Overview
A workflow may fail during the Stitch step with an error indicating that an input table is empty, even though data existed previously.
This commonly happens when a required daily input file is missing, empty, or delivered later than expected.
This article explains why this happens, how to identify the cause, and how to resolve it.
Symptoms
You may see one or more of the following:
Full daily workflow fails during Stitch
Error message mentions input tables becoming empty
Re-running the workflow results in the same error
Source files exist for other dates but not the expected one
Domain tables suddenly show zero records
Previous runs completed successfully, but the latest run fails
Common Error Message
You may encounter an error similar to:
Input tables previously contained data but are now empty, so we aborted Stitch.
This indicates that Stitch detected an empty required table and stopped the workflow to prevent incorrect results.
Why This Happens
Workflows expect specific input files based on date logic (for example, yesterday’s file).
Common causes include:
The expected daily file was not delivered
The file exists but contains zero records
The file name does not match the expected pattern
A workflow starts before the file becomes available
An optional courier skips ingestion, resulting in an empty domain table
If a domain table becomes empty, Stitch will abort to avoid producing incomplete customer data.
Important Workflow Behavior
A workflow uses the data state at the time it starts
If data becomes available later, the same workflow run will not re-check automatically
A fresh workflow run is required after data is corrected or added
How to Troubleshoot
Step 1: Check the Expected File
Confirm which date-based file the workflow expects
Verify that the file exists in the source location
Ensure the file name matches the expected pattern
Check that the file contains records
Step 2: Check Domain Table History
Review when the domain table record count dropped to zero
Compare with the last successful workflow run
Identify whether an empty file was ingested previously
Step 3: Decide on a Recovery Option
Depending on your situation, you can:
Load the correct file for the expected date
Re-run the courier with corrected inputs
Restart the workflow after data is present
Resolution Example
A common resolution is to ensure that the expected daily file is available so the workflow can proceed.
Once the missing data is provided and the workflow is restarted, Stitch will complete successfully.
Best Practices
Ensure daily ingestion files are delivered before workflows run
Monitor file delivery consistency and naming conventions
Add alerts for missing or empty input files
Avoid running workflows until all required data is available
Restart workflows after correcting missing data issues
Summary
Workflow failures during Stitch are often caused by missing or empty input files, not by platform issues.
Verifying file availability and restarting the workflow after data correction resolves the issue in most cases.
Understanding how workflows depend on expected daily inputs helps prevent repeated failures and delays.