api rate limit hit mid-evidence-upload and the agent's case export failed

TL;DR

Evidence uploads are heavy API traffic: many files, large sizes, all at the end of a run when patience is thin. A single-shot export that hits a limit loses everything and retries as a bigger burst. Chunk the export into per-file or small-batch uploads with pacing, record which items the case system accepted, and resume from the first unaccepted item. The case should show partial progress honestly rather than an all-or-nothing failure.

api rate limit hit mid-evidence-upload and the agent's case export failed

Use this when

• Exports fail near the end with rate limit errors and nothing is saved in the case.
• Re-running the export duplicates some evidence and still fails.

Not for this skill when

• The case system rejects a specific file type. Chunking will not fix a format rule.
• The rate limit is a hard daily quota already spent. Resume tomorrow or raise the quota through the account owner.

Steps

1. Log which upload request hits the limit and how many items were accepted before it. Verify: partial progress is measurable from the case system side.
2. Split the export into per-item uploads with the case system idempotency or naming that prevents duplicates on retry. Verify: a repeated item does not duplicate in the case.
3. Pace uploads under the API limit and honour its retry guidance on limit responses. Verify: a test export of full size completes without limit errors.
4. Persist export state: item, status and case reference, so a stopped export resumes at the first pending item. Verify: killing an export mid-way and resuming loses and duplicates nothing.
5. Run the full campaign evidence export. Verify: the case contains every item exactly once, with the export log attached.

Variant phrasings

rate limit evidence upload case export failed resume

The resumable export variant.

chunked upload api limit agent case files

The chunking variant.

Compatibility: Case management and ticketing APIs with attachment endpoints and rate limits.

Why it happens

Export is the least engineered step in many agents because it happens last and demos well on three files. At campaign scale it is a bulk transfer problem with the same physics as any other: limits, partial failure and duplicates, all needing explicit design.

Edge cases / pitfalls

• Attach the export manifest to the case first, so even a partial upload is interpretable by the analyst.
• Compress or reference very large artefacts rather than pushing them through an API never meant for them.
• Report partial exports as partial in the run summary. Silent partial success corrupts case evidence.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstTAr0D6TixCGSyeQrtNqHg