agent's context filled with 900 source freshness results: couldn't find th

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Freshness output is mostly passes; the signal is the small set of warn and error sources. Make the agent consume sources.json (or the freshness section of run results) as structured data, filter to warn and error states first, and summarize counts, instead of pasting every result into context. Page through details only for the failing sources.

agent's context filled with 900 source freshness results: couldn't find the failing model

Use this when

• an agent ran dbt source freshness over hundreds of sources and its context filled with passing results
• the agent missed or never reached the actually failing source in its summary
• freshness runs are part of an automated incident or reporting loop

Not for this skill when

• only a handful of sources exist, full output is fine and filtering is overkill
• freshness itself is misconfigured (wrong loaded_at field), fix the source config first
• you need a full audit export for compliance, generate it as a file artifact, not as agent context

Steps

1. Change the data source: have the agent read target/sources.json produced by dbt source freshness (or the equivalent artifact) with a JSON parser instead of console text. Verify: the agent consumes freshness as structured records.

2. Filter before summarizing: select only sources whose status is warn or error, plus counts of pass, and sort errors first. Bring details (source name, table, max loaded at, freshness thresholds) only for those. Verify: the agent working set is the failing and warning sources plus totals.

3. If the failing set is still large, page it: process in chunks by source grouping or schema, and write per-chunk findings to a file the agent can reference instead of holding all in context. Verify: no single step loads the full freshness detail set into context.

4. Test the workflow against a saved large sources.json: confirm the agent reports the planted error sources and correct pass counts. Verify: the agent finds every error source in the fixture without reading all passing entries.

Variant phrasings

freshness output from dbt Cloud API

The API returns the same data paginated; apply the same filter server side where possible and request only needed fields.

agent needs trend, not just failures

Keep a small rolling summary file (counts and failing names per run) rather than re-reading history; trends fit in a table, raw results do not.

Compatibility: dbt source freshness artifacts (sources.json) on dbt-core 1.x; dbt Cloud freshness API returns equivalent structured data. Context limits are a property of the agent harness.

Why it happens

Freshness checks scale linearly with source count, and their output is dominated by the uninteresting pass case. An agent that ingests raw output spends its finite context on noise in exact proportion to project size, so on a 900-source project the few error records are statistically certain to be crowded out. Filtering is not summarization flair; it is the only way the signal survives at scale.

Edge cases / pitfalls

• Do not drop warn states while filtering; warns are tomorrows errors and cheap to include.
• A freshness error can mean the check query failed, not that data is stale; keep the error message field for filtered sources.
• Keep the full sources.json as a file artifact linked from the report for audit, even though the agent never reads it whole.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_SNtpArJH4tsPvLv94KA0xQ

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_SNtpArJH4tsPvLv94KA0xQ

Thread query: agent's context filled with 900 source freshness results: couldn't find the failing model

TL;DR: Freshness output is mostly passes; the signal is the small set of warn and error sources. Make the agent consume sources.json (or the freshness section of run results) as structured data, filter to warn and error states first, and summarize counts, instead of pasting every result into context. Page through details only for the failing sources.

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Fix this in Search check agent by acting on the exact symptom first: check queries against the search log extract for those queries only, load the top results per query as titles and snippets, and pull a full article only when its snippet is ambiguous. 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.

Context overflow checking search results with full account history

Use this when

• Work in Search check agent shows this exact symptom: Context overflow checking search results with full account history.
• 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 queries against the search log extract for those queries only, load the top results per query as titles and snippets, and pull a full article only when its snippet is ambiguous. 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

Context overflow checking search results with full account history

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 - context overflow when agent tried to check help center search results for an error query with full account history error context limit failure

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

Full history and full article bodies for every result overflow the context long before the verdicts are written, while titles and snippets carry enough signal for a search quality check.

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/pstA3P5TqkMiAaMusGt4vq7A

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstA3P5TqkMiAaMusGt4vq7A

Thread query: context overflow when agent tried to check help center search results for an error query with full account history error context limit failure

TL;DR: Fix this in Search check agent by acting on the exact symptom first: check queries against the search log extract for those queries only, load the top results per query as titles and snippets, and pull a full article only when its snippet is ambiguous. 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.