phalcon/cphalcon · error · Phalcon\Http\Request\Exceptions\MissingFilters

Filters have not been defined for '{name}'

Error message

Filters have not been defined for '{name}'

What it means

Request::setParameterFilters($name, array $filters, array $scope) registers sanitizers applied when the parameter is later read through the filtered getters. An empty $filters array throws MissingFilters because there would be nothing to register - Phalcon treats it as a programming/config error rather than silently ignoring the call.

Source

Thrown at phalcon/Http/Request.zep:1443

        return this;
    }

    /**
     * Sets automatic sanitizers/filters for a particular field and for
     * particular methods
     *
     * @phpstan-param list<string> $filters
     * @phpstan-param list<string> $scope
     */
    public function setParameterFilters(
         string name,
        array filters = [],
        array scope = []
    ) -> <static> {
        var filterService, sanitizer, localScope, scopeMethod;

        if unlikely empty filters {
            throw new MissingFilters(name);
        }

        let filterService = this->getFilterService();

        for sanitizer in filters {
            if unlikely true !== filterService->has(sanitizer) {
                throw new SanitizerNotFound(sanitizer);
            }
        }

        if empty scope {
            let localScope = [
                self::METHOD_GET,
                self::METHOD_PATCH,
                self::METHOD_POST,
                self::METHOD_PUT
            ];
        } else {

View on GitHub (pinned to b7419de9cd)

Solutions

1. Skip the call when there is nothing to register: if ($filters !== []) { $request->setParameterFilters('email', $filters); }
2. Fix the config source so the parameter actually declares at least one sanitizer
3. Pass a real sanitizer such as ['email'] or ['trim', 'email']

Example fix

// before
$request->setParameterFilters('email', $config['filters'] ?? []); // throws when missing

// after
$filters = $config['filters'] ?? ['email'];
if ($filters !== []) {
    $request->setParameterFilters('email', $filters);
}

if ([] === $filters) {
    return; // nothing to register - skip the call
}
$request->setParameterFilters('email', $filters);

try { $request->setParameterFilters($name, $filters); } catch (\Phalcon\Http\Request\Exceptions\MissingFilters $e) { // config gap: log and continue without filters
    error_log("No filters configured for parameter {$name}");
}

When it happens

Trigger: setParameterFilters('email', []) - typically a filters list computed from config, a database row or user input that came back empty.

Common situations: Filter lists built from YAML/env where the key is missing; scaffolding left with an empty array; conditional code paths that produce an empty list for some parameters.

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

• Sanitizer '{sanitizer}' does not exist in the filter locator
• A dependency injection container is required to access the '
• A null key is not allowed; bag elements must be written with
• Configuration file {fileName} cannot be loaded
• Unknown method: [{method}]

AI-assisted analysis of phalcon/cphalcon@b7419de9cd (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a4db69d9cc3c6490. Report an issue: GitHub.