Hi Koichi,
Thanks for sharing the details and the list of failed automation runs. Based on your description and the suspicion of a 429 error (which typically indicates “Too Many Requests” or resource exhaustion due to rate limiting or quotas), this sounds very similar to a known ongoing issue in the AppSheet community. There’s a thread discussing intermittent 429 errors specifically affecting automation bots that generate and send PDFs, which started around late August 2025. It appears tied to changes in Google’s quotas for accessing documents (like the templates used in PDF tasks).
You can check that thread here for more context and updates: Intermittent 429 errors on automation bots sending PDFs (started Aug 27–28, 2025)
In the meantime, here are some steps to troubleshoot and potentially fix or mitigate the issue:
1. Confirm the Exact Error
Go to the AppSheet editor > Monitor > Audit History (or the specific bot’s monitoring logs).
Look for the detailed error message in the failed steps. If it’s indeed “Resource has been exhausted (e.g., check quota)” or HTTP 429, that’s the quota/rate limit hit.
If you can share the full error message here (the one you mentioned finding in the log), it would help narrow it down further.
2. Check Your AppSheet Plan and Quotas
AppSheet has limits on automation runs, API calls, and PDF generations based on your subscription tier (e.g., free plans have stricter limits like 100 automations/day, while paid plans like Core or Enterprise have higher ones).
Log into your Google Cloud console (since AppSheet runs on GCP).
Search for quotas related to “AppSheet,” “Document AI,” “Google Docs API,” or “Sheets API” (PDF generation often involves these under the hood). Look for anything exhausted or near limits, like read requests or concurrent operations.
If you’re on a free or starter plan, consider upgrading if usage is high.
3. Optimize Your Automation to Avoid Rate Limits
Reduce Frequency/Concurrency: If multiple bots or users are triggering PDF generations at the same time, space them out. Use conditions in your bot to limit runs (e.g., only trigger if certain criteria are met) or add a delay step if available.
Batch Processing: Instead of generating PDFs one-by-one in rapid succession, see if you can batch multiple records into fewer PDF tasks.
Retry Settings: In the bot configuration, enable or adjust retry strategies for failed steps (AppSheet supports automatic retries with backoff for transient errors like 429).
Monitor Usage: Regularly check the Monitor tab to see peak times and adjust schedules accordingly.
4. Workarounds for PDF Generation
Switch to HTML Templates: If your PDF task uses a Google Doc template, try converting it to an HTML-based template instead. This bypasses some Google Docs API quotas, as HTML rendering is handled differently and often avoids the same rate limits. AppSheet’s help docs have a guide on this: https://support.google.com/appsheet/answer/10106809
Alternative Outputs: If possible, generate CSVs or other file types temporarily, or use email bodies with inline data instead of attached PDFs.
External Tools: For high-volume needs, integrate with an external service like Google Apps Script or a third-party PDF generator via webhooks, but this adds complexity.
5. Escalate if Needed
If this persists and isn’t due to your own usage exceeding limits, it might be the broader bug. Tag @Adam-google or other Googlers again, or open a support ticket through the AppSheet editor (Help > Support) if you’re on a paid plan.
Keep an eye on the community thread for official updates—Google staff often post resolutions there.
Let me know if you try any of these and what happens, or if you have more details from the logs. Hopefully, this gets resolved soon!
Best,
Yash Shreshtha Raj