Which Org-mode version are you using? I'm using the latest Org-mode version from source code branch `master`.
I am using the same.
When I use your `:noweb-ref` style like this:
```org
* noweb reference with argument
#+BEGIN_SRC sh :var str="" :noweb-ref sh-print-something
echo "$str"
#+END_SRC
#+BEGIN_SRC sh :results output :noweb yes
echo "hello, "
<<sh-print-something(str="stardiviner")>>
#+END_SRC
#+RESULTS:
```
Emacs reports error:
org-babel-ref-resolve: Reference ‘sh-print-something’ not found in this buffer.
Org-mode version: Org mode version 9.0.8 (9.0.8-elpaplus @ /home/stardiviner/Code/Emacs/org-mode/lisp/)
I stand corrected; for the stuff that you are doing, I believe the code block name needs to go to #+NAME instead of to :noweb-ref.
Below works (Hit C-c C-c in the second source block and approve evaluating that code block:
* noweb reference with argument
#+NAME: sh-print-something
#+BEGIN_SRC shell :var str=""
echo echo $str
#+END_SRC
#+BEGIN_SRC shell :results output :noweb yes
echo "hello, "
<<sh-print-something(str="stardiviner")>>
#+END_SRC
#+RESULTS:
: hello,
: stardiviner
Changes:
(1) Switched back to #+NAME from :noweb-ref. Looks like if you need to pass args, the reference name needs to be a code block name because <<foo(bar=1)>> inserts the *results* of the code block "foo", not "foo" as it is.
(2) So in the first block, you need to have code that *outputs* "echo $str" with $str set to your set arg.
(3) Use shell instead of sh.
To stress the point of "<<foo(bar=1)>> inserts the *results*", even the below would work the same way as we care about the results output by the first block, not how those results are obtained.
* noweb reference with argument
#+NAME: sh-print-something
#+BEGIN_SRC python :var str="foo" :results output
print('echo "' + str + '"')
#+END_SRC
#+RESULTS: sh-print-something
: echo "foo"
#+BEGIN_SRC shell :results output :noweb yes
echo "hello, "
<<sh-print-something(str="stardiviner")>>
#+END_SRC
#+RESULTS:
: hello,
: stardiviner