Skip to content
Clarisights Knowledge Center home
InboxAsk a human

Troubleshooting Export Failures

Widget Exports are deprecated. Existing widget exports keep running for now, but don't set up new ones: use Export Pipelines instead. To move an existing widget export, see Migrating from Legacy Exports to Export Pipelines.

This article helps you find out why an export did not arrive, arrived incomplete, or looks different from what you expected. It covers Export Pipelines and the legacy Data Exporters and Widget Exports.

Quick Checks

  1. Is it time yet? Check the schedule's time and timezone, and allow time for the export to finish. See Export Scheduling & Timing Guide.

  2. Are you looking in the right folder? Export Pipeline files are stored under the destination's path prefix, then the pipeline name, the manifest version (v1, v2, ...) and the extract ID. A new manifest version writes to a new folder.

  3. Did the bucket permissions change? A changed bucket policy, IAM role, trust policy, or service account is the most common cause of failed exports.

  4. Check the metadata file. Each Export Pipeline data file has a .meta.json file next to it with the exported date range and the list of columns.

Common Problems

1. Amazon S3: Access Denied

Symptom: No files arrive in your S3 bucket, and we report an access or "assume role" error.

Common causes:

  • The role or user is missing s3:PutObject or s3:PutObjectAcl on the bucket. Both are needed.

  • The trust policy of your IAM role no longer allows the Clarisights role arn:aws:iam::747179778889:role/ClarisightsExternalAccessRole to assume it.

  • The External ID in the destination does not match the one in your trust policy.

  • The Role ARN in the destination is wrong. The format must be arn:aws:iam::ACCOUNT_ID:role/ROLE_NAME.

  • A bucket policy denies the upload, even though the IAM permissions are correct.

  • The bucket is encrypted with your own KMS key, and the role or user cannot use that key (kms:GenerateDataKey).

What to do: Review the setup in Configuring Export Pipeline Destinations & Permissions, fix the policy, and let us know so we can confirm the next run.

2. Google Cloud Storage: Permission Denied

Symptom: No files arrive in your GCS bucket, and we report a 403 or permission error.

Common causes:

  • The Clarisights service account (or your own service account, if Clarisights impersonates one) does not have the Storage Object Creator role on the bucket.

  • When impersonation is used, the Clarisights service account is missing the Service Account Token Creator role on your service account.

  • The file name template writes the same file name on every run. Replacing an existing file also needs storage.objects.delete.

3. The export has fewer rows than expected

  • Widget exports contain at most 100,000 rows. Rows beyond that are left out without a warning. If your file has exactly 100,000 data rows, narrow the date range, remove dimensions, add filters, or move to an Export Pipeline, which has no row limit.

  • Data Exporters can split a large file into several parts (.gz.1, .gz.2, and so on). Make sure you read every part.

  • Export Pipelines deliver one file per extract, with no row limit. Check the extract's filters, the pipeline's data sources, and the date range in the .meta.json file.

4. Numbers don't match what I see in Clarisights

  • Rounding: Exports contain unrounded values, while Clarisights rounds numbers for display.

  • Date range and timezone: Compare the same dates in the same timezone. Export Pipelines use the schedule's timezone, which can differ from the one you use in your reports.

  • Late data: Channels keep updating recent days. An export that ran early in the morning may not include the latest updates. Re-export the last few days (for example with last_3d) to pick them up.

  • Grouping: An extract is grouped by exactly the dimensions you chose. Compare it with a widget that uses the same dimensions, filters, and data sources.

5. Columns changed or a new folder appeared

When an Export Pipeline gets a new manifest, its files go to a new v{manifest_version} folder, and the previous version is still exported for 30 days. Legacy Data Exporters work the same way with their v<version> folder. Update your downstream processing to read the new version before the old one stops.

6. Nothing is exported at all

  • Check whether the pipeline or the schedule was paused or deleted.

  • Check whether the data sources of the pipeline are still connected in Clarisights.

  • If you renamed or deleted a custom metric or custom dimension that an extract uses, contact us so we can update the manifest.

Contacting Us

If you can't find the cause, reach out to us from the messenger support on the platform and include:

  • The pipeline name and extract ID (or the widget or channel, for legacy exports)

  • The date and time of the run you expected

  • The bucket name and path

  • Any error message you received

We can check the record of each export run (kept for 30 days) and tell you what happened.