# agent sam.gov session expired mid submission and failed to retry: how to fix it

An agent whose sam.gov session expires mid-submission needs session health checks and a re-login path, not just a retry of the failed step. Check the session before each critical step and re-authenticate when it is stale. Submissions are multi-step, so the session must survive the whole flow.

```text
agent sam.gov session expired mid submission and failed to retry
```

## When to use this skill
- Agent sam.gov submissions die on session expiry
- Retries fail because the session is still dead

## When not to use this skill
- The session is fine but submission errors (a submission issue)
- Login itself fails (an auth issue)

## Tool compatibility
Agent browser automation against sam.gov. Session management.
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 sam.gov submissions die on session expiry, start at step 1 below.
- If instead the session is fine but submission errors (a submission 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. Add a session health check

```
Before each submission step, verify the session is still valid.
```
Expected: the agent detects expiry before attempting the step.

### 2. Build a re-login routine

```
On expiry, run the full login flow again automatically.
```
Expected: a fresh valid session without human help.

### 3. Resume from the last completed step

```
Track step completion so re-login resumes mid-flow instead of restarting.
```
Expected: the submission continues where it left off.

### 4. Test with a short session timeout

```
Force an expiry mid-run in testing to prove the recovery works.
```
Expected: the agent recovers and completes.

## Confirm each step worked
Run through this checklist before moving on. If a check fails, redo that step instead of pushing ahead.
- Step 1 (add a session health check): Expected: the agent detects expiry before attempting the step.
- Step 2 (build a re-login routine): Expected: a fresh valid session without human help.
- Step 3 (resume from the last completed step): Expected: the submission continues where it left off.
- Step 4 (test with a short session timeout): Expected: the agent recovers and completes.

## Quick recap
1. Add a session health check
2. Build a re-login routine
3. Resume from the last completed step
4. Test with a short session timeout

## 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
### sam.gov session expired agent
Health check plus auto re-login. If this matches what you saw, the steps above apply as written.

### agent failed to retry submission
Retry the step only after restoring the session. If this matches what you saw, the steps above apply as written.

## Why it happens
sam.gov sessions are short and submissions are long. An agent that only retries the failed HTTP request without restoring the session retries with dead credentials forever.

## Edge cases
- login.gov MFA complicates automated re-login, plan for it
- Keep the flow moving, idle time burns session life
- Log session age so you can see expiry coming

## Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_CFhng0o_4ii-86E46wQfig