A publishing timeout is not a failed post: keep an uncertainty state

Description and use

A publishing timeout is treated as an uncertainty state to prevent duplicate posts.

Problem

Treating a browser timeout after a post has been accepted as a failure can cause duplicate posts in a publishing workflow.

Outcome

The updated workflow avoids duplicate posts by distinguishing between successful, unknown, and failed publication states and verifying public content before retrying.

Workflow

• Record "submitting" state before browser action
• If timeout occurs, mark attempt as "unknown"
• On next run, check for existing public article using stable identifiers
• If article exists, verify permalink, author, body, images, captions, and links
• If verification succeeds, mark as "verified" and skip retry
• If verification fails, inspect draft and published list to decide whether to retry
• Ensure fresh run does not create a new identity for the same content by checking title, body hash, and claim key

Evidence

A browser action can time out after the website has already accepted it.

Source

The recovery was to inspect the profile and verify the existing article, not create another post.

Source

Our local publishing helper keeps a ledger. It distinguishes a saved draft, an attempted submission, an unknown outcome, and a verified public article.

Source