Automation Pilot Debugger

SAP Automation Pilot Debugging & Troubleshooting

Debug failed Executions, check recent execution health, and investigate error patterns. Use this skill when things go wrong — not for normal operations.

Quick Diagnostics

Check Recent Executions Summary

# Last 10 executions summary
curl -s -u "$AUTOPI_USERNAME:$AUTOPI_PASSWORD" \
  "https://$AUTOPI_HOSTNAME/api/v1/executions?limit=10"

# Last 5 failed executions
curl -s -u "$AUTOPI_USERNAME:$AUTOPI_PASSWORD" \
  "https://$AUTOPI_HOSTNAME/api/v1/executions?status=FAILED&limit=5"

# Last 5 successful executions
curl -s -u "$AUTOPI_USERNAME:$AUTOPI_PASSWORD" \
  "https://$AUTOPI_HOSTNAME/api/v1/executions?status=FINISHED&limit=5"

Investigate a Specific Execution

EXEC_ID="your-execution-id"

curl -s -u "$AUTOPI_USERNAME:$AUTOPI_PASSWORD" \
  "https://$AUTOPI_HOSTNAME/api/v1/executions/$EXEC_ID"

curl -s -u "$AUTOPI_USERNAME:$AUTOPI_PASSWORD" \
  "https://$AUTOPI_HOSTNAME/api/v1/executions/$EXEC_ID/logs"

---

Error Pattern Reference

"Parameter 'X' is required but not provided"

Error: API returns 400 with message like "Parameter 'smtpHost' is required but not provided" even when the parameter IS provided in the JSON payload.

Root Cause: Known issue (possibly canary environment specific or permission-related) where the execution API fails to recognize required input parameters passed at trigger time.

Workaround:

1. Avoid required input parameters - make all inputs optional with default values, OR
2. Hardcode values in command definition - put the values directly in the executor input mappings instead of using $(.execution.input.paramName)
3. Commands with NO required inputs (empty inputKeys: {} or all required: false) work correctly

Example - Before (fails):

"inputKeys": {
  "smtpHost": { "type": "string", "required": true }
},
"executors": [{
  "input": { "host": "$(.execution.input.smtpHost)" }
}]

Example - After (works):

"inputKeys": {},
"executors": [{
  "input": { "host": "mail.example.com" }
}]

---

"Missing valid combination of input values for authentication"

Full Error: "Missing valid combination of input values for authentication. Please select a valid option: 1) 'clientCert' for X509 2) 'user' & 'password' for Basic authentication"

Context: Typically occurs with email-sapcp:SendEmail:1 command.

Root Cause: The SMTP server requires authentication. Internal mail relays like mail.sap.corp that work from on-premise networks require authentication when accessed from cloud services (Automation Pilot runs in the cloud).

Fix Options:

1. Provide user and password for SMTP authentication
2. Provide clientCert for X509 certificate authentication
3. Use a different SMTP server that allows unauthenticated relay
4. Use SAP Alert Notification Service (ANS) instead of direct SMTP

---

"The following input keys can only have default values from input, because they are marked as sensitive"

Context: Occurs when deploying a command.

Root Cause: Sensitive input keys (like passwords) cannot have hardcoded defaultValue. This is a security feature.

Fix: Remove defaultValue from sensitive fields. Use defaultValueFromInput to reference an Input object instead, or leave no default.

Wrong:

"password": {
  "type": "string",
  "sensitive": true,
  "defaultValue": ""
}

Correct:

"password": {
  "type": "string",
  "sensitive": true
}

---

"Command not found" or 404 on execution trigger

Root Cause Options:

1. Command ID is wrong (check catalog, name, version)
2. Command exists but is not released (still in draft state)
3. Command was deleted

Fix:

# Check if command exists
curl -s -u "$AUTOPI_USERNAME:$AUTOPI_PASSWORD" \
  "https://$AUTOPI_HOSTNAME/api/v1/commands/catalog:CommandName:1"

⚠️ If the command is in draft state, release it only after verifying it works correctly and only if the user explicitly requests it:

curl -s -X PUT -u "$AUTOPI_USERNAME:$AUTOPI_PASSWORD" \
  "https://$AUTOPI_HOSTNAME/api/v1/commands/catalog:CommandName:1/release"

---

Execution stuck in RUNNING

Possible Causes:

1. Delay:1 step is waiting (check progressMessage for "Waiting X minutes")
2. External HTTP call is timing out
3. Polling loop (repeat) hasn't met exit condition
4. Execution is paused or waiting for user input

curl -s -u "$AUTOPI_USERNAME:$AUTOPI_PASSWORD" "https://$AUTOPI_HOSTNAME/api/v1/executions/$EXEC_ID"

Fix Options:

1. Wait for delay/polling to complete
2. Abort if stuck:

curl -s -X POST -u "$AUTOPI_USERNAME:$AUTOPI_PASSWORD" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"type": "ABORT", "reason": "Aborting stuck execution"}' \
  "https://$AUTOPI_HOSTNAME/api/v1/executions/$EXEC_ID/actions"

---

HTTP executor returns unexpected status

Common Issues:

• 401/403: Authentication failed - check credentials, token expiry
• 404: Resource not found - verify URL and resource exists
• 429: Rate limited - add retry logic with backoff
• 500/502/503: Server error - retry with autoRetry configuration
• -1 or 0: No response / timeout - check connectivity, increase timeout

---

Expression evaluation errors

Symptoms: Error mentions jq, expression, or shows $(.something.output) in error.

Common Causes:

1. Previous step failed, so output doesn't exist
2. JSON parsing failed (toObject on non-JSON string)
3. Null value in expression chain
4. Array index out of bounds

Fix: Add null checks with // "default" operator:

$(.step.output.body | toObject.field // "default")

---

Debugging Workflow

Step 1: Get Execution Status and Error Details

curl -s -u "$AUTOPI_USERNAME:$AUTOPI_PASSWORD" "https://$AUTOPI_HOSTNAME/api/v1/executions/$EXEC_ID"

Step 2: Check Execution Logs

curl -s -u "$AUTOPI_USERNAME:$AUTOPI_PASSWORD" "https://$AUTOPI_HOSTNAME/api/v1/executions/$EXEC_ID/logs?maxPageSize=20"

Step 3: Check Input That Was Used

curl -s -u "$AUTOPI_USERNAME:$AUTOPI_PASSWORD" "https://$AUTOPI_HOSTNAME/api/v1/executions/$EXEC_ID/input"

Step 4: Match Error to Pattern

Look up the error message in the Error Pattern Reference above.

Step 5: Verify Command Definition

curl -s -u "$AUTOPI_USERNAME:$AUTOPI_PASSWORD" "https://$AUTOPI_HOSTNAME/api/v1/commands/$COMMAND_ID"

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: SAP
• Source: SAP/automation-pilot-agent-skills
• License: Apache-2.0

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.