Don't paste huge workflows:
You: "Fix this workflow [pastes 3000 lines of JSON]"
Result:
- Context overflow
- AI gets confused
- Misses important details
- Poor quality output
Don't expect miracles:
You: "Debug my entire complex workflow and fix everything"
Result:
- Too broad, unfocused
- Can't understand the full context
- May fix one thing, break another
Section your workflow into logical parts:
You: "I have a SharePoint flow with 3 sections:
1. Get items and filter (lines 50-150)
2. Loop and process (lines 151-300) ← THIS IS FAILING
3. Send notifications (lines 301-400)
I'm getting 429 errors in section 2. Here's that section:
[paste 150 lines of the loop section]
It should filter CNESST items and extract dates."
Result:
✅ Focused analysis
✅ Better understanding
✅ Accurate fix
| What You're Debugging | Max Lines | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Single action error | 50-100 | Simple, focused |
| Loop/condition section | 150-200 | One logical unit |
| Multiple related actions | 200-300 | Connected operations |
| Full workflow | ❌ Don't | Too much context |
Example: 1000-line workflow
Instead of pasting everything, break it down:
Your workflow structure:
├── Trigger (lines 1-50)
├── Initialize variables (lines 51-100)
├── Get SharePoint items (lines 101-200)
├── Filter and loop ← ERROR HERE (lines 201-500)
├── Process each item (lines 501-800)
└── Send notifications (lines 801-1000)
Debugging approach:
-
First request: "I have an error in the filter/loop section (lines 201-500). Here's that part: [paste lines 201-500]"
-
If needed: "Now the loop works, but processing fails. Here's the process section: [paste lines 501-800]"
-
Finally: "Validate the whole flow structure" - now paste the full JSON
You: [pastes 200 lines of JSON]
Why it's bad:
- No context about what it should do
- No info about the error
- AI has to guess your intent
You: "I have a Power Automate flow that monitors SharePoint for new files.
When a file is added, it should:
1. Check if filename contains 'CNESST'
2. Extract the date from filename
3. Store in a variable
It's failing at step 2 with this error:
'Cannot access property Nom on primitive value'
Here's the relevant section (the filter and loop):
[paste 150 lines]
The variable ListeDesDossier contains filenames like:
['CNESST 2025-01-15', 'INVALIDITÉ 2025-02-20']"
Result:
✅ AI understands the goal
✅ Knows the data structure
✅ Has the error context
✅ Can provide accurate fix
❌ "Optimize this"
❌ "Fix errors"
❌ "Make it better"
❌ "Debug this workflow"
✅ "Reduce API calls in this loop section"
✅ "Fix the 429 throttling error in SharePoint calls"
✅ "Add error handling to this HTTP action"
✅ "Debug why items('Loop')?['Nom'] returns null"
You: "This flow has:
- 429 throttling errors
- Wrong date format
- Missing error handling
- Performance issues
- Validation problems
Fix all of these [pastes 1000 lines]"
Result: Overwhelmed, poor results
Session 1:
You: "Fix the 429 throttling error in this loop [paste 100 lines]"
✅ Gets fixed
Session 2:
You: "Now fix the date format in this section [paste 80 lines]"
✅ Gets fixed
Session 3:
You: "Add error handling to these actions [paste 150 lines]"
✅ Gets fixed
✅ Power Automate:
- Forms (100%)
- Excel (100%)
- Outlook (100%)
- Teams (100%)
- Built-in actions (100%)
✅ n8n:
- Core nodes (basic)
- AI nodes (basic)
- SharePoint (20% - basic only)
- OneDrive (20% - basic only)
❌ Not documented:
- Make/Integromat
- Zapier
- Advanced n8n nodes
What this means:
- For well-documented connectors → Good results
- For poorly documented → Limited help
- For undocumented → Won't work well
✅ Debug common errors (401, 403, 429) ✅ Suggest fixes based on documentation ✅ Generate basic workflow JSON ✅ Refactor simple sections for performance ✅ Validate syntax and basic best practices
❌ Understand your entire business logic ❌ Fix complex multi-step workflows in one go ❌ Work miracles with 3000-line JSONs ❌ Debug undocumented connectors perfectly ❌ Read your mind about what data structure you're using
❌ Bad Approach:
1. Paste entire 2000-line workflow
2. Say "fix everything"
3. Get confused output
4. Nothing works
✅ Good Approach:
Request 1 - Throttling:
You: "I'm getting 429 errors in this SharePoint loop.
Here's the loop section (lines 200-350):
[paste loop section]
It processes about 500 items."
Result: Adds concurrency limits and delays
Request 2 - Data Structure:
You: "Now I'm getting 'Cannot access property' error.
Here's the filter and loop (lines 200-450):
[paste section]
The filter shows: contains(item(), 'CNESST')
But loop tries: items('Loop')?['Nom']
Variable is array of strings like:
['CNESST 2025-01', 'INVALIDITÉ 2025-02']"
Result: Fixes property access on string primitives
Request 3 - Error Handling:
You: "Add error handling to this HTTP section:
[paste 150 lines]
If HTTP fails, I want to log and continue."
Result: Adds Scope with error handler
Request 4 - Validation:
You: "Validate the complete flow structure now"
[paste full workflow - now it's context-aware from previous fixes]
Result: Final validation and polish
❌ Compose, Compose_2, Compose_3
✅ Extract_Date_From_Filename, Validate_CNESST_Format
Why: Clear names help AI understand your intent
❌ "This variable contains items" ✅ "Variable contains array of strings: ['CNESST 2025-01-15', 'INVALIDITÉ 2025-02-20']"
Why: AI needs to know data types to suggest correct fixes
❌ "It's not working" ✅ "Error: 'Cannot access property Nom on primitive value of type String'"
Why: Exact error messages are crucial for accurate diagnosis
❌ "Everything is broken" ✅ "The filter works and returns correct items, but the loop assignment fails"
Why: Helps isolate the actual problem
After each fix:
- Test it
- Confirm it works
- Move to next issue
Don't pile all fixes without testing.
❌ Sending entire workflow + all errors + "fix everything"
✅ One section + one specific error + clear context
❌ "items('Loop')?['Nom'] returns null, fix it"
✅ "items('Loop')?['Nom'] returns null.
Loop iterates array from this filter: contains(item(), 'CNESST')
So it's array of strings, not objects"
❌ "Generate a perfect enterprise workflow for [complex requirements]"
✅ "Generate basic structure for SharePoint->Email workflow,
I'll refine it"
❌ "Debug my Zapier workflow"
✅ Reads README, sees Zapier not supported, uses for PA/n8n instead
Use for: Specific errors with error messages Size: 100-300 lines of the failing section Provide: Error message, data structure, what it should do
Use for: Optimizing a working section Size: 150-300 lines of one logical section Provide: Current behavior, what you want to improve
Use for: Common errors (401, 429) Size: 50-150 lines around the error Provide: Error code and connector name
Use for: Final check before deployment Size: Can handle larger workflows (but still not 3000 lines) Provide: Full section or workflow to validate
Use for: Generating new workflows Provide: Clear requirements, step-by-step logic, examples
- Section your workflows - max 200-300 lines per request
- Provide context - explain what it should do
- Include data structure - what types are your variables?
- One problem at a time - don't pile issues
- Be specific - "fix 429 error" not "fix everything"
- Test incrementally - verify each fix before moving on
- Read the docs - know what's supported
- Realistic expectations - it's alpha, it has limits
🎯 This is an AI assistant, not a magic wand
It works best when:
- You give it manageable chunks
- You provide clear context
- You have realistic expectations
- You test and iterate
It works poorly when:
- You dump 3000 lines of JSON
- You expect it to understand everything
- You don't provide context
- You're using unsupported platforms
Follow these practices and you'll get much better results! 🚀
Still have issues? Open a Discussion with:
- What you tried
- What didn't work
- A focused example (not 3000 lines!)