FAQ
Below are the most common questions and error codes we see in production. Follow the steps before opening a ticket.
15.1 Quick Index
Platform Comparison
#compare
Auth & Keys
#auth
Tasks & Schedules
#tasks
Integrations
#int
Policy Denials
#policy
Cost & Latency
#cost
Hallucinations & Citations
#rag
Q: How does Aethera compare to Microsoft Power Automate? A: Power Automate focuses on workflow automation with limited AI reasoning. Aethera agents provide intelligent decision-making, context-aware responses, and natural language understanding while maintaining enterprise governance.
Q: What happens if a third-party API goes down? A: Circuit breakers pause affected tools automatically. Agents can retry with exponential backoff, escalate to human operators, or route to alternative tools based on your policies.
Q: Can Aethera replace our existing RPA tools? A: Aethera complements RPA by adding intelligence to automation. Keep UI-based automations for legacy systems and use Aethera for API-based integrations with reasoning capabilities.
15.3 Auth & Keys
401 Unauthorized
Key revoked / wrong workspace
Regenerate key in Org Settings → API Keys; verify header is Authorization: Bearer <KEY>
SignatureMismatch on CLI deploy
Wrong cert file
Rerun aethera sign-manifest with matching X.509 cert
SDK hangs on localhost
Forgot AETHERA_ENV=local
Set env var or use client = Client(..., env="local")
15.4 Tasks & Schedules
Task stuck in Queued > 5 min
Concurrency limit hit
Increase concurrency in Org Settings → Quotas or wait for queue to clear
Scheduled job didn't fire
Cron syntax off / disabled schedule
Verify cron in Builder; check Home → Schedules toggle
PayloadTooLarge
> 8 MB input
Upload file to S3 via pre‑signed URL then pass link
RetryLimitReached
All auto‑retries exhausted
Inspect Timeline for root cause; consider lowering concurrency or adding backoff
15.5 Integrations
Tool missing from dropdown
Connection not set to Available
Re‑auth in Integrations wizard; ensure scopes granted
AuthError first call
Expired OAuth token
Click Refresh Token button in connection details
DomainBlocked
Egress policy missing
Add allow_egress("api.stripe.com") in Policy
15.6 Policy Denials
PolicyDenied
allow returned false
View Home → Policy Journal; adjust rule or add approval
ApprovalExpired
Approver missed SLA
Re‑run task or increase SLA in Org Settings → Approvals
RuleSyntaxError on save
Rego parse fail
Use Policy Linter (hamburger menu → Validate)
15.7 Cost & Latency
Daily spend spike
Large bulk run / new schedule
Check Home → Cost burn chart; pause schedule or lower concurrency
High MCP Latency
Third‑party API slowness
Add circuit‑breaker: timeout_ms=10000; queue tasks during API outage
Token burn 2×
Long prompts or large KB context
Trim intro prompts; chunk KB by smaller size; test with smaller model
15.8 Hallucinations & Citations
Answer lacks sources
Enable Must Cite in KB settings; ensure doc has unique chunks
Fabricated citation links
Increase citation confidence threshold (Settings → Knowledge)
Off‑brand tone
Review Personality tab; ensure no conflicting instructions in task prompt
Error Code Reference
AuthError
401
Invalid or expired credentials
PolicyDenied
403
Blocked by OPA rule
ApprovalExpired
408
Human approval SLA passed
PayloadTooLarge
413
Body > 8 MB limit
ToolTimeout
504
Tool call exceeded timeout_ms
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