When a Tomba step fails in Zapier, Make, n8n, Pipedream or a similar app, the app shows Tomba's message. It may add a short label of its own, such as "unauthorized", "quota exceeded" or "too many requests". Find the message below to see what it means and what to do.
A step that fails uses no credits.
"Invalid credentials": your key isn't accepted
The app may also say "unauthorized" or "authentication failed". Tomba's message is one of these:
"Invalid credentials."
"Please enter a valid KEY." or "Please enter a valid SECRET."
"No user found for the API supplied"
What it means: The app's connection to Tomba has a wrong or missing key or secret. This also happens after a key is deleted, or after the key or the secret is reset.
What to do: Copy your key and secret again from API Keys. Then reconnect Tomba in your app, with the key and the secret in their own boxes. See How to find my API key?
"This API key expired": create a new key
The app may also say "API key expired". Tomba's message starts with "This API key expired on", then gives the date, and ends with "Create a new key at https://app.tomba.io/api".
What it means: Every API key has an expiry date, and this one has passed it. Tomba sends a reminder email 30 days, 7 days and 1 day before a key expires.
What to do: On API Keys, click New Key, or use Reset & renew on the expired key. Then update the connection in your app with the new key.
"Insufficient search quota": you're out of credits
The app may also say "quota exceeded". Tomba's message is one of these:
"Insufficient search quota for this request. Estimated cost: 1"
"Insufficient verify quota for this request. Estimated cost: 1"
"You have reached your usage limit. Upgrade your plan if necessary."
The number at the end is how many credits the step needed. The last message is for email counts and email sources.
What it means: You don't have enough credits left for this step. In a workspace, you use the owner's credits, and the owner can also set a limit for you.
What to do: Buy a credit pack or move to a bigger plan on the Upgrade page, or wait for your credits to reset. In a workspace, ask the owner. See I've used all my credits: what now?
"Rate limit exceeded": too many searches too fast
The app may also say "too many requests". Tomba's message starts with "Rate limit exceeded", such as "Rate limit exceeded (rpm). Limit is 50 requests. Retry after 30 seconds."
What it means: Your plan limits how many searches you can run per second, per minute and per day. In the message, "rps" means per second, "rpm" per minute, and "daily" per day. This step went over the limit. It has nothing to do with your credits.
What to do: Wait the time the message gives, then run the step again. Daily limits reset at 00:00 UTC (world standard time). If it keeps happening, slow your workflow down. See How many searches can I run per second, minute and day?
Slow down your workflow
Zapier: add a Delay by Zapier step before the Tomba step.
Make: process fewer bundles per run, or add an error handler that tries again later.
n8n: for per-second limits, turn on Retry On Fail in the node's settings. For per-minute limits, space the items out with a Wait node.
Pipedream: run the Tomba steps one at a time, and wait before you try again.
"Error validation on": a field is empty or wrong
Tomba's message starts with "Error validation on", followed by the name of the field and "please try again". Another example is "Either domain or company parameter must be provided."
What it means: A field the step needs is empty, or its value isn't in the right form. Your app may not mark these fields as required. For example, Email Finder needs a website or a company, plus a full name or both a first and a last name. Phone Finder needs at least one of Email, Domain or LinkedIn URL.
What to do: Open the step, fill in or map the missing field, and test the step again.
Free plan: limited to 10 email addresses
Tomba's message is "The search results are limited to 10 email addresses on a Free plan."
What it means: On the Free plan, a domain search returns up to 10 addresses, from the first page only. The step asked for more.
What to do: Set the step's limit to 10, or upgrade your plan.
The person asked Tomba to remove their data
The app may also say "unavailable for legal reasons". Tomba's message is "The person owning the email address asked us directly or indirectly to stop the processing of their personal data. For this reason, you shouldn't process it yourself in any way." The same message can name a LinkedIn profile or a phone number.
What it means: The person asked Tomba to stop using their data, so Tomba won't return it.
What to do: Remove this person from your own data, and let your workflow skip the record. See Why does a result say claimed_email or Data removed?
"If you wish to create more leads": your leads are full
Tomba's message is "If you wish to create more leads, we recommend switching to a bigger plan."
What it means: A step that saves leads in Tomba failed, because you've reached the number of leads your plan allows.
What to do: Delete the leads you no longer need in Leads, or move to a bigger plan on the Upgrade page.
No result isn't an error
When Tomba finds nothing, that isn't an error. In most tools, the step returns empty fields, such as an empty email. A search that finds nothing uses no credits, except Phone Validator, email count, email format and location. Add a filter step so the rest of your workflow only runs when there's a result. See Why doesn't the Email Finder return any result? and If a search finds nothing, does it use credits?
For developers: see the Tomba docs.
Related articles