You pasted the key. The assistant said "connected!" Is it?
Not necessarily. Software is very good at saying yes when the real answer is "sort of." The fix is a habit borrowed from pilots and radio operators: the readback.
What it is
After connecting any tool, you ask the assistant to read back something only that tool would know. The assistant does not announce success. It shows evidence.
Examples:
- Shop: "List my first five products."
- Scheduler: "Show me the social accounts connected."
- Email: "Tell me the names of my email lists."
- Print partner: "List the products in my account."
If the answer is real data from your account, the connection works. If it is an error, a blank, or something generic, you found the problem in ten seconds instead of ten steps later.
Why I insist on it
I learned this the expensive way. There is a famous kind of failure where a script prints "DONE" at the end and the work did not happen. A file failed to copy, a permission was missing, a count was off. The message was true about the script finishing and false about the job.
So now I never trust a success message alone. I look for a number I can check: how many files made it to the other side, how many items are in the list.
The artist-friendly version
You do not need to read logs. You only need one question:
"Can you prove it?"
Ask it after a connection. Ask it after an upload. Ask it after a batch of scheduled posts. A good assistant will either show you the proof or tell you it cannot.
What to do when a readback fails
- Do not panic. This is the readback doing its job.
- Check the key was copied completely, with no stray space at the start or end.
- Confirm you made the key in the right account.
- Ask the assistant what the error says and what it suspects.
Nine times out of ten it is a copy and paste slip.
The rule to remember
Every connection in the Stack ends with a readback. If it cannot read it back, it is not done.
Next: where your keys live, and the one rule that keeps them private.
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