| name | debugging |
| description | Troubleshoot Clay workflow issues, fix common mistakes, resolve auto-update problems, and stop credit waste. Use when the user reports something not working in Clay, credits being wasted, auto-update issues, wrong enrichment results, empty columns, or workflow errors. Triggers on "not working", "error", "troubleshoot", "debug", "credits wasted", "auto-update issue", "Clay problem", "wrong results", "fix my workflow", "common mistakes", "empty results", "credits burning". Do NOT use for building new workflows from scratch, learning Clay basics, or pricing questions. |
Debugging Clay Workflows
You help users diagnose and fix problems in their Clay tables, enrichments, and automations.
References
- Read
{SKILL_BASE}/resources/expert-tips-eric-noski.md for the 6 table rules and 8 AI prompting rules.
- Read
{SKILL_BASE}/resources/workflow-patterns.md for auto-update behavior and run settings.
Top 10 Common Mistakes
1. No Conditional Runs on Paid Enrichments
Symptom: Credits burning on rows that already have data.
Fix: Add conditional run to every paid column: /field is empty. Non-negotiable.
2. Auto-Update Enabled During Testing
Symptom: Credits consumed every time new rows are added.
Fix: Set table-level auto-update to OFF while building. Only enable when workflow is finalized.
3. Wrong Input Column Mapped
Symptom: Enrichment returns empty or wrong results.
Fix: Verify input mapping. Email waterfall needs domain, not company name. LinkedIn enrichment needs profile URL, not company URL.
4. AI Prompt Doing Too Many Things
Symptom: Claygent/AI returns inconsistent or partial results.
Fix: One task per AI column. Split "check site + classify + extract" into 3 separate columns. GPT-4 Mini for each.
5. No Null Handling in Formulas
Symptom: Formula errors, "undefined" in cells.
Fix: Add || "" to every variable reference: ({{field}} || ""). Always handle empty cells.
6. Duplicate Rows Consuming Double Credits
Symptom: Same contact enriched multiple times.
Fix: Enable auto-dedupe before importing. Key: email or LinkedIn URL. Note: case-sensitive ("Clay" != "clay").
7. Using Expensive AI Models for Simple Tasks
Symptom: 3x credit cost with no quality improvement.
Fix: GPT-4 Mini / Claygent Neon for 90% of tasks. Only use GPT-4/Claude Opus for complex reasoning.
8. Not Saving Enriched Data Externally
Symptom: Paying to re-enrich the same records in a new table.
Fix: Push all enriched data to CRM or Supabase ($30/month for 11.4M+ records). Query before re-enriching.
9. Running Full Table Before Testing
Symptom: 10,000 credits wasted on a misconfigured column.
Fix: Always test with 50 rows first. Verify outputs. Then run full table.
10. Forgetting Column-Level Auto-Update
Symptom: Table auto-update is ON but some columns do not run.
Fix: Check both table-level AND column-level auto-update settings. Both must be ON for a column to auto-run.
Diagnostic Checklist
When a user reports a problem, ask these questions:
- What enrichment/column is failing? (name and type)
- What input columns are mapped? (check for wrong mapping)
- Is there a conditional run? (check the formula)
- What does the cell status show? (completed, error, pending)
- Is auto-update ON or OFF? (both table and column level)
- How many rows are affected? (all vs. some)
- Did it work before? (regression vs. new issue)
Quick Fixes by Symptom
| Symptom | Likely Cause | Fix |
|---|
| All cells empty | Wrong input column | Re-map inputs, check domain format |
| Some cells empty | Provider coverage gaps | Add more providers to waterfall |
| "Error" in cells | API rate limit or bad input | Wait and retry, or fix input data |
| Credits burning fast | Missing conditionals + auto-update ON | Add conditionals, disable auto-update |
| Inconsistent AI results | Prompt too complex | Split into multiple columns, add examples |
| Duplicates appearing | No auto-dedupe | Enable dedupe on email or LinkedIn URL |
| Formula showing "undefined" | Null values | Add ` |
Examples
Example 1: "My email waterfall is returning 0 results on all rows"
--> Check input mapping: is domain column mapped (not company name)? Check domain format: should be "acme.com" not "https://www.acme.com/". Check conditional run: is it blocking all rows? Verify: run manually on 1 row to isolate the issue.
Example 2: "My Clay table used 50,000 credits overnight"
--> Check auto-update: is it ON at table level? Check which columns have auto-update enabled. Check for expensive enrichments (phone = 2-25 credits each). Add conditional runs to all paid columns. Disable auto-update immediately to stop the bleed.
Example 3: "Claygent keeps returning different formats for the same question"
--> Add explicit output format in prompt: "Output exactly 'Yes' or 'No', nothing else." Use "purple" as null keyword. Add 3-4 examples of expected output. Use Claygent Neon, not GPT-4.
