agent timed out waiting on its own canary worker: CPU time limit hi

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR: Move load generation off the edge. A canary worker has a fixed CPU budget per invocation, and using it to generate load spends that budget on the generator instead of the check - so the canary CPU-starves, times out, and the agent misreads it as the target being down. Run the load tool from your own machine or CI, keep the canary handler light, and base the agent's wait timeout on the external tool's completion.

agent timed out waiting on its own canary worker: CPU time limit hit mid load test, canary failed

Steps

1. Confirm the failure mode: check the worker logs for CPU time limit errors during the test window. Expected: the errors line up with the load test, proving the generator starved itself.
2. Move load generation off the edge: run the load tool from your own machine or a CI runner, pointed at the canary URL. Expected: the canary only runs its light check logic per request.
3. Slim the canary handler: no parsing huge bodies, no crypto loops, no busy work in the hot path. Expected: handler CPU stays in the low milliseconds per invocation.
4. Re-run the load test externally and watch the canary's error rate. Expected: the canary stays green; any failures now indicate real capacity problems, not self-inflicted ones.
5. Base the agent's wait timeout on the external load tool's completion, not on the worker responding mid-test. Expected: no more timeouts caused by a CPU-starved canary.
6. Document the canary's CPU budget and add a pre-deploy check that the handler does no heavy compute. Expected: load-test-shaped traffic never runs inside the canary again.

Use this when

• a canary worker dies with CPU time limit errors during a synthetic load test
• the agent times out waiting on a canary that's also generating load
• "CPU time limit hit mid load test"
• load-test results show the canary failing before the target does

Not for this skill when

• production handlers hit CPU limits under real traffic - optimize the handler
• it's a subrequest or memory limit, not CPU - different budget, different fix
• the target genuinely can't take the load - the canary is right
• the load test runs externally already and the canary still fails - investigate the target

Variant phrasings

• worker exceeded CPU time during a synthetic load test
• canary went down during load testing on CPU limits
• load testing from inside a worker process
• agent's own load generator starved the canary

Why it happens

A worker invocation gets a fixed CPU budget, and generating load is CPU-hungry work. Running the generator inside the canary means the check logic competes with the load logic for the same budget and loses - the canary times out and reports the target as down when the target was never the problem.

Edge cases

• Waiting on fetch doesn't burn CPU; computing does. I/O-heavy checks are cheap, parse-heavy checks aren't.
• Paid plans raise the CPU limit but don't make in-worker load generation sane. The architecture is wrong at any budget.
• Burst vs sustained limits differ. A short spike passes where a long test fails - size the test to the sustained budget.
• If the canary must do crypto (signed checks), keep it minimal and cache verification results.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_KKmSSOKibEGsKszHS-oMug

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_KKmSSOKibEGsKszHS-oMug

Thread query: agent timed out waiting on its own canary worker: CPU time limit hit mid load test, canary failed

TL;DR:

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Fix this in Search check agent by acting on the exact symptom first: rank the query list by impressions and check in that order with a per query time budget, publish the partial verdict table at the budget end, and schedule the tail queries for the next run instead of extending this one. Do not repeat the same edit, search or run unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one article, collection or query first, then apply it across the affected scope and confirm as a reader.

Agent timed out checking help center search results - slow run

Use this when

• Work in Search check agent shows this exact symptom: Agent timed out checking help center search results - slow run.
• The same symptom repeats after a retry with unchanged inputs.
• Readers or support agents are blocked until this item is corrected.

Not for this skill when

• The help center platform itself is down or returning outage notices. Resolve that first, then return here if this symptom remains.
• The content is correct and you only want a style or tone rewrite. That is an editorial pass, not this fix.

Steps

1. Reproduce the symptom with the smallest scope that still shows it in Search check agent, and record the article, collection or query involved plus the exact wording from the code block above. Verify: the symptom is reproduced on demand with a named scope, not only reported second hand.
2. Apply the specific fix for this symptom: rank the query list by impressions and check in that order with a per query time budget, publish the partial verdict table at the budget end, and schedule the tail queries for the next run instead of extending this one. Verify: the smallest failing scope now behaves as the fix predicts, checked in the published view rather than only in the editor.
3. Check neighbouring articles, collections or locales that share the same template, category or workflow, because this class of problem rarely affects only one item. Verify: the neighbouring items are listed and each is marked affected or clear.
4. Repeat the original reader or agent action in Search check agent that exposed the symptom, using the same query, link or workflow as the first attempt. Verify: the action completes and the original symptom does not appear.
5. Compare the result against the source of truth for this item, the current product behaviour, price list, release notes or ticket evidence named in the fix. Verify: the published result matches the source or every difference is named and explained.
6. Record the fix, the scope it covered and the verification result where the content team works, so the next occurrence is recognised immediately. Verify: the record names the symptom, the fix applied and the evidence of success.

Variant phrasings

Agent timed out checking help center search results - slow run

The verbatim form readers and agents paste from the help center or console. Treat it identically: same fix, same single scope proof, then the wider rollout.

How to fix - agent timed out when agent tried to check help center search results for an error query error timeout failure slow

The how to phrasing for the same problem in Search check agent. The steps above apply unchanged; start at the reproduction step rather than skipping to the final check.

Search check agent troubleshooting for this symptom

The symptom first phrasing used when the full message is hidden. Surface the full symptom first, confirm it matches the code block above, then follow the steps.

Why it happens

Checking in log order spends equal time on queries nobody searches, and the timeout then hides the verdicts for the queries that matter most.

Edge cases

• The symptom appears in one locale, collection or audience view only. Fix that scope, then check the same item in the other views before closing.
• A cached or indexed copy keeps showing the old state after the fix. Allow for the platform reindex or cache window, recheck in a fresh reader session, and only then escalate.
• Two items have near identical titles. Confirm the identifier of the item you edited, not just its title, before declaring the fix verified.

Compatibility: Search check agent at current versions, plus the help center admin, search or API surface the query names; no extra tooling beyond reader level access to verify the published result.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_u5H38S3gFWnDXMhPsVGA2Q

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_u5H38S3gFWnDXMhPsVGA2Q

Thread query: agent timed out when agent tried to check help center search results for an error query error timeout failure slow

TL;DR: Fix this in Search check agent by acting on the exact symptom first: rank the query list by impressions and check in that order with a per query time budget, publish the partial verdict table at the budget end, and schedule the tail queries for the next run instead of extending this one. Do not repeat the same edit, search or run unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one article, collection or query first, then apply it across the affected scope and confirm as a reader.

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Fix this in Search check agent by acting on the exact symptom first: check one error query per run step with the query, top five results and verdict saved per query, starting with the highest impression queries from the search log, so a timeout still leaves a scored list for the finished queries. Do not repeat the same edit, search or run unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one article, collection or query first, then apply it across the affected scope and confirm as a reader.

Agent failed to check help center search results for an error query - timeout

Use this when

• Work in Search check agent shows this exact symptom: Agent failed to check help center search results for an error query - timeout.
• The same symptom repeats after a retry with unchanged inputs.
• Readers or support agents are blocked until this item is corrected.

Not for this skill when

• The help center platform itself is down or returning outage notices. Resolve that first, then return here if this symptom remains.
• The content is correct and you only want a style or tone rewrite. That is an editorial pass, not this fix.

Steps

1. Reproduce the symptom with the smallest scope that still shows it in Search check agent, and record the article, collection or query involved plus the exact wording from the code block above. Verify: the symptom is reproduced on demand with a named scope, not only reported second hand.
2. Apply the specific fix for this symptom: check one error query per run step with the query, top five results and verdict saved per query, starting with the highest impression queries from the search log, so a timeout still leaves a scored list for the finished queries. Verify: the smallest failing scope now behaves as the fix predicts, checked in the published view rather than only in the editor.
3. Check neighbouring articles, collections or locales that share the same template, category or workflow, because this class of problem rarely affects only one item. Verify: the neighbouring items are listed and each is marked affected or clear.
4. Repeat the original reader or agent action in Search check agent that exposed the symptom, using the same query, link or workflow as the first attempt. Verify: the action completes and the original symptom does not appear.
5. Compare the result against the source of truth for this item, the current product behaviour, price list, release notes or ticket evidence named in the fix. Verify: the published result matches the source or every difference is named and explained.
6. Record the fix, the scope it covered and the verification result where the content team works, so the next occurrence is recognised immediately. Verify: the record names the symptom, the fix applied and the evidence of success.

Variant phrasings

Agent failed to check help center search results for an error query - timeout

The verbatim form readers and agents paste from the help center or console. Treat it identically: same fix, same single scope proof, then the wider rollout.

How to fix - agent failed to check help center search results for an error query error failure timeout

The how to phrasing for the same problem in Search check agent. The steps above apply unchanged; start at the reproduction step rather than skipping to the final check.

Search check agent troubleshooting for this symptom

The symptom first phrasing used when the full message is hidden. Surface the full symptom first, confirm it matches the code block above, then follow the steps.

Why it happens

Batch checking dozens of queries in one step couples the whole check to the slowest query, and no per query verdict survives the timeout.

Edge cases

• The symptom appears in one locale, collection or audience view only. Fix that scope, then check the same item in the other views before closing.
• A cached or indexed copy keeps showing the old state after the fix. Allow for the platform reindex or cache window, recheck in a fresh reader session, and only then escalate.
• Two items have near identical titles. Confirm the identifier of the item you edited, not just its title, before declaring the fix verified.

Compatibility: Search check agent at current versions, plus the help center admin, search or API surface the query names; no extra tooling beyond reader level access to verify the published result.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_6dFD2l0g4rmnMOZDucfqFw

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_6dFD2l0g4rmnMOZDucfqFw

Thread query: agent failed to check help center search results for an error query error failure timeout

TL;DR: Fix this in Search check agent by acting on the exact symptom first: check one error query per run step with the query, top five results and verdict saved per query, starting with the highest impression queries from the search log, so a timeout still leaves a scored list for the finished queries. Do not repeat the same edit, search or run unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one article, collection or query first, then apply it across the affected scope and confirm as a reader.