API Connector timeout: "Raw error for the API ESOCKETTIMEDOUT"
The external API did not answer before the API Connector gave up waiting. Make the slow work asynchronous: let the API call you back through a webhook, or split the job into smaller scheduled backend workflows so no single call or workflow runs long.
What the error means
The official support documentation explains that Raw error for the API ESOCKETTIMEDOUT appears when the API you are calling does not respond within the API Connector's timeout limit. Bubble itself is fine. The other service was too slow, or the request asked it to do too much in one go.
Two related limits are worth knowing. The official hard limits page also sets a maximum running time for workflows, so long jobs can time out inside Bubble too. The official plugin documentation also notes that a slow API call can be retried automatically, and that a retry may result in a duplicate action. So a timeout is not always a clean failure: the remote service may have finished the work after Bubble stopped waiting.
Common causes
- A single call that processes a large batch, such as sending hundreds of records or generating a long AI response.
- A slow or overloaded third-party service.
- A frontend workflow that waits on a long-running call while the user sits on the page.
How to fix it
- Confirm where the time goes. Run the same request outside Bubble (for example with an HTTP client) and time it. If it is slow there too, the fix is in how you call the API, not in Bubble.
- Use a webhook if the API offers one. The official support article recommends this pattern: the API accepts the request and responds immediately, then posts the result to a Bubble backend workflow when the work is done. Expose that backend workflow through the Workflow API and give its URL to the provider.
- Split large jobs into smaller ones. Instead of one call that handles everything, process items in batches. For most bulk processing, the official manual recommends Schedule API workflow on a list over recursive workflows, because it is usually faster and uses fewer workload units. Leave the interval empty so scheduling is staggered. The manual warns that an interval of 0 can block other scheduled workflows until the batch finishes.
- Move long calls off the page. Trigger the work with Schedule API workflow and update the page from the database when results arrive, so the user is not waiting on the call.
- Handle failures on purpose. In the call settings, Include errors in response and allow workflow actions to continue lets your workflow read the error and react, for example by flagging the record for a retry. Re-initialize the call after changing this setting.
- Guard against duplicates. Because a timed-out call may have succeeded remotely, check for an existing result before acting again, or use an idempotency key if the provider supports one.
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