Lifecycle and Support
Recovery & Offboarding
What It Means
Sometimes you might need to remove an AI Employee from your workspace or migrate to a different one.
When This Happens
You decide you no longer need an AI Employee
Motion retires an AI Employee (stops supporting it)
You want to switch to a different AI Employee
You're leaving your workspace and need to hand off AI Employees to someone else
What Happens When You Remove an AI Employee
The AI Employee is removed from your workspace
All skills associated with that AI Employee stop working
Any autonomous skills that were running will no longer run
The AI Employee no longer appears in your workspace directory
How to Migrate to a Different AI Employee
If you want to switch to a different AI Employee:
Identify which skills from the old AI Employee you still need
Create similar skills with the new AI Employee
Update any triggers or workflows that used the old AI Employee
Test the new skills to make sure they work
Remove the old AI Employee once you're confident the new one is working
What You Should Do
If an AI Employee is being retired, start planning your migration early
Document your current skills before removing an AI Employee
Test new skills thoroughly before removing the old ones
Keep notes on how to recreate important skills in case you need to migrate
Example: Motion announces that Clide (Customer Support) is being retired. You've been using Clide to draft customer support responses. You decide to migrate to a different AI Employee. You create similar skills with the new employee, test them with real customer emails, and then remove Clide.
Troubleshooting
AI Employees may encounter problems when running skills or using integrations. This section lists common issues and how to fix them.
General Troubleshooting Approach
When something goes wrong:
Check the skill's run history to see what error occurred
Read the error message carefully — it usually tells you what went wrong
Use the "Common Issues and Fixes" list below to find the solution
If the fix doesn't work, try the prevention tips to avoid the problem in the future
Common Issues and Fixes
Issue: "Permission Denied" Error
What This Means
The AI Employee tried to do something that the context user doesn't have permission to do.
Why It Happens
The context user is a Member (not an Admin) and tried to perform an Admin-only action
The context user doesn't have access to the workspace or project
The context user's role was recently downgraded
How to Fix It
Check what role the context user has (Admin or Member)
If the action requires Admin permissions, upgrade the user to Admin
If the context user needs access to a workspace or project, grant them access
If the action is Admin-only and you don't want to upgrade the user, change the skill to perform a different action that Members can do
Prevention
Review trigger rules regularly to make sure they still make sense
Keep notes on which actions require which permissions
Test skills manually before setting them to run automatically
Example: A skill tries to delete a project, but the context user is a Member. Members can't delete projects. You either upgrade the user to Admin or change the skill to archive the project instead.
Issue: Skill Fails With External Service
What This Means
The skill tried to use an external service (like Gmail, Slack, or Salesforce) but couldn't connect.
Why It Happens
The connection hasn't been set up yet
The connection has expired (you changed your password, for example)
The external service is temporarily unavailable
The connection was revoked
How to Fix It
Check if the connection is set up in your workspace settings
If the connection exists but is expired, reconnect it by authenticating again
If the external service is down, wait a few minutes and try again
If the connection was revoked, set it up again
Prevention
Monitor audit logs to catch connection failures early
Revoke unused connections so you don't have old expired connections lying around
Test skills manually before setting them to run automatically
Keep notes on which connections each skill uses
Example: A skill tries to send a Slack message, but the Slack connection has expired. You go to workspace settings, reconnect Slack by authenticating, and then re-run the skill.
Issue: Action Blocked for Approval (Manual Mode Only)
What This Means
The AI Employee tried to perform a write action (create, edit, or delete) in manual mode, and you need to approve it before it can proceed.
Why It Happens
This is normal behavior in manual mode — the AI Employee always asks for approval before write actions
You haven't clicked "Approve" yet
How to Fix It
Review what the AI Employee is about to do
If it looks correct, click "Approve"
If it doesn't look right, click "Decline" and ask the AI Employee to try again
Prevention
This isn't really a problem — it's a safety feature
Just review the action and approve it if it looks correct
Example: You ask Alfred to draft an email. Alfred shows you the draft and waits for your approval. You review the email, it looks good, so you click "Approve" and the email is sent.
Issue: Autonomous Skill Not Running
What This Means
A skill that's supposed to run automatically (on a schedule or when an event happens) isn't running.
Why It Happens
The trigger is misconfigured
The trigger event isn't happening (for example, you set it to run when a new task is created in Project A, but no one is creating tasks in Project A)
The skill is outside its defined scope
The connection the skill needs is missing or revoked
How to Fix It
Review the skill configuration to make sure the trigger is set up correctly
Check if the trigger event is actually happening (for example, are tasks actually being created?)
Make sure the skill has access to the connections it needs
Reconnect any missing connections
Prevention
Test skills manually before setting them to run automatically
Review trigger rules regularly to make sure they still make sense
Monitor audit logs to catch skills that stop running
Example: You set up a skill to run every Monday at 9 AM, but it hasn't run for the last two weeks. You check the skill configuration and see that the connection it needs was revoked. You reconnect the connection and the skill starts running again.
Issue: Output Missing From Project or Doc
What This Means
You expected the AI Employee to create something (like a task or a doc), but it's not there.
Why It Happens
The action was declined (you didn't approve it in manual mode)
The action was deleted after the AI Employee created it
The connection failed mid-run
The skill ran but encountered an error
How to Fix It
Check the skill's run history to see if the action was completed
If it shows as completed, check if it was accidentally deleted
If it shows as failed, read the error message to understand what went wrong
Re-run the skill if needed
Prevention
Check the skill's run history regularly to make sure it's working
Don't accidentally delete outputs from AI Employees
Monitor audit logs to catch failures early
Example: You set up a skill to create a task when an email arrives. You see the email came in, but the task wasn't created. You check the skill's run history and see that the skill failed because the connection expired. You reconnect and re-run the skill.
Issue: Failed Skill Run Always Shows Why It Failed
What This Means
When a skill fails, Motion always logs the reason why. You can see exactly what went wrong.
Where to Find the Error
Check the skill's run history
Look for the failed run and click on it
Read the error message — it will tell you what went wrong
The error message might also tell you which step failed
Common Error Codes
400 — Bad request (usually means the data format is wrong)
401 — Authentication failed (usually means the connection expired)
403 — Permission denied (usually means you don't have access)
404 — Not found (usually means the thing you're trying to access doesn't exist)
500 — Server error (usually means the external service is having issues)
What You Should Do
Read the error message carefully
Use the error code and message to figure out what went wrong
Use the troubleshooting table above to find the fix
If you're still stuck, check Motion's help documentation or contact support
Example: A skill fails with error "401 — Authentication failed." You know this means the connection expired. You go to workspace settings, reconnect the service, and re-run the skill.
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