apollo-common-errors by jeremylongshore

---
name: apollo-common-errors
description: |
  Diagnose and fix common Apollo.io API errors.
  Use when encountering Apollo API errors, debugging integration issues,
  or troubleshooting failed requests.
  Trigger with phrases like "apollo error", "apollo api error",
  "debug apollo", "apollo 401", "apollo 429", "apollo troubleshoot".
allowed-tools: Read, Grep, Bash(curl:*)
version: 1.0.0
license: MIT
author: Jeremy Longshore <[email protected]>
---

# Apollo Common Errors

## Overview
Comprehensive guide to diagnosing and fixing common Apollo.io API errors with specific solutions and prevention strategies.

## Error Reference

### 401 Unauthorized

**Symptoms:**
```json
{
  "error": "Unauthorized",
  "message": "Invalid API key"
}
```

**Causes:**
1. Missing API key in request
2. Invalid or expired API key
3. API key revoked by admin
4. Wrong API key (sandbox vs production)

**Solutions:**
```bash
# Verify API key is set
echo $APOLLO_API_KEY | head -c 10

# Test API key directly
curl -s "https://api.apollo.io/v1/auth/health?api_key=$APOLLO_API_KEY" | jq

# Check key in Apollo dashboard
# Settings > Integrations > API > View/Regenerate Key
```

**Prevention:**
```typescript
// Validate API key on startup
async function validateApiKey() {
  try {
    await apollo.healthCheck();
    console.log('Apollo API key valid');
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Invalid Apollo API key - check APOLLO_API_KEY');
    process.exit(1);
  }
}
```

---

### 403 Forbidden

**Symptoms:**
```json
{
  "error": "Forbidden",
  "message": "You don't have permission to access this resource"
}
```

**Causes:**
1. API feature not available in plan
2. User role doesn't have access
3. IP restriction blocking request
4. Attempting to access another account's data

**Solutions:**
```typescript
// Check plan features before calling
const PLAN_FEATURES = {
  basic: ['people_search', 'organization_enrich'],
  professional: ['sequences', 'bulk_operations'],
  enterprise: ['advanced_search', 'custom_fields'],
};

function checkFeatureAccess(feature: string, plan: string): boolean {
  return PLAN_FEATURES[plan]?.includes(feature) ?? false;
}
```

---

### 422 Unprocessable Entity

**Symptoms:**
```json
{
  "error": "Unprocessable Entity",
  "message": "q_organization_domains must be an array"
}
```

**Causes:**
1. Invalid request body format
2. Missing required fields
3. Wrong data types
4. Invalid enum values

**Common Fixes:**

```typescript
// WRONG: String instead of array
const wrong = { q_organization_domains: 'apollo.io' };

// CORRECT: Array format
const correct = { q_organization_domains: ['apollo.io'] };

// WRONG: Number instead of string
const wrong2 = { per_page: '25' };

// CORRECT: Number type
const correct2 = { per_page: 25 };
```

**Validation Helper:**
```typescript
import { z } from 'zod';

const PeopleSearchSchema = z.object({
  q_organization_domains: z.array(z.string()).optional(),
  person_titles: z.array(z.string()).optional(),
  page: z.number().int().positive().default(1),
  per_page: z.number().int().min(1).max(100).default(25),
});

function validateSearchParams(params: unknown) {
  return PeopleSearchSchema.parse(params);
}
```

---

### 429 Too Many Requests (Rate Limited)

**Symptoms:**
```json
{
  "error": "Too Many Requests",
  "message": "Rate limit exceeded. Please retry after 60 seconds."
}
```

**Rate Limits:**
| Endpoint | Limit | Window |
|----------|-------|--------|
| People Search | 100 req/min | 1 minute |
| Enrichment | 100 req/min | 1 minute |
| Sequences | 50 req/min | 1 minute |
| Bulk Operations | 10 req/min | 1 minute |

**Solution - Exponential Backoff:**
```typescript
class RateLimitHandler {
  private retryAfter = 0;
  private retryCount = 0;
  private maxRetries = 5;

  async executeWithRetry<T>(fn: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
    while (this.retryCount < this.maxRetries) {
      try {
        if (this.retryAfter > 0) {
          await this.wait(this.retryAfter);
          this.retryAfter = 0;
        }
        return await fn();
      } catch (error: any) {
        if (error.response?.status === 429) {
          this.retryAfter = this.parseRetryAfter(error.response);
          this.retryCount++;
          console.warn(`Rate limited, retry ${this.retryCount} after ${this.retryAfter}ms`);
        } else {
          throw error;
        }
      }
    }
    throw new Error('Max retries exceeded');
  }

  private parseRetryAfter(response: any): number {
    const retryHeader = response.headers['retry-after'];
    if (retryHeader) {
      return parseInt(retryHeader) * 1000;
    }
    return Math.pow(2, this.retryCount) * 1000; // Exponential backoff
  }

  private wait(ms: number): Promise<void> {
    return new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
  }
}
```

---

### 500 Internal Server Error

**Symptoms:**
```json
{
  "error": "Internal Server Error",
  "message": "An unexpected error occurred"
}
```

**Causes:**
1. Apollo service outage
2. Malformed request causing server error
3. Timeout on complex queries

**Solutions:**
```bash
# Check Apollo status
curl -s https://status.apollo.io/api/v2/status.json | jq '.status.description'

# Simplify query and retry
curl -X POST "https://api.apollo.io/v1/people/search" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"api_key": "'$APOLLO_API_KEY'", "page": 1, "per_page": 1}'
```

---

### Empty Results

**Symptoms:**
```json
{
  "people": [],
  "pagination": { "total_entries": 0 }
}
```

**Causes:**
1. Too restrictive filters
2. Invalid domain or company name
3. No matching data in Apollo database

**Diagnostic Steps:**
```typescript
async function diagnoseEmptyResults(criteria: any) {
  // Test each filter individually
  const tests = [
    { name: 'domain', params: { q_organization_domains: criteria.domains } },
    { name: 'titles', params: { person_titles: criteria.titles } },
    { name: 'location', params: { person_locations: criteria.locations } },
  ];

  for (const test of tests) {
    if (test.params[Object.keys(test.params)[0]]) {
      const result = await apollo.searchPeople({ ...test.params, per_page: 1 });
      console.log(`${test.name}: ${result.pagination.total_entries} results`);
    }
  }
}
```

---

## Error Handling Pattern

```typescript
// src/lib/apollo/error-handler.ts
import { AxiosError } from 'axios';

export class ApolloErrorHandler {
  handle(error: AxiosError): never {
    const status = error.response?.status;
    const data = error.response?.data as any;

    switch (status) {
      case 401:
        throw new ApolloAuthError(
          'Invalid API key. Verify APOLLO_API_KEY is set correctly.'
        );
      case 403:
        throw new ApolloPermissionError(
          `Permission denied: ${data?.message || 'Check your plan features'}`
        );
      case 422:
        throw new ApolloValidationError(
          `Invalid request: ${data?.message}`,
          data?.errors
        );
      case 429:
        throw new ApolloRateLimitError(
          'Rate limit exceeded',
          this.parseRetryAfter(error)
        );
      case 500:
        throw new ApolloServerError(
          'Apollo server error. Check status.apollo.io'
        );
      default:
        throw new ApolloError(
          `Apollo API error: ${status} - ${data?.message || error.message}`
        );
    }
  }

  private parseRetryAfter(error: AxiosError): number {
    return parseInt(error.response?.headers['retry-after'] || '60');
  }
}
```

## Resources
- [Apollo API Error Codes](https://apolloio.github.io/apollo-api-docs/#errors)
- [Apollo Status Page](https://status.apollo.io)
- [Apollo Support](https://support.apollo.io)

## Next Steps
Proceed to `apollo-debug-bundle` for collecting debug evidence.