_step_", actualObject );
        Object scmO = Context.jsToJava( scmo, StepInterface.class );

        if ( scmO instanceof StepInterface ) {
          StepInterface scm = (StepInterface) Context.jsToJava( scmO, StepInterface.class );

          sArg1 = Context.toString( ArgList[0] );
          sArg2 = Context.toString( ArgList[1] );
          return scm.getVariable( sArg1, sArg2 );
        } else {
          // running via the Test button in a dialog
          sArg2 = Context.toString( ArgList[1] );
          return sArg2;
        }
      } catch ( Exception e ) {
        sRC = "";
      }
    } else {
      throw Context.reportRuntimeError( "The function call getVariable requires 2 arguments." );
    }
    return sRC;
  }

  // Return the output row metadata
  public static RowMetaInterface getOutputRowMeta( Context actualContext, Scriptable actualObject,
    Object[] ArgList, Function FunctionContext ) {
    if ( ArgList.length == 0 ) {
      try {
        Object scmO = actualObject.get( "_step_", actualObject );
        try {
          ScriptValuesMod scm = (ScriptValuesMod) Context.jsToJava( scmO, ScriptValuesMod.class );
          return scm.getOutputRowMeta();
        } catch ( Exception e ) {
          ScriptValuesModDummy scm = (ScriptValuesModDummy) Context.jsToJava( scmO, ScriptValuesModDummy.class );
          return scm.getOutputRowMeta();
        }
      } catch ( Exception e ) {

View on GitHub (pinned to f3058517a1)