Troubleshooting: Common Issues
Solutions for common automation problems: API authentication errors, permission issues, environment variables, rate limiting, and debugging techniques
Introduction
This chapter provides solutions for common automation issues. Most problems fall into five categories: authentication failures, permission errors, environment configuration, network connectivity, and data parsing. Each issue includes symptoms, root causes, and tested solutions.
Common Issues
Debugging Techniques
When troubleshooting automation scripts, start by enabling verbose mode to see exactly what commands are executing and in what order. Check exit codes after each critical step to catch failures early before they cascade. Break complex scripts into smaller testable units and verify each works independently before chaining them together. Use logging throughout your automation to create an audit trail of what the script is doing, which files it's processing, and what results it's producing. This systematic approach turns mysterious failures into solvable problems.
Getting Help
When debugging doesn't resolve the issue, gather comprehensive context before seeking help. Collect the full error message with any stack traces or error codes. Document the exact command that failed and the environment where you're running it. Check script logs for error messages that might indicate the root cause.
Search for error messages online through Stack Overflow and GitHub Issues where others may have encountered identical problems. Review the API provider's documentation for their specific error codes and troubleshooting guides. Test the failing component in isolation by removing complexity and dependencies.
When asking in community forums or chat channels, provide the full error context including what you've already tried. Include relevant code snippets, environment details, and steps to reproduce the issue. Clear problem descriptions with context get faster, more accurate help.
Prevention Strategies
Build error handling into scripts from the start rather than adding it after failures occur. Use strict mode with set -euo pipefail in bash scripts to catch errors immediately. Validate inputs and environment variables before processing. Add logging at key decision points to track script execution. Test scripts in a safe environment before running them on important data. Prevention through defensive programming saves hours of debugging time.
Next Steps
With troubleshooting skills in place, move to the final chapter covering additional resources, learning materials, and how to extend these automation techniques to new use cases.
Extension Patterns: Advanced Automation
Advanced techniques for script enhancement: chaining workflows, parallel execution, caching strategies, and error recovery patterns
Resources & Next Steps
Learning resources, documentation links, next courses in the curriculum, and community support for command-line AI automation