pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error

The function call truncDate requires 2 arguments: a date…

Error message

The function call truncDate requires 2 arguments: a date and a level (int)

What it means

truncDate(date, level) truncates a java.util.Date to a granularity level (0=ms ... 5=month). This error is thrown when the JS call does not pass exactly 2 arguments, i.e. the date and an integer level. It signals an invalid signature, separate from the level range error thrown later inside truncDate.

Solutions

1. Pass exactly two arguments: a Date and an integer level, e.g. truncDate(orderDate, 5) (5=month start).
2. Convert string dates first: truncDate(str2date(s, 'yyyy-MM-dd'), 4).
3. Ensure the level is a whole number (levels 0-5); use parseInt(level, 10).
4. Review the source switch: 0=millisecond,1=second,2=minute,3=hour,4=day,5=month.

Example fix

// before
var d = truncDate('2024-01-15', 'MM');
// after
var d = truncDate(str2date('2024-01-15', 'yyyy-MM-dd'), 5);

function safeTruncDate(d, lvl) { if (!(d instanceof Date) || lvl == null || lvl < 0 || lvl > 5 || lvl !== Math.floor(lvl)) return null; return truncDate(d, lvl); }

function isTruncLevel(v) { return typeof v === 'number' && Number.isInteger(v) && v >= 0 && v <= 5; }

try { d = truncDate(dt, lvl); } catch (e) { Logger.LogError('truncDate failed: ' + e.message); d = null; }

When it happens

Trigger: truncDate() with zero/one argument, truncDate(d) missing the level, truncDate(d, 'MONTH') passing a string level instead of an int, or more than 2 arguments in the JS step.

Common situations: Passing a string date like '2024-01-15' plus a string format; using Oracle-style TRUNC(date,'MM') semantics; level supplied as a float like 2.0 from JS math.

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 truncDate requires 2 arguments: a date…
• Argument of TRUNC of date has to be between 0 and 5
• Argument of TRUNC of date has to be between 0 and 5
• Please provide a valid date to the function call date2str.
• Please provide a valid string to the function call str2date.

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d2d67dce8bec6287. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/scriptvalues_mod/ScriptValuesAddedFunctions.java:2521

        return null;
      } else if ( isUndefined( ArgList[0] ) ) {
        return Context.getUndefinedValue();
      }

      // This is the truncation of a date...
      // The second argument specifies the level: ms, s, min, hour, day, month, year
      //
      Date dArg1 = null;
      Integer level = null;
      try {
        dArg1 = (java.util.Date) Context.jsToJava( ArgList[0], java.util.Date.class );
        level = (Integer) Context.jsToJava( ArgList[1], Integer.class );
      } catch ( Exception e ) {
        throw Context.reportRuntimeError( e.toString() );
      }
      return truncDate( dArg1, level );
    } else {
      throw Context
        .reportRuntimeError( "The function call truncDate requires 2 arguments: a date and a level (int)" );
    }
  }

  @VisibleForTesting
  static Date truncDate( Date dArg1, Integer level ) {
    Calendar cal = Calendar.getInstance();
    cal.setTime( dArg1 );

    switch ( level.intValue() ) {
      // MONTHS
      case 5:
        cal.set( Calendar.MONTH, 0 );
        // DAYS
      case 4:
        cal.set( Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH, 1 );
        // HOURS
      case 3:

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