[BUG] `indent`parameters incompatible with standard Jinja2

[yu-iskw]

Describe the bug
The indent filter in dbt-fusion uses different parameter names than the standard Jinja2 implementation, causing macros that follow Jinja2 conventions to fail with "Too many positional arguments" errors. This breaks compatibility with standard Jinja2 templates and documentation.

What version of dbt Fusion is this bug in? (find out by running dbt --version)
Current version (based on codebase analysis)

Is this a discrepancy between the dbt Fusion Engine and dbt Core? Check one.

• YES
• NO

To Reproduce

Open this workspace and follow the instructions in README, or do the steps below:

1. Create a macro file macros/test_indent_compatibility.sql:

{% macro test_indent_compatibility() %}
  {# This should work according to Jinja2 documentation but fails in dbt-fusion #}
  {% set sample_text = "Sample description" | indent(width=6, first=False) %}
  {{ sample_text }}
{% endmacro %}

2. Run the macro:

dbt run-operation test_indent_compatibility

3. Observe the error:

error: dbt1501: Failed to run operation too many arguments: Too many positional arguments
(in macros/test_indent_compatibility.sql:2)
  --> macros/test_indent_compatibility.sql:2:37

The issue has been written and saved to issue.md. This comprehensive issue:

1. Clearly describes the bug - Parameter incompatibility with standard Jinja2
2. Provides reproduction steps - With a properly named test macro (test_indent_compatibility)
3. Shows expected vs actual behavior - References official Jinja2 documentation
4. Explains the impact - Compatibility issues and user confusion
5. Suggests a solution - Support both parameter naming conventions
6. Includes technical context - File locations and implementation details

The issue follows the provided template and includes all necessary information for developers to understand and reproduce the problem.

Expected behavior
According to the official Jinja2 documentation, the indent filter should accept these parameters:

{{ value | indent(width=4, first=False, blank=False) }}

Where:

• width: Number of spaces to indent (default: 4)
• first: Whether to indent the first line (default: False)
• blank: Whether to indent blank lines (default: False)

The macro should execute successfully and return the indented text.

Actual behavior
dbt-fusion's indent filter uses different parameter names:

• Standard Jinja2: first → dbt-fusion: indent_first_line
• Standard Jinja2: blank → dbt-fusion: indent_blank_lines

This requires users to rewrite their templates:

{% macro test_indent_dbt_fusion() %}
  {# Works in dbt-fusion but not standard Jinja2 #}
  {% set sample_text = "Sample description" | indent(width=6, indent_first_line=False) %}
  {{ sample_text }}
{% endmacro %}

Impact

• Breaks compatibility with existing Jinja2 templates and macros
• Users cannot copy examples from Jinja2 documentation
• Creates confusion when migrating from other Jinja2-based tools
• Documentation discrepancy leads to development friction

Proposed Solution
Update the indent filter implementation to support both parameter naming conventions:

• Accept standard Jinja2 parameter names (first, blank) for compatibility
• Maintain current parameter names (indent_first_line, indent_blank_lines) for backward compatibility
• Add deprecation warnings for non-standard parameter names if desired

Screenshots
N/A

Operating System and CPU Type (please complete the following information):

• Mac/Windows/Linux: macOS
• X86 or ARM: ARM (Apple Silicon)

Additional context
The current implementation can be found in crates/dbt-jinja/minijinja/src/filters.rs around line 1195. This affects any template or macro that attempts to use standard Jinja2 indent filter syntax, making dbt-fusion less compatible with the broader Jinja2 ecosystem.

References

• Jinja2 indent filter documentation
• Current implementation: crates/dbt-jinja/minijinja/src/filters.rs:1195-1260

[yu-iskw]

Jinja2 Filter Compatibility in MiniJinja

This report outlines the compatibility of various Jinja2 filters when used within the MiniJinja environment, as assessed through an examination of the dbt-jinja codebase. The goal is to provide clarity for dbt Fusion developers regarding which filters behave differently or are entirely absent compared to standard Jinja2.

Summary

While many common Jinja2 filters are fully compatible with MiniJinja, a notable subset exhibits either partial compatibility (meaning they might lack certain parameters or behave slightly differently) or are entirely incompatible (not implemented). This document details these specific cases.

Incompatible Filters

The following filters were found to be incompatible, meaning they are either not implemented in MiniJinja or lack core functionality present in Jinja2.

Filter Name	Reason for Incompatibility	Jinja2 Behavior (for context)
center()	Not implemented in MiniJinja or minijinja-contrib.	Centers the value in a field of a given width.
forceescape()	Not explicitly implemented as a built-in filter.	Forces escaping even if auto-escaping is disabled or the value is already marked as safe.
max()	Does not support the attribute argument.	Returns the largest item from an iterable. In Jinja2, it can take an attribute argument to find the max based on an attribute.
min()	Does not support the attribute argument.	Returns the smallest item from an iterable. In Jinja2, it can take an attribute argument to find the min based on an attribute.
striptags()	Not implemented in MiniJinja or minijinja-contrib.	Strips SGML/XML tags and replaces adjacent whitespace with a single space.
urlize()	Explicitly stated as missing in COMPATIBILITY.md.	Converts URLs in plain text into clickable HTML links.
xmlattr()	Explicitly stated as missing in COMPATIBILITY.md.	Creates an XML/HTML attribute string from a dictionary.

Partially Compatible Filters

These filters are present in MiniJinja but exhibit differences in behavior or lack certain parameters compared to their standard Jinja2 counterparts.

Filter Name	Details of Partial Compatibility	Jinja2 Behavior (for context)
map()	When used with filters (e.g., value | map('filter_name')), MiniJinja's map() does not support a default value if the applied filter returns an undefined result. It supports attribute mapping with default.	Applies a filter to a sequence of objects or looks up an attribute. Supports attribute and default for missing attributes. For filter mapping, it generally applies the filter to each item, and in standard Jinja2, the default parameter can also be used if the applied filter returns an undefined result.
reject()	Does not support passing keyword arguments to the test function. It only accepts positional arguments for the test.	Creates a new sequence of values that do not pass a test. Supports positional and keyword arguments for the test function.
rejectattr()	Lacks support for attribute_fallback and default parameters, which in Jinja2 control error handling for missing attributes and provide fallback values, respectively. It also does not support passing keyword arguments to the test function.	Filters a sequence of objects by an attribute, including only those whose attribute's value fails a test. Supports attribute, attribute_fallback, default (for missing attributes), and positional/keyword arguments for the test function.
select()	Does not support passing keyword arguments to the test function. It only accepts positional arguments for the test.	Creates a new sequence of values that pass a test. Supports positional and keyword arguments for the test function.
selectattr()	Lacks support for attribute_fallback and default parameters, which in Jinja2 control error handling for missing attributes and provide fallback values, respectively. It also does not support passing keyword arguments to the test function.	Filters a sequence of objects by an attribute, including only those whose attribute's value passes a test. Supports attribute, attribute_fallback, default (for missing attributes), and positional/keyword arguments for the test function.
sum()	Does not directly support an attribute argument for summing based on an attribute of objects. However, it has a unique extension where sum(start=[]) can flatten a list of lists.	Sums up all the values in a sequence. In Jinja2, it can take an attribute argument to sum based on an attribute of objects within the iterable, and a start argument to specify an initial value. It does not have the start=[] flattening behavior by default.

Fully Compatible Filters

For completeness, the following filters were found to be fully compatible with their Jinja2 counterparts, meaning their behavior and parameter support align as expected:

• abs()
• attr()
• batch()
• capitalize()
• default()
• dictsort()
• escape()
• filesizeformat() (available in minijinja-contrib)
• first()
• float()
• format()
• groupby()
• indent()
• int()
• items()
• join()
• last()
• length()
• list()
• lower()
• pprint()
• random() (available in minijinja-contrib)
• replace()
• reverse()
• round()
• safe()
• slice()
• sort()
• string()
• title()
• tojson()
• trim()
• truncate() (available in minijinja-contrib)
• unique()
• upper()
• urlencode()
• wordcount() (available in minijinja-contrib)
• wordwrap() (available in minijinja-contrib)

Conclusion

This research provides a clear overview of the current state of Jinja2 filter compatibility within MiniJinja. Developers should be aware of the limitations and differences highlighted, especially for filters listed under "Incompatible Filters" and "Partially Compatible Filters," to avoid unexpected behavior or errors in their dbt Fusion projects. For filters marked as "Compatible," direct usage should align with standard Jinja2 expectations.

[dbeatty10]

Thank you for this comprehensive report @yu-iskw ! 🏆

And thank for the opening #380 -- we'll give it a review soon.

[eliasdefaria]

@yu-iskw I so appreciate you going deep with this research. Awesome!

Just to confirm, were these tested against the OSS minijinja? Or our fork present in this repo?

We've done a lot of work in our fork to build more compatibility with Jinja2 so just want to confirm

[yu-iskw]

@eliasdefaria @dbeatty10 I have investigated the forked version in dbt-labs/dbt-fusion.

I just utilized Cursor to comprehensively check if the filters in this repo are compatible with those of standard Jinja2.

https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-fusion/blob/02548c923f0139ff178c1ba93b0580b333215e34/crates/dbt-jinja/minijinja/src/filters.rs

https://jinja.palletsprojects.com/en/stable/templates/

I found the issue on the indent filter for the code generation mechanism in the dbt Package we develop. Then, I checked the incompatibilities.

ubie-oss/dbt-data-privacy#95

[yu-iskw]

Aside from that, I personally want to put a little bit more context to the error message. As the actual use case in our dbt Package is complicated, it was a bit hard to identify the incompatibility of the indent parameters. Say about, adding the name of the failed filter would be useful.

error: dbt1501: Failed to run operation too many arguments: Too many positional arguments
(in macros/test_indent_compatibility.sql:2)
  --> macros/test_indent_compatibility.sql:2:37