Guide: Meta rate limit and action block
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/troubleshooting/meta-rate-limit-and-action-block
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 know why work slowed down and that it finishes by itself.
Context: Meta caps how many actions an app may take for a page in a period, and applies a temporary action block when a page is unusually busy. CommentWatchDog waits and resumes rather than failing.

Before you start:
1. Rate limits are per page and clear on their own.
2. Queued work finishes automatically; nothing is dropped.
3. Running several large jobs at once makes it worse.

Steps:
Step 1 of 3: Recognise it.
Where: A comment chip reading queued, or a task reading Meta rate limit or Meta action block, with a note that it resumes on its own.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/tools/tasks (Open Tasks)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/tasks.en.webp (A task waiting at a safe pace.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/tasks-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: A named condition rather than a silent failure.

Step 2 of 3: Let it run.
Where: Nothing to do. The job continues at the pace Meta allows and the page tells you roughly when.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/cleanup-active.en.webp (Let it run.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/cleanup-active-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: Progress continuing, slowly, without your attention.

Step 3 of 3: Avoid making it worse.
Where: Run one large cleanup at a time, and avoid bulk actions on the same page while a sweep is running.
You should see: Fewer pauses and a faster finish overall.

If something is off:
Problem: It has been limited for hours
Fix: Large sweeps on a busy page can take a while. The task shows its progress; nothing is lost.
Problem: Everything on one page is blocked
Fix: That page has an action block. It clears on its own; other pages are unaffected.
Problem: Can I raise the limit
Fix: No. It is set by Meta per page.

Common questions:
Question: What is a Meta action block on a page?
Answer: A temporary block Meta applies when a page is unusually busy. It sits alongside the rate limit, which caps how many actions an app may take for a page in a period; in both cases CommentWatchDog waits and resumes rather than failing.
Question: Will a Meta rate limit make CommentWatchDog drop any comments?
Answer: No. Queued work finishes automatically and nothing is dropped. The job continues at the pace Meta allows and the page tells you roughly when.
Question: How do I know a job is rate limited rather than stuck?
Answer: It is named. A comment chip reads queued, or the task reads Meta rate limit or Meta action block with a note that it resumes on its own, so you see a named condition rather than a silent failure.
Question: Is it safe to run two large cleanups on the same page at once?
Answer: Better not. Running several large jobs at once makes it worse. Run one large cleanup at a time and avoid bulk actions on the same page while a sweep is running; you get fewer pauses and a faster finish overall.

Related guides:
- Why a reply was queued, and how to cancel it: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/inbox/why-a-reply-was-queued-and-how-to-cancel-it
- Follow a task: pause, resume, stop and retry: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/follow-a-task-pause-resume-stop-and-retry
- Which comments cannot be deleted: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/platforms/which-comments-cannot-be-deleted

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/troubleshooting/meta-rate-limit-and-action-block.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt