# agent pandadoc export timed out waiting for render: how to fix it

A PandaDoc export that times out on render needs the agent to poll for completion instead of waiting on one long request. Switch to an async pattern: trigger the export, poll the status, then download. Render times grow with document size, so no fixed timeout is safe.

```text
agent pandadoc export timed out waiting for render
```

## When to use this skill
- Agent PandaDoc exports time out on render
- Large documents fail while small ones work

## When not to use this skill
- The export fails fast with an error (a content issue)
- Manual exports also fail (a PandaDoc issue)

## Tool compatibility
PandaDoc API export in agent workflows. Async polling pattern.
Related area: agent frameworks and agent runtime tooling.
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 agent PandaDoc exports time out on render, start at step 1 below.
- If instead the export fails fast with an error (a content 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. Switch to trigger and poll

```
Change the agent to start the export, then check status every 15 seconds.
```
Expected: the agent stops holding one long request open.

### 2. Set a generous overall deadline

```
Allow up to 10 minutes of polling for large documents.
```
Expected: big renders finish within the budget.

### 3. Download on completion

```
Fetch the file only after the status reports ready.
```
Expected: a complete PDF every time.

### 4. Verify on a large document

```
Test with your biggest real proposal.
```
Expected: clean export with no timeout.

## Confirm each step worked
Run through this checklist before moving on. If a check fails, redo that step instead of pushing ahead.
- Step 1 (switch to trigger and poll): Expected: the agent stops holding one long request open.
- Step 2 (set a generous overall deadline): Expected: big renders finish within the budget.
- Step 3 (download on completion): Expected: a complete PDF every time.
- Step 4 (verify on a large document): Expected: clean export with no timeout.

## Quick recap
1. Switch to trigger and poll
2. Set a generous overall deadline
3. Download on completion
4. Verify on a large document

## 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
### pandadoc export timeout render
Poll for completion, never hold one long request. If this matches what you saw, the steps above apply as written.

### agent waiting for pandadoc render
Render time scales with size, timeouts must too. If this matches what you saw, the steps above apply as written.

## Why it happens
Document renders are background jobs with unpredictable duration. An agent holding a single synchronous request will always eventually hit a timeout on a big enough document, while polling sidesteps the problem entirely.

## Edge cases
- Poll gently, aggressive polling can itself rate limit
- Very first render after template edits is slowest, warm it up
- Store the export job ID so a crashed agent can resume polling

## Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_kzByDEBNta6USQ818SDkIw