> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.prisme.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Error Handling

> Learn how to implement robust error management strategies for tool-using agents to ensure reliability and excellent user experience

Effective error handling is essential for creating reliable, user-friendly tool-using agents. By properly managing error cases, you can ensure that agents degrade gracefully when issues occur, provide helpful feedback to users, and maintain trust in automated systems.

The platform's event-driven, natively traceable foundation works in your favor here: every failure surfaces as an event with a correlation ID, so you can diagnose issues and build resilience against LLM and cloud outages without stitching together separate logging systems.

## The Importance of Error Handling

Robust error handling delivers multiple benefits:

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Reliability" icon="shield-check">
    Agents continue functioning even when components fail
  </Card>

  <Card title="User Experience" icon="face-smile">
    Informative messages rather than confusing failures
  </Card>

  <Card title="Trust" icon="handshake">
    Consistent behavior builds confidence in AI systems
  </Card>

  <Card title="Maintainability" icon="wrench">
    Easier diagnostics and troubleshooting
  </Card>

  <Card title="Resilience" icon="arrows-rotate">
    Recovery from temporary issues without intervention
  </Card>

  <Card title="Visibility" icon="eye">
    Clear insights into system performance and issues
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Error Categories in Tool-Using Agents

Tool-using agents can encounter several categories of errors:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Input Errors">
    Issues with the parameters or inputs provided to tools.

    **Common examples**:

    * Missing required parameters
    * Invalid parameter formats
    * Parameter validation failures
    * Value constraint violations
    * Inconsistent parameter combinations

    **Typical causes**:

    * Misinterpretation of user requests
    * Incomplete information from users
    * LLM extraction errors
    * Schema misalignment
    * User input errors
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Execution Errors">
    Problems that occur during tool operation.

    **Common examples**:

    * External service failures
    * Resource exhaustion
    * Timeout errors
    * Permission or access denied
    * Runtime exceptions

    **Typical causes**:

    * External dependency issues
    * Resource constraints
    * Network problems
    * Authentication failures
    * Logic bugs
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Data Errors">
    Issues related to the data being processed or returned.

    **Common examples**:

    * No data found
    * Data format mismatches
    * Corrupt or invalid data
    * Inconsistent data state
    * Data access restrictions

    **Typical causes**:

    * Database inconsistencies
    * Data model changes
    * Access control issues
    * API response changes
    * Data quality problems
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Agent Errors">
    Problems in the interaction between tools and the agent.

    **Common examples**:

    * Context window limitations
    * Response formatting failures
    * Tool selection errors
    * Multi-turn context issues
    * Tool result misinterpretation

    **Typical causes**:

    * LLM limitations
    * Prompt design issues
    * Tool-agent integration problems
    * Conversation management failures
    * Complex workflow breakdowns
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Error Handling Strategy

A comprehensive error handling strategy includes several key components:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Error Prevention">
    Implement measures to prevent errors before they occur.

    **Key techniques**:

    * Thorough parameter validation
    * Pre-execution checks and confirmations
    * Clear tool selection criteria
    * Preventive maintenance
    * Proactive monitoring
  </Step>

  <Step title="Error Detection">
    Identify errors quickly and accurately when they happen.

    **Key techniques**:

    * Comprehensive error checking
    * Explicit error codes and types
    * Health checks and heartbeats
    * Anomaly detection
    * Timeout monitoring
  </Step>

  <Step title="Error Recovery">
    Implement mechanisms to recover from errors when possible.

    **Key techniques**:

    * Automatic retries with backoff
    * Fallback mechanisms
    * Circuit breakers
    * Alternative tool selection
    * Partial result handling
  </Step>

  <Step title="Error Communication">
    Provide clear, actionable information about errors.

    **Key techniques**:

    * User-friendly error messages
    * Context-appropriate detail level
    * Actionable suggestions
    * Consistent error formats
    * Progress communication
  </Step>

  <Step title="Error Logging and Analysis">
    Capture error data for improvement and monitoring.

    **Key techniques**:

    * Structured error logging
    * Correlation identifiers
    * Context preservation
    * Error aggregation and analysis
    * Trend monitoring
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Implementing Error Handling in Prisme.ai

Prisme.ai provides several mechanisms for implementing robust error handling:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Knowledges">
    Configure error handling in no-code tool integrations.

    **Key capabilities**:

    * Built-in error handling for standard tools
    * Error response configuration
    * LLM guidance for error scenarios
    * User communication templates
    * Error recovery strategies
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Builder">
    Implement custom error handling logic.

    **Key capabilities**:

    * Condition-based error handling
    * Try-catch patterns
    * Custom error types and responses
    * Event-based error processing
    * Recovery workflow design
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Error Handling Patterns

\[... the previously provided patterns continue here unchanged ...]

<Accordion title="Fallback Pattern">
  Provide alternative methods when primary approaches fail.

  **Implementation example**:

  ```yaml theme={null}
  slug: weather-forecast-tool
  do:
    # Try primary weather service
    - try:
        do:
          - PrimaryWeatherAPI.getForecast:
              location: '{{event.data.parameters.location}}'
              days: '{{event.data.parameters.days || 3}}'
              output: forecastData

          # Return forecast data
          - set:
              name: output
              value:
                forecast: '{{forecastData}}'
                source: 'primary'

        # On error, try secondary service
        catch:
          - emit:
              event: weather.primary.failed
              data:
                error: '{{error}}'
                location: '{{event.data.parameters.location}}'

          # Try secondary weather service
          - try:
              do:
                - SecondaryWeatherAPI.getForecast:
                    location: '{{event.data.parameters.location}}'
                    days: '{{event.data.parameters.days || 3}}'
                    output: fallbackForecast

                # Return fallback forecast
                - set:
                    name: output
                    value:
                      forecast: '{{fallbackForecast}}'
                      source: 'secondary'

              # If secondary also fails, try simple location-based lookup
              catch:
                - emit:
                    event: weather.secondary.failed
                    data:
                      error: '{{error}}'
                      location: '{{event.data.parameters.location}}'

                # Provide basic message if all else fails
                - set:
                    name: output
                    value:
                      error:
                        code: 'ALL_PROVIDERS_FAILED'
                        message: 'All weather forecast providers failed'
                        userMessage: 'I was unable to retrieve the weather forecast at this time.'
                        suggestion: 'Please try again later or check a weather website directly.'
  ```

  This pattern:

  * Attempts a primary approach first
  * Falls back to a secondary option if the primary fails
  * Escalates to a final simple backup method
  * Ensures the user receives a response even in failure scenarios
  * Communicates clearly which fallback was used
</Accordion>

## Conclusion

Effective error handling in tool-using agents is not just a technical requirement; it's a cornerstone of trust, usability, and resilience. By implementing structured strategies and reusable patterns, you can build agents that handle failure gracefully, communicate clearly with users, and improve continuously over time.