onboarding agent corrupted csv import partial write retried from row 0

Not specified by the original author.

Fix the onboarding agent corrupting CSV imports by retrying from row 0

TL;DR

A retry must resume from the last committed row, not from the top of the file. Checkpoint every batch you commit, dedupe on a stable external id, and make the whole import idempotent so re-running it is safe. Partial writes are normal; non-idempotent retries are the bug.

The problem

import run 1: wrote rows 0-412 of 2000, then timed out
import run 2 (retry): started at row 0 again
result: 413 users created twice, 1587 never created

Use this skill

Agent? Search Vectle for this error:

curl -s "https://vectle.com/api/v1/search?q=onboarding agent corrupted csv import partial write retried from row 0"

Fix it

Step 1: Add a row cursor that survives the run

Write the last successfully committed row number to durable storage (a run record, a small table, a file - not agent memory) after every committed batch.

Expected: after a crash you can read the cursor and know exactly where the import stopped.

Step 2: Resume from the cursor, never from row 0

On retry, read the cursor first and skip every row at or below it. The first row processed must be cursor + 1.

Expected: re-running the import after a failure processes only the rows that never committed.

Step 3: Dedupe on a stable external id

Key every created user on an idempotent key derived from the CSV (employee id, email, or a row hash). Before creating, check whether that key already exists; if it does, skip or update instead of creating.

Expected: even a full re-run from row 0 produces zero duplicates.

Step 4: Commit in small batches with per-batch confirmation

Process in batches of 50 to 200 rows, and only advance the cursor after the target system confirms the batch. Never advance the cursor on a request you merely sent.

Expected: the cursor always reflects confirmed reality, so a crash between send and confirm replays at most one batch.

Step 5: Prove it with a kill mid-run

Start an import against a staging system, kill the agent halfway, and re-run.

Expected: zero duplicates, zero skipped rows, and the cursor matches the final committed row.

When this applies

• A failed import retry creates duplicate users
• The import has no recorded progress and always restarts at the top
• Large CSV imports (thousands of rows) time out or crash partway through

When it doesn't

• The CSV fails to parse at all (a parser problem, fix the parser first)
• Duplicates come from bad source data (two rows with the same email in the file)
• The target system itself duplicates on create (a target API problem)

Compatibility

Any HR or user CSV import into Okta, Entra ID, Google Workspace, or a custom SCIM endpoint. The pattern applies to every batch ETL the agent runs.

Variant phrasings

csv import retry duplicated users onboarding

Same fix. The retry path is the broken path; make it resume from the checkpoint.

onboarding agent re-imported the whole file after a partial failure

Check whether the agent even knows the import failed partway. Many agents see "error" and start over because nobody told them partial progress exists.

Why it happens

Agents treat an import as one atomic action because that is how it looks in the plan. In reality it is hundreds of writes, and the crash always lands in the middle. Restarting at row 0 feels like the safe choice, but without idempotent creates it writes every early row twice. The fix is bookkeeping the agent never had: a durable cursor and a dedupe key.

Edge cases

• Rows that were sent but never confirmed: reprocessing them is safe only if creates are keyed
• The CSV changed between runs: hash the file and refuse to resume if it changed
• Concurrent runs of the same import: lock the run id so two agents cannot import at once

If it still fails

• Capture the cursor value, the row range of each batch, and the dedupe key scheme before changing anything else.
• Reproduce with a small 200-row file so you are not debugging a crowd.
• Check the target system status page; API outages look exactly like import bugs.

Prevention

• Every batch job the agent runs gets a durable cursor from day one.
• Every create the agent performs gets an idempotency key from day one.
• Test the kill-and-resume path for every importer before it touches production.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstBxPiN1AooEjtFSfCIVyfw

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstBxPiN1AooEjtFSfCIVyfw

Thread query: onboarding agent corrupted csv import partial write retried from row 0

TL;DR: A retry must resume from the last committed row, not from the top of the file. Checkpoint every batch you commit, dedupe on a stable external id, and make the whole import idempotent so re-running it is safe. Partial writes are normal; non-idempotent retries are the bug.

Not specified by the original author.

Fix onboarding agent re-uploading the same CSV after each import failure

TL;DR

The agent re-uploads because the failure never changes what it tries: same file, same settings, same result. Stop re-uploading, read the import error, fix the file or the mapping, then upload once. Repeating the identical attempt is the definition of the loop.

The error

Onboarding agent failed
Re-uploading same CSV after each import failure. 6 identical uploads, 6 identical failures.

Use this skill

Agent? Search Vectle for this error:

curl -s "https://vectle.com/api/v1/search?q=onboarding agent failed re-uploading same csv after each import failure"

Fix it

Step 1: Stop the re-upload loop

Pause the agent's import job.

Expected: No more identical uploads.

Step 2: Read the actual import error

Open the import result or log for the real failure reason.

Expected: You know what is wrong: mapping, data, or format.

Step 3: Fix the file or the mapping

Correct the CSV or the field mapping based on the error.

Expected: The next upload will be different from the failed ones.

Step 4: Upload once and verify

Run a single import with the fix.

Expected: The import succeeds or fails with a new, different error.

Step 5: Require change before retry

In the agent logic, only retry an import after something changed: file, mapping, or config.

Expected: Identical retries are refused by construction.

When this applies

• Agents re-upload the same CSV after failures
• Imports fail identically on every attempt
• You are building CSV import agents

When it doesn't

• Each attempt fails differently (the agent is actually progressing)
• The upload itself fails (check the upload mechanism)
• The file is fine and the API rejects it (check the API)

Compatibility

CSV import flows generally. Agent retry logic.

Variant phrasings

agent re-uploading csv loop

Same loop. Change-before-retry breaks it.

csv import same failure repeated agent

Repeated identical failures mean nothing is being learned. Read the error.

onboarding import retry without fix

Retries without fixes are loops. Fix first, then retry.

Why it happens

Import agents often treat upload as the retry unit: on failure, upload again. But the failure is in the file or the mapping, which the re-upload does not change. The loop repeats the experiment with no new variables and gets the same result every time.

Edge cases

• Partial imports before the failure need cleanup or dedup before the fixed re-upload
• Log the file hash with each attempt so identical retries are visible
• Quarantine the file for human review after a few distinct failures

If it still fails

• Reproduce with a minimal run: one user, one file, one step.
• Read the agent's full trace, not just the final error; the failure is usually upstream.
• Check the underlying API or tool directly, outside the agent, to separate agent bugs from service bugs.
• Reduce concurrency to one and see if the failure persists; races hide as flakes.
• If the run is business-critical, add a human checkpoint before the destructive steps.

Prevention

• Checkpoint long runs so any failure resumes instead of restarting.
• Cap and back off every retry loop; unbounded retries are outages waiting to happen.
• Validate inputs at each pipeline stage; fail fast with clear errors.
• Log enough context per step that a timeout is diagnosable without rerunning.
• Give destructive steps a human checkpoint or a dry-run mode.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_TVyflL6KtvgK1nBlwBexvQ

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_TVyflL6KtvgK1nBlwBexvQ

Thread query: onboarding agent failed re-uploading same csv after each import failure

TL;DR: The agent re-uploads because the failure never changes what it tries: same file, same settings, same result. Stop re-uploading, read the import error, fix the file or the mapping, then upload once. Repeating the identical attempt is the definition of the loop.

Not specified by the original author.

agent csv import crashed on malformed questionnaire row with parse error: how to fix it

An agent CSV import crashing on a malformed questionnaire row needs row-level error isolation. Validate each row before processing, skip and log the bad ones, and continue. One bad row should never kill a thousand good ones.

agent csv import crashed on malformed questionnaire row with parse error

When to use this skill

• CSV imports crash on a bad row
• One malformed row kills the whole import

When not to use this skill

• Every row fails (a structural issue)
• Rows import but misalign (a delimiter issue)

Tool compatibility

Agent CSV import pipelines with row validation. Related area: CSV and Excel data import pipelines. Cloud UIs change labels over time; if a button moved, search settings for the closest match.

Before you start

• Sign in to the tool and keep one tab open so sessions stay clean
• Copy the exact error text and note the time it happened
• Set aside 15 to 20 minutes; most of these resolve in a single pass

Quick diagnosis

Make sure this is the right skill before you invest the 15 minutes.

• If you are dealing with cSV imports crash on a bad row, start at step 1 below.
• If instead every row fails (a structural issue), stop here; you need a different skill.
• If neither quite matches, compare your screen against the verbatim error block at the top; that block is exactly what this skill covers.

Fix it in steps

1. Add per-row validation

Validate field counts and types on each row before processing it.

Expected: malformed rows identified without crashing.

2. Skip and log bad rows

Write bad rows to an error file with line numbers and continue.

Expected: the import completes with a clean error report.

3. Review the error file

Open the logged rows and fix the source data.

Expected: a short list of fixable problems.

4. Re-import the fixed rows

Import just the corrected rows.

Expected: full data set complete.

Confirm each step worked

Run through this checklist before moving on. If a check fails, redo that step instead of pushing ahead.

• Step 1 (add per-row validation): Expected: malformed rows identified without crashing.
• Step 2 (skip and log bad rows): Expected: the import completes with a clean error report.
• Step 3 (review the error file): Expected: a short list of fixable problems.
• Step 4 (re-import the fixed rows): Expected: full data set complete.

Quick recap

1. Add per-row validation
2. Skip and log bad rows
3. Review the error file
4. Re-import the fixed rows

Still stuck?

Gather three things: the exact error text, the time it happened, and what changed just before it broke. Check the vendor status page for an active incident. Then open a support ticket with those three things; it cuts the back-and-forth in half. For agent runs, attach the last 50 lines of the agent log too, since the loop or timeout signature in the log usually names the cause.

Variant phrasings

csv import crashed malformed row

Isolate per row, skip and log. If this matches what you saw, the steps above apply as written.

agent parse error questionnaire row

The error file is the deliverable, not just the import. If this matches what you saw, the steps above apply as written.

Why it happens

Naive import loops assume every row is well-formed, so the first malformed row throws and aborts everything. Row-level isolation turns a fatal crash into a logged skip with the import otherwise complete.

Edge cases

• Always report skipped rows, silent skips hide data loss
• Validate before any side effects, not after partial writes
• Keep the original file untouched for reprocessing

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstqB-WjTiH3RERA0QtFJVIg

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstqB-WjTiH3RERA0QtFJVIg

Thread query: agent csv import crashed on malformed questionnaire row with parse error

TL;DR: