# Agent Programs troubleshooting

> What to check when a program won't build, didn't run, keeps asking for approval, stopped early or is spending more than expected.

Last updated: October 16, 2026

Source: https://www.willo.ai/docs/troubleshooting/agent-programs

Most program problems show on the program's own page. Open **Agents** in the left rail, then the program, and look at its status, its **Limits** row and its **Recent runs** before anything else. Or ask Willo's chat "why didn't my weekly digest run?" and it reads the same things.

## Willo won't build a program

| What you see | Why | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Willo says Agent Programs aren't on this business's plan. | They come with Builder and up. | An owner or admin upgrades under Plans & Credits. They work straight away. |
| Willo says your role can't set agents up. | Only owners and admins build and change programs. | Ask an owner or admin, or to have your role raised under **Settings → Team**. |
| The schedule is refused as too frequent. | Each plan has a shortest schedule. | See [Schedules](https://www.willo.ai/docs/agent-programs/build-your-first-program#schedules). |

## It didn't run

- **It is still a draft.** Saving doesn't turn a program on. Click **Activate now** on the Agents tab, or ask Willo to turn it on.
- **It is paused.** Click **Resume**. A program also pauses by itself when the business moves below Builder, and when a run hits its step limit or a cost limit, including the day's **Credits a day**.
- **A run is waiting for approval.** While one waits, scheduled runs are skipped and show as **Run skipped**. Answer it from the email or on the Agents tab.
- **The schedule is in another time zone.** Ask Willo which zone the schedule uses, and to change it if needed.
- **It is archived.** Open **Archived** at the bottom of the Agents tab and click **Restore**.

For a program started by email or a webhook call, see also ["My program stopped"](https://www.willo.ai/docs/agent-programs/limits#my-program-stopped) and the [webhook responses](https://www.willo.ai/docs/agent-programs/webhook-triggers#responses).

## It keeps asking for approval

- **It is set to Ask me first.** That is the mode working. Switch it on the program's page if you want it to act on its own.
- **It is set to act on its own, but the run says Asked first.** The line at the end of the run's summary says why. Usually the program's tools changed after you confirmed them, so click **Confirm again**. Approving the waiting step won't fix the next run.
- **It read outside content.** A run that has read a web page, an email or a webhook call always asks before it sends to other people or changes things outside the business. That stop can't be switched off. See [Working on its own or asking first](https://www.willo.ai/docs/agent-programs/autonomy-and-approvals#what-always-asks).
- **You asked Willo to run a draft or paused program now.** Those runs always ask first.

## The approval email never came

The approval email goes to the owner of the Willo account the business belongs to, at the address they signed in with. Any owner or admin of the business can also answer on the Agents tab: the program, then the waiting run, then **Approve & run** or **Deny**. An approval nobody answers within seven days expires and closes the run as failed.

## A run stopped before it finished

Open the run's trace. The last step says why.

- **The step limit.** A run stops after 30 tool calls, and anything not saved is lost. Ask Willo to narrow the research or split the job into two programs.
- **A cost limit.** A run that would pass the program's hourly or daily limit stops cleanly. Raise **Credits a day** if the program needs more.

Both also pause an active program. Click **Resume** once you have fixed the cause.
- **A tool failed.** The step shows the error. Ask Willo what went wrong; it reads the run and can change the program.

## The test run didn't send or save anything

That is what a test run does. Content comes back as **Would have saved**, and messages and changes are shown but not done. Turn the program on to run it for real.

## It is spending more than expected

Each run uses credits for the work it does. Look at the **Limits** row: today's spend and roughly how many runs the budget covers. To spend less, ask Willo to run it less often, give it fewer tools, or research less per run. A lower **Credits a day** caps it.

## Still stuck

Use the **?** menu in the dashboard, or email support@willo.ai with the program's name and what you expected it to do.