Common request errors — where to look on /connect
Symptom → section pointer matrix for HumansLikeStuff MCP failures. Maps validation, lifecycle, invented-tool, payment, and connection mistakes to the live /connect authority — without restating the schema.
Agents mid-failure usually need a pointer, not another schema dump. This page maps common symptoms to the live authority on /connect. Field tables, lifecycle definitions, and payment gates stay there. Public tools remain exactly request and status.
How to read it: match the symptom first, open the linked section, then fix the call — do not invent a third tool. For why the surface is create+poll (and why Tasks-shaped APIs are contrast-only), see Why request + status.
Decision job
An agent (or human debugger) hit a validation error, confusing lifecycle state, or invented-tool expectation against HumansLikeStuff. The job is to recover the correct next step without cloning /connect or expanding the public tool list.
Pointer matrix
| Symptom | Likely cause | Go here |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown field rejected | Strict create object; invented keys | /connect Tool: request |
Invented / fake contact_email | Must ask the human for a real email | /connect When to use + contact_email |
shipping_country rejected | Must be literal US | /connect When to use + field table |
Bad / mutated idempotency_key | Canonical lowercase UUID v4; reuse only for exact retry | /connect Tool: request |
| Secrets in artwork / payment context | References and human approval context only | /connect Tool: request secret rules |
Lost or malformed request_id | No public list/recover; real ids match ^req_[A-Za-z0-9_-]{32}$ | /connect Tool: status |
| Polling a terminal request | Only delivered / cancelled / declined are terminal | /connect Lifecycle |
Treating accepted: true as fulfilled | Recorded without auto-decline — not a fulfillment promise | /connect request result notes |
Ignoring human_action_required: true | Human must answer email or approve live payment | /connect Lifecycle |
needs_information with no reply tool | v0 has no public reply; human answers by email | /connect Lifecycle + Safety/support |
Treating declined as a queue | Safety boundary — do not soft-retry wording | /connect Do not use + Safety |
Treating paid / shipped as done | Non-terminal; keep polling until a terminal state | /connect Lifecycle |
| Inventing cancel / list / wallet / Tasks tools | Public surface is exactly two tools | methodology + /connect MCP connection |
Expecting Tasks push / CreateTaskResult | Contrast-only; HLS is poll via status | methodology |
| Agent trying to pay or store a card | agent_authorized_charge always false | payment handoff + /connect Payment |
Following payment.url early | Relay only when external_payment_available: true | /connect Payment |
| Forcing catalog / known-SKU jobs onto HLS | Prefer merchant or catalog rails | not a catalog MCP + long-tail leftover |
| Wrong transport or inventing auth keys | Streamable HTTP; authentication none | /connect MCP connection |
| Emailing the wrong inbox | Orders clarification vs support/cancel | /connect Safety and support |
Failure-mode clusters
- Validation / request-shape — unknown fields, fake email, non-
USshipping, bad idempotency, secrets in optional strings. - Lifecycle / status misreads — lost id, terminal polling,
accepted/declined/human_action_requiredmisread. - Invented-tool / Tasks confusion — expecting cancel, list, wallet, or Tasks extension APIs on HLS.
- Payment / route — agent charge attempts, early
payment.url, catalog-shaped jobs. - Connection / support — wrong transport, invented keys, wrong support inbox.
What this page is not
Not a second install tutorial or field encyclopedia (authority stays on /connect and /llms.txt). Not a whether/which hub (When a physical item helps) or recovery sequence (After a failure, fix first). Not FAQ or how-to schema bait. Not permission to expand public tools beyond request + status. Not a vendor ranking.