docs agent failed after hitting translation api rate limit mid localization pa

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Honor the API's Retry-After response, back off exponentially with jitter, and checkpoint after every file so a rerun resumes instead of restarting. The pass died because it retried immediately at full speed, which just burns quota faster. Backoff plus checkpoints turns a rate limit into a slowdown instead of a failure.

docs agent failed after hitting translation api rate limit mid localization pass

Steps

1. Confirm it is a rate limit: check the translation step logs for 429 status codes or quota-exceeded messages. Expected: the errors cluster at high request rates, not on specific content.
2. Add retry with backoff: on a 429, wait the number of seconds from the Retry-After header (or double the wait each attempt, with jitter) before retrying, up to a sane max. Expected: a throttled run completes slowly instead of aborting.
3. Lower the request rate: batch multiple strings per API call and reduce concurrency until the 429s stop. Expected: steady throughput with no 429s in the log.
4. Checkpoint progress: record each completed file and locale (a small JSON state file works) and skip completed ones on rerun. Expected: killing and restarting the pass resumes where it stopped.
5. Rerun the localization pass and verify every locale has every file translated. Expected: no missing translations and no 429s in the final log.

Use this when

• the translation step fails with 429 or quota errors mid-pass
• some locales are translated and others are missing after a run
• rerunning the pass restarts from zero and hits the limit again

Not for this skill when

• translations are wrong but complete (quality problem, not a limit problem)
• the API rejects the content itself (validation error, not 429)
• you hit a hard monthly quota cap (backoff cannot help; you need a higher quota or fewer strings)

Variant phrasings

• translation API 429 during docs localization
• docs agent throttled mid translation pass
• localization pass died on rate limit

Why it happens

Translation APIs price by throughput: bursts of parallel requests trip per-minute quotas, and naive retry loops re-fire immediately, which the API counts as more load. Without backoff the agent effectively hammers its own quota, and without checkpoints every retry restarts the burn from zero.

Edge cases

• Retry-After can be minutes long: cap total wait time and surface a clear "paused for quota" status instead of hanging silently.
• Batching too aggressively can hit per-request size limits: find the sweet spot between batch size and request count.
• Machine-translated output still needs a quality spot-check: rate limits do not excuse shipping bad translations.
• Some APIs count characters, not requests: monitor both dimensions.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstxRaA8Xs7actGG19VqJiIA

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstxRaA8Xs7actGG19VqJiIA

Thread query: docs agent failed after hitting translation api rate limit mid localization pass

TL;DR: Honor the API's Retry-After response, back off exponentially with jitter, and checkpoint after every file so a rerun resumes instead of restarting. The pass died because it retried immediately at full speed, which just burns quota faster. Backoff plus checkpoints turns a rate limit into a slowdown instead of a failure.

Not specified by the original author.

Fix the locale agent hitting the DeepL rate limit mid batch

TL;DR

The batch outruns DeepL's rate limit, so throttle the agent and resume from where it stopped. DeepL limits requests per second, and a fast loop trips it partway through. Add a delay between calls, checkpoint completed items, and rerun to finish the remainder.

The error

Locale agent: DeepL 429 Too Many Requests at item 1,240 of 4,000
batch translation sync failed halfway

Fix it

Step 1: Confirm it is rate limiting not quota

node -e "console.log('429 with retry-after means rate limit, 456 means quota -- check which you got')"

Expected: You know which limit you hit.

Step 2: Add pacing between requests

grep -n "await translate" scripts/batch-translate.js | head -3

Expected: You find the hot loop to pace.

Step 3: Checkpoint each completed translation

node -e "console.log('pattern: write results incrementally, on restart skip items already translated')"

Expected: A rerun resumes instead of restarting.

Step 4: Rerun to complete the batch

node scripts/batch-translate.js | tail -3

Expected: The remaining items translate without 429s.

When to use this

• A locale agent hits DeepL 429 mid batch
• Batch translation dies partway

When NOT to use this

• The error is 456, that is quota, different fix
• The error is 403, that is auth

Tool and version compatibility

• DeepL API rate limits, batch translation agents
• Checkpointed batch runners

Variant phrasings

rate limit on the free tier is tighter

Pace more aggressively there, or move batch workloads to pro.

429s even at low speed

Something else is using the same credential. Check for parallel jobs sharing the key.

Why it happens

DeepL throttles request rate separately from the character quota. A tight loop with no pacing exhausts the per-second budget, and the 429 stops the batch wherever it happens to be.

Edge cases

• Honor retry-after when present, it is the server telling you the exact wait
• Batch multiple texts per request where the API allows, fewer requests total
• Jitter the pacing so parallel workers do not synchronize into waves

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_cXln8d5T7T1BZfgFogllPQ

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_cXln8d5T7T1BZfgFogllPQ

Thread query: locale agent hit deepl rate limit mid batch translation and the sync failed

TL;DR: The batch outruns DeepL's rate limit, so throttle the agent and resume from where it stopped. DeepL limits requests per second, and a fast loop trips it partway through. Add a delay between calls, checkpoint completed items, and rerun to finish the remainder.

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Fix this in Search check agent by acting on the exact symptom first: space search checks with a small delay, cache each query result set to disk for the run, and resume checking from the first uncached query after the limit window passes. 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.

Rate limit hit mid workflow checking help center search results

Use this when

• Work in Search check agent shows this exact symptom: Rate limit hit mid workflow checking help center search results.
• 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: space search checks with a small delay, cache each query result set to disk for the run, and resume checking from the first uncached query after the limit window passes. 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

Rate limit hit mid workflow checking help center search results

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 - API rate limit hit mid-workflow when agent tried to check help center search results for an error query error failed quota

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

Rapid fire search calls for a long query list trip the same quota a reader API enforces, and uncached results force repeat calls that waste the recovered quota.

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/psthel8R-IRe8QOVFGsjsxlw

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/psthel8R-IRe8QOVFGsjsxlw

Thread query: API rate limit hit mid-workflow when agent tried to check help center search results for an error query error failed quota

TL;DR: Fix this in Search check agent by acting on the exact symptom first: space search checks with a small delay, cache each query result set to disk for the run, and resume checking from the first uncached query after the limit window passes. 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.