different-ai/openwork · error · Error

Automation request failed (${result.response.status}).

Error message

Automation request failed (${result.response.status}).

What it means

payload() in automation-data.tsx is the shared fetch wrapper for all automation queries. requestJson performs the HTTP call (170s timeout) and if response.ok is false, the error is thrown using the server-provided error message or this generic fallback including the HTTP status. It means the automation API endpoint returned a non-2xx response.

Source

Thrown at ee/apps/den-web/app/(den)/dashboard/_components/automation-data.tsx:16

"use client";

import { useMutation, useQuery, useQueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query";
import {
  automationDetailSchema,
  automationListSchema,
  automationRunReceiptSchema,
  automationRunSchema,
} from "@openwork/types/automations";
import type { CreateCloudAutomation, UpdateAutomation } from "@openwork/types/automations";
import { workflowArtifactSnapshotSchema } from "@openwork/types/workflows";
import { getErrorMessage, requestJson } from "../../_lib/den-flow";

async function payload(path: string, init: RequestInit = { method: "GET" }) {
  const result = await requestJson(path, init, 170_000);
  if (!result.response.ok) throw new Error(getErrorMessage(result.payload, `Automation request failed (${result.response.status}).`));
  return result.payload;
}

export function useAutomations() {
  return useQuery({ queryKey: ["automations", "list"], queryFn: async () => automationListSchema.parse(await payload("/v1/automations?limit=100")) });
}

export function useAutomation(automationId: string | null) {
  return useQuery({
    queryKey: ["automations", "detail", automationId],
    queryFn: async () => automationDetailSchema.parse(await payload(`/v1/automations/${encodeURIComponent(automationId ?? "")}`)),
    enabled: Boolean(automationId),
  });
}

export function useAutomationRuns(automationId: string | null) {
  return useQuery({
    queryKey: ["automations", "runs", automationId],

View on GitHub (pinned to 2b7df46e8a)

Solutions

1. Read the status code in the message and the server error body; handle 401 by re-authenticating (sign in again).
2. Confirm the Den server version supports /v1/automations routes.
3. Retry the query if it was a transient 5xx/429; React Query will retry per its config.
4. Check org membership/permissions if the status is 403.

Example fix

// before
if (!result.response.ok) throw new Error(getErrorMessage(result.payload, `Automation request failed (${result.response.status}).`));
// after
if (result.response.status === 401) throw new Error("Session expired — please sign in again.");
if (!result.response.ok) throw new Error(getErrorMessage(result.payload, `Automation request failed (${result.response.status}).`));

// Pre-flight session check before running automation queries
const session = await fetch("/api/session", { method: "HEAD" });
if (!session.ok) { redirectToSignIn(); }

function isAutomationList(v: unknown): v is { items: unknown[] } {
  return typeof v === "object" && v !== null && "items" in v && Array.isArray((v as {items:unknown}).items);
}

try {
  const automations = await payload("/v1/automations?limit=100");
} catch (err) {
  const status = /\((\d{3})\)/.exec(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "")?.[1];
  if (status === "401") redirectToSignIn();
  else if (status === "429" || status?.startsWith("5")) scheduleRetry();
  else showToast(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Automation request failed");
}

When it happens

Trigger: GET /v1/automations?limit=100 or other automation endpoints return 401 (expired Den session), 403 (not a member of the org), 404 (server without automations routes), 429 (rate limited), or 5xx (server error).

Common situations: Session cookie expired mid-use; user switched orgs and the token lacks access; self-hosted server predates the automations feature (404); backend deploy in progress causing 502/503.

Understand the failure class

Background: 'Something went wrong' / 'Request failed (500)' / 'HTTP error! status: 404' — what failed HTTP requests actually mean and how to find the real cause — this error's family across 28 libraries.

Related errors

• Failed to load connection details (${response.status}).
• Billing lookup failed (${response.status}).
• Failed to start OAuth (${response.status}).
• CUA API error ${response.status}: ${errorText.slice(0, 300)}
• latest-mac.yml is missing artifact path/url.

AI-assisted analysis of different-ai/openwork@2b7df46e8a (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/300abecdd1013c2a. Report an issue: GitHub.