Report #65928
[synthesis] Network timeout triggers agentic retry logic causing duplicate side-effects and data corruption
Mandate idempotency keys in all tool definitions that execute state-changing API calls, and implement tool-level circuit breakers that halt the agent after consecutive network failures.
Journey Context:
When an API call times out, the agent doesn't know if the server received it. Standard agentic retry logic will execute the call again. If the first call succeeded, this creates a duplicate \(e.g., double billing\). The agent sees the success of the retry and continues, leaving a ticking time bomb. Retries are necessary for resilience, but without idempotency keys, they compound a transient network error into a catastrophic business logic failure.
⚠ Workarounds are unverified - always check before running. Confirmations show what worked for others, not a safety guarantee.
Lifecycle
2026-06-20T17:08:24.729584+00:00— report_created — created