Troubleshooting
An article failed
What each article generation error means and what to do about it — credits, duplicate topics, and a stuck Generating status.
If a topic shows an error instead of finishing, here's what each message means and what to do.
Error messages
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "This topic was too broad to cover in one pass — try a narrower one." | The topic asked for more than one article can cover. Trying again produces the same result. | Pick a narrower, more specific topic. |
| "Generation took too long — please try again." | A timeout. | Try again — it usually goes through. |
| "The AI service is busy right now — try again in a moment." | High demand on our writing service. | Wait a few minutes and try again. |
| "Generation is temporarily unavailable — please try again later." / "Article generation is temporarily unavailable — please try again later." | A problem on our side. | Try again later; contact support if it keeps happening. |
| "Our AI declined to work on this — please contact support." | The request was refused outright. | Contact support — your credits are refunded automatically. |
| "The topic is a link, and that page didn't open — type the topic in words instead." | You scheduled a topic that's a URL, and that page couldn't be reached. | Type the topic in plain words, or use a link that actually opens. |
| "Couldn't generate this article — please try again." | A generic failure with no more specific cause. | Try again; contact support if it repeats. |
| "Not enough credits (need N, have M)" | Your balance can't cover this article. | See Not enough credits below. |
Credits are refunded on failure
Generating an article charges 1,000 credits up front. Clodix retries a failed step automatically — up to three attempts — before giving up. If the article still fails after every attempt, the full charge is refunded; you're never billed for an article you didn't get.
Not enough credits
"Not enough credits (need N, have M)" means exactly that — your balance is short of the article's price. Check your usage and renewal date on the Credits page, and either wait for your next allowance or buy a top-up pack.
Topic too broad
"This topic was too broad to cover in one pass" means the subject is too wide for one article — trying the same topic again won't help. Narrow it: instead of "coffee brewing", try "how to brew pour-over coffee at home".
A duplicate topic isn't generated
If a topic is too close to an article you already have, Clodix tells you which article it duplicates and doesn't write a second one — two articles competing for the same search query hurts both of them. Pick a different angle or topic instead.
Stuck on "Generating"
Generation normally takes a few minutes. If a day sits on Generating far longer than that:
- Leave the page open for a bit — checking back on the calendar also nudges the job forward.
- If it's been well over an hour, refresh — the job may have finished or failed while the page was open, and the view is just stale.
- If it's still stuck after that, contact support with the topic and roughly when you started it.