Action limit exceeded – Action exceeded the limits (e.g., API calls, file size).

Power Automate has several limitations on API calls, request sizes, data processing, and execution time. When an action exceeds these limits, it fails with the following error:

“Action limit exceeded – Action exceeded the limits (e.g., API calls, file size).”

This error indicates that the flow is hitting Power Automate’s usage constraints, such as:

• API request limits (e.g., too many requests in a short time).
• File size limits (e.g., uploading a file too large for SharePoint or OneDrive).
• Data volume restrictions (e.g., too many records in Dataverse or Excel).
• Execution time limits (e.g., flow running longer than the allowed time).

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2. Common Causes of Action Limit Exceeded Errors

Cause	Description	Example
API Request Limits	Too many requests in a short time exceed service quota.	Calling Microsoft Graph API too frequently.
File Size Limits	File exceeds the upload limit of the target service.	Uploading a 300MB file to OneDrive (limit: 250MB).
Loop Iteration Limits	Too many iterations in a loop exceed Power Automate’s limit.	A flow loops through 100,000 items (limit: 5,000).
Data Query Limits	Fetching too many records from a service at once.	Trying to retrieve 10,000 SharePoint list items.
Execution Time Limits	Flow runs longer than allowed (5-15 minutes depending on plan).	Processing large Excel files in a single run.

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3. Step-by-Step Troubleshooting Guide

Step 1: Identify the Failed Action

1. Open Power Automate (https://flow.microsoft.com).
2. Navigate to My Flows and open the affected flow.
3. Click Run History and locate the failed run.
4. Expand the failed action and check the error message.

Look for messages like:

• "429 Too Many Requests" (API limit exceeded)
• "Request Entity Too Large" (File size exceeds the limit)
• "Flow execution time exceeded" (Flow ran for too long)

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Step 2: Check API Request Limits

Power Automate has API request limits per user and per flow. Exceeding these limits results in “429 Too Many Requests” errors.

Solution:

1. Reduce the number of API calls (batch requests where possible).
2. Implement retry policies (Power Automate automatically retries failed API requests).
3. Introduce a delay between API calls (use “Delay” action).
4. Upgrade to a higher Power Automate plan to increase limits.

Example:

• If a flow makes 1,000 API calls per minute to SharePoint, limit it to 600 and introduce delays.

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Step 3: Reduce File Size for Uploads

Services like OneDrive, SharePoint, and Outlook have file size limits:

Service	File Size Limit
OneDrive/SharePoint	250MB per file
Outlook Email Attachments	150MB
Dataverse File Storage	128MB
Power Automate HTTP Request	100MB

Solution:

1. Compress large files before uploading.
2. Split files into smaller chunks.
3. Store large files in Azure Blob Storage instead.

Example:

• If trying to upload a 300MB file to OneDrive, compress it to below 250MB or store it in Azure Blob Storage instead.

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Step 4: Limit the Number of Loop Iterations

Power Automate restricts loop iterations to 5,000 per flow run. If exceeded, the flow fails.

Solution:

1. Use pagination when retrieving large datasets.
2. Process data in batches instead of a single loop.
3. Use Parallel Branching to divide processing.

Example:

• If looping through 10,000 SharePoint list items, limit it to 4,000 per run or use parallel processing.

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Step 5: Optimize Data Queries

Fetching large datasets from Excel, SharePoint, or Dataverse may exceed limits.

Solution:

1. Use delegation-friendly queries (e.g., Filter() in Power Apps).
2. Fetch only necessary columns instead of retrieving full records.
3. Use pagination in API requests.

Example:

• If querying 10,000 SharePoint records, fetch only 2,000 at a time using pagination.

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Step 6: Reduce Execution Time

Flows have execution time limits depending on the Power Automate plan:

Plan	Max Execution Time
Per-user plan	15 minutes
Per-flow plan	30 minutes
Free plan	5 minutes

Solution:

1. Break long-running processes into multiple flows.
2. Use “Delay” or “Wait” actions for scheduled executions.
3. Upgrade to a Per-Flow or Premium Plan for higher limits.

Example:

• If a flow runs longer than 15 minutes, split it into smaller flows triggered sequentially.

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Step 7: Monitor Power Automate Usage and Limits

If you frequently hit limits, monitor your usage in the Power Platform admin center.

Solution:

1. Go to Power Platform Admin Center (https://admin.powerplatform.microsoft.com).
2. Navigate to Analytics > Power Automate to check usage reports.
3. Identify high-usage flows and optimize them.
4. Consider Power Automate Premium if higher limits are needed.

Example:

• If a flow exceeds API limits, optimize it by batching requests or using fewer actions.