Troubleshooting

Publish failure error reference

Every error message HarperFlow shows you, grouped by area, with what to do about each one.

July 11, 2026

Every error HarperFlow shows you is translated into plain language before it reaches your screen. You should never see a raw technical error. This page lists those messages, grouped by area, with what each one means and what to do.

Connection and site health

What you'll see	What to do
Your connection looks expired or invalid	Reconnect your site from the Your Site page.
HarperFlow has lost the connection to your site	Reconnect your site from the Your Site page.
Your token cannot see any sites	It's likely scoped to a whole workspace instead of one site. Generate a site-scoped token instead.
HarperFlow couldn't reach your site just now	Retry. Nothing was saved or lost.
HarperFlow couldn't find readable content on your site yet	Add some content to your site, or fill in the basics yourself.
HarperFlow couldn't read your site automatically	Retry, or fill in the basics yourself. Either works.

Collection and field mapping

What you'll see	What to do
HarperFlow hit a snag reading your collection's fields	Retry. If it keeps failing, pick a different collection or map fields manually.
Your collection has required fields HarperFlow can't fill	Make those fields optional in your CMS, or let HarperFlow create a fresh collection.
A collection with that name already exists	Recently deleted names can stay reserved briefly. Try a different name.
That collection was deleted from your site	Refresh the page and pick one that still exists.
HarperFlow can't match your collection to its saved mapping	Usually means the collection changed. Re-run the collection step in setup.
HarperFlow couldn't sync your collection's topic fields	Retry. If it keeps failing, let HarperFlow create a fresh collection.
Your collection mapping isn't finished	Complete the collection step in setup.
Your mapping needs a quick validation	Re-run provisioning from the collection step in setup.

Billing and plan

What you'll see	What to do
This workspace already has an active plan	Use Manage plan to switch tiers instead of subscribing again.
You've used all your articles for this period	Upgrade your plan, or wait for next month's reset.
This needs an active trial	Check your Plan page for your current trial status.

Runs, autopilot, and scheduling

What you'll see	What to do
This run already finished	Nothing to do. It completed.
A run is already in progress	Check the run banner for its current status.
HarperFlow couldn't create your run	Retry. Your quota wasn't touched.
HarperFlow couldn't start the writing pipeline	Retry in a moment. Nothing was charged.
This project isn't active	Check your project settings.
Writing is temporarily paused	Try again shortly.
This workspace is on a break	Resume it from the Take a Break card to generate articles.
Too many runs in flight right now	Try again in a moment.
Autopilot isn't turned on for this project	Turn it on from the project's autopilot settings.

Topics and setup

What you'll see	What to do
You need at least 12 reviewed topic clusters before writing	Finish the topic-cluster step in onboarding.
HarperFlow couldn't load your topic clusters	Retry.
HarperFlow couldn't load your workspace	Retry.
HarperFlow couldn't save your setup	Retry. Nothing you'd already entered is lost.

Note: Anything not on this list falls back to a generic message: "We couldn't load this right now. Retry — your data is safe." That's a deliberate default for the unexpected, not a sign something is broken beyond a retry.