Error saving workflow

💬 Workflows
1

  1. My goal:
    To save a large workflow (approx. 6.8 MB in size).

  2. Issue:
    When trying to save, I get the following error:
    "Error saving workflow: failed to fetch."
    This happens every time, and the workflow is not saved.

  3. Steps I’ve taken to troubleshoot:

  • Reloaded the page
  • Tried incognito mode
  • Tested in multiple browsers (Chrome, Safari)
  • Verified network – no blocked requests or auth issues
  • Reduced complexity slightly – still fails
  • Observed that smaller workflows save without issues
  1. Additional info:
  • Workflow size: ~6.8 MB
  • Hosting: Retool Cloud
  • Screenshot: see attached
  • It seems the error could be related to a size or payload limit (maybe hitting a request body size cap?)

Would appreciate any clarification if there’s a known limit, and if so, whether large workflows should be modularized or optimized in a specific way.

3

Hello @ds001, welcome to the Community forum! :sunglasses:
Did you include a screenshot? I don’t see it here, could you post it again? Also, 6.8 MB sounds like a pretty large workflow. Is that the size of the JSON export? Can you clarify what might be contributing to the workflow size?

4

hi @ds001,

Here are a few things you can try:

1. Split the workflow into smaller parts

  • Break down the workflow into multiple smaller workflows instead of keeping everything in one big file.
  • You can then call these smaller workflows from a main workflow.

2. Remove unused queries/blocks

  • Clean up any extra test queries or temporary blocks that are increasing the workflow size.

3. Reuse functions instead of repeating code

  • If you have repeated steps, move them into one helper workflow and call it when needed.

In short: breaking the workflow into smaller, reusable modules usually fixes this issue.

Hope this helps!