Troubleshoot Packs in your doc

Experiencing issues with your Pack tables, columns, buttons, etc.? Check out this troubleshooting guide.

Updated over a week ago

Inside this article:


A Pack is an extension that adds new powers to your doc. Packs work by supplementing the core building blocks of Coda, so you can customize how your doc looks, works, and integrates. But sometimes, you might run into an issue with your pack. Perhaps you’re getting an error message. Or maybe your Pack button, table, or formula just isn’t working as expected. Below, we discuss some common problems and how to troubleshoot them.

Looking to learn more about packs in general? Check out:

Reconnecting Pack accounts

Sometimes, you might run into issues with your Pack connection. Maybe you’re seeing an error message (”Failed to connect to [Pack Name]...”) or your table is refusing to resync. This can be caused by a number of issues, but it’s often resolved by the trusty “unplug and replug” troubleshooting step. So when in doubt, we often suggest the steps below:

“Sign in again”

Click Explore in the upper right of your doc, then select Packs & Import. Click into the pack that’s experiencing issues. You should then see a list of accounts that are connected to this pack. Go to the account that’s being used for the problematic formula, table, or button. If it’s a private account, you should see three horizontal dots next to the account name.

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If the account is a Shared account, click the down arrow next to the account name, and you should then see the same horizontal dots.

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Click those horizontal dots, then click “Sign in again.” Follow any prompts to re-authenticate that Pack account.

Once that’s done, try refreshing the pack via the Pack.

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“Disconnect”

If you’ve already tried to “Sign in again” following the steps above but the issue is persisting, you may need a harder refresh.

Head to https://coda.io/account and scroll down to “Accounts connected to Packs.” Find the particular pack in question. Click the down arrow next to the account name, and you should see a list of all docs where this Pack account is currently used. Find the problematic doc, and click the corresponding “Disconnect.”

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Then, back in the doc itself, you’ll need to reconnect to your account. You can connect it as a private account or shared account depending on your needs. See the Shared and private accounts for Packs section below for an explanation of these different account types.


Checking a doc's inputs to a Pack

Sometimes it's possible for a pack to show an error even though nothing is wrong with the pack itself. This often has to do with an errant input that the Coda doc is passing through to the pack.

A classic example from our support team involves the GMail pack's "SendEmail()" formula; sometimes the formula will fail and the team will hear from a frustrated customer, only to find out that the formula never had a recipient for the "To" field!

How can I see which packs are installed in my doc?

First, open the doc. Then click on Explore in the upper right corner of your doc (note that your doc may say “Insert” or “Building Blocks” instead of “Explore”). Then select Packs & Import.

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Under INSTALLED, you’ll see all the Packs currently installed in your doc.

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Sync Table Settings

Why are some rows missing from my Pack sync table? Is there a limit for the number of rows in a Packs sync table?

If you’re missing some rows from your Pack sync table, this may be due to the row limit for the table. You can check this by clicking on the table Options at the upper right corner of the table. Then click on the first option (it’s usually the name of the Pack table).

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Click on Settings to expand the table settings. Here, you’ll see a TABLE LIMIT. You can set this limit to be 100, 1,000, or 10,000 rows.

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If your table was already at it’s limit, increasing the limit may solve the mystery of the missing rows (you’ll just need to resync the table after upping the limit).

Why is my Packs sync table not showing the most up-to-date information?

This may be due to the sync settings for the table. Following the instructions from the section above, open up the Settings for the Pack table.

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Here, you can adjust how often you’d like this Packs table to resync. If you choose “Manually,” you can resync your table as needed by clicking the blue 🔄 at the top of the table.

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Just be mindful that if your doc is particularly large or the table is particularly complex, choosing “Hourly” could slow down your doc.


Shared and private accounts for Packs

When to use a shared account vs. private account for Packs

Most Packs allow you to set up both private accounts and shared accounts. A private account is one that only you - the person setting up that account - can use to take actions from the Coda doc. A shared account is one that can be used to take actions by anyone who has access to the doc.

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For example, let’s say you have a button that sends Slack notifications. To set up this button, you have to select a Slack account that will be used to send those notifications.

One option is to select “User’s private Slack account.” This means that when anyone in the doc pushes this button, the Slack notification will be sent from their own private Slack account. If this person hasn’t yet connected their private Slack account to the Slack Pack in this doc, they’ll be prompted to do so when they push this button (read more about using the Slack Pack here).

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Alternatively, you could select Lena’s shared account as the account to use (note the two people icons indicate that this is a shared account). Then, when anyone in the doc pushes this button, it will send a notification from Lena’s Slack account - regardless of who is pushing the button.

To read more about setting up private and personal accounts with Packs, check out this article.

My automation is failing and I’m seeing an error that “Automation Bot does not have access to [Pack name]” - help!

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This issue is likely related to shared accounts (see the section above to understand the difference between private and shared accounts). If your automation is taking actions as Automation Bot, then you must make sure that the Pack action within the automation utilizes a shared account - not a private one. Only the account owner can use a private account to take actions via Coda; Automation Bot cannot.

You can resolve this by changing the automation action to use a shared account. Alternatively, you can change the automation to take actions as yourself rather than as Automation Bot. You can do this by clicking the option at the very bottom of your automation.

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I found a pack that doesn't work, what should I do?

Please reach out to support via the chat button in the bottom right of the screen or email the support team at support@coda.io. In your message please describe the issue you are experiencing and include any screenshots, videos or other helpful content. These go a long way in helping the team figure out what went wrong and will help us solve the issue sooner!

Note: Some packs in Coda are maintained by a third party software provider. Obtaining assistance for these packs entails a different process from getting support for a pack maintained by Coda. Specifically, you will need to reach out via the contact information on the listing page in the Coda Gallery. You can also find this info within the right panel of your doc, by going to the Packs page and checking under the About tab.

If the pack maker does not respond in a timely manner please reach out to our support team.

How can I share feedback or submit a request on the Pack?

In order to share feedback or submit a feature request regarding a Pack, you can email the Pack maker’s dedicated support email address located on the Pack’s listing page. Pack makers are required to add a support email address before publishing a Pack.

Please keep in mind that Pack makers are not required to implement any feature requests.

How do I get help with the Pack I'm making?

Working on making your own Pack and need help? Check out the SDK we have for making a pack!

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