Guide: A task finished with failures
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/troubleshooting/a-task-finished-with-failures
Topic: Troubleshooting
Time: about 2 minutes
Who can do it: Anyone on your team
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/tools/tasks
Result when done: You can see exactly which comments failed and why, and retry only those.
Context: A bulk job reports done, failed and skipped. Failures keep what Meta said for each comment, and Retry failed runs only them.

Before you start:
1. Skipped means the comment was already in the state you asked for; it is not an error.
2. Each failure keeps the reason Meta gave.
3. Retry failed never repeats work that succeeded.

Steps:
Step 1 of 3: Open the task.
Where: Tools, Tasks, then the job. Each item shows Done or Failed.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/tools/tasks (Open Tasks)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/tasks-detail.en.webp (The task, with Failed rows.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/tasks-detail-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: What happened to every comment, with the reason on the failures.

Step 2 of 3: Read the reasons.
Where: Common ones: the object no longer exists, a Meta rate limit, an action block, or page access expired.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/tasks-detail.en.webp (The reason beside each failure.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/tasks-detail-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: A cause you can act on rather than a number.

Step 3 of 3: Fix the cause, then retry.
Where: Reconnect a disconnected page, or wait out a rate limit, then Retry failed on the task.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/tasks.en.webp (Retry failed, on the task.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/tasks-retry-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: A second run over the failures alone, with its own result.

If something is off:
Problem: Everything failed
Fix: Usually the page connection expired or the post was deleted. The reason is on each item.
Problem: Retry failed again
Fix: If the object no longer exists, nothing can fix it: the comment is already gone.
Problem: It says skipped
Fix: The comment was already hidden, or already unhidden. Nothing was wrong.

Common questions:
Question: Does Retry failed redo comments that already succeeded?
Answer: No. Retry failed runs only the failed items and never repeats work that succeeded; you get a second run over the failures alone, with its own result.
Question: What are the common reasons a comment fails in a bulk task?
Answer: The object no longer exists, a Meta rate limit, an action block, or page access expired. Each failure keeps the reason Meta gave, shown beside the item when you open the job under Tools, Tasks.
Question: Should I retry a task as soon as it finishes with failures?
Answer: Fix the cause first. Reconnect a disconnected page or wait out a rate limit, then use Retry failed on the task.
Question: Will CommentWatchDog tell me when a long bulk job finishes?
Answer: Yes. Long jobs run in the background, survive closing the page and email you when finished. The job then reports done, failed and skipped, with what Meta said kept on each failure.

Related guides:
- Follow a task: pause, resume, stop and retry: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/follow-a-task-pause-resume-stop-and-retry
- Meta rate limit and action block: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/troubleshooting/meta-rate-limit-and-action-block
- A page shows Disconnected: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/troubleshooting/a-page-shows-disconnected

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/troubleshooting/a-task-finished-with-failures.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt