# Common Issues When Using Ruflo: A Technical Troubleshooting Guide

> Troubleshoot common Ruflo issues like configuration errors, task failures, and agent mismatches. Learn how to resolve problems with this technical guide.

- Repository: [rUv/ruflo](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo)
- Tags: how-to-guide
- Published: 2026-03-09

---

**Most operational problems in Ruflo stem from configuration validation errors, task lifecycle failures, agent status mismatches, plugin execution errors, and MCP tool dispatch issues, all of which can be resolved by understanding the validation logic in [`ConfigTools.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/ConfigTools.ts) and the error handling patterns in [`Task.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/Task.ts) and [`Agent.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/Agent.ts).**

Ruflo is an open-source orchestration framework that manages agent swarms and task execution through a layered architecture. When using Ruflo in production environments, developers frequently encounter specific failure patterns related to configuration validation, task execution, and agent lifecycle management. Understanding these common issues when using Ruflo requires examining the source code to see how the system validates inputs and propagates errors through its infrastructure layers.

## Configuration Validation Errors

Ruflo parses a `V3Config` object when starting a swarm. The validator checks the **swarm topology** and **memory backend** against whitelisted values. Supplying a value outside these sets throws an error and aborts the command.

### Topology and Memory Backend Validation

The validation logic lives in [`v3/src/infrastructure/mcp/tools/ConfigTools.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/v3/src/infrastructure/mcp/tools/ConfigTools.ts). The topology check is performed on lines 59‑62 and the memory backend check on lines 67‑70.

If you see an error such as:

```

Invalid swarm.topology: circular. Must be one of: hierarchical, mesh, simple, adaptive

```

or:

```

Invalid memory.backend: redis. Must be one of: hybrid, agentdb, sqlite

```

It means the config file contains a typo or an unsupported option. Correct the value or upgrade Ruflo to a version that supports the desired setting.

## Task-Level Failures

Each Ruflo task is an instance of the `Task` class ([`v3/src/task-execution/domain/Task.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/v3/src/task-execution/domain/Task.ts)). The `fail` method records the error message in the task’s metadata. If a task throws an exception during execution, Ruflo catches it, aggregates it into an `Error[]`, and marks the task as *failed* (see [`WorkflowEngine.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/WorkflowEngine.ts) lines 154‑162 and 272‑274).

Common symptoms include “Task failed” messages in the CLI output or a missing `error` field in the task result payload. The root cause is usually an uncaught exception inside a worker agent (e.g., a syntax error, missing environment variable, or a network timeout). Review the agent’s logs for the original stack trace.

## Agent Status Problems

Agents are modeled by the `Agent` class ([`v3/src/agent-lifecycle/domain/Agent.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/v3/src/agent-lifecycle/domain/Agent.ts)). Before an agent can accept a request it must be in an *active* state. If the agent is *idle*, *busy*, *terminated*, or already in *error*, Ruflo returns a clear error message (see line 48).

Typical triggers include attempting to spawn an agent with a duplicate ID, trying to use an agent after the swarm has been shut down, or a previous task leaving the agent in a hung state. To resolve this, restart the swarm (`ruflo swarm stop && ruflo swarm start`) or explicitly reset the agent’s status via the MCP `agent_reset` tool.

## Plugin Execution Errors

Ruflo’s extensibility hinges on plugins loaded at runtime ([`v3/src/infrastructure/plugins/PluginManager.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/v3/src/infrastructure/plugins/PluginManager.ts)). When a plugin handler throws, Ruflo captures the error, records it in the result, and continues loading remaining plugins (see lines 185‑188).

If a plugin crashes, you’ll see messages like “plugin:error” in the event stream. Common causes include missing peer dependencies in the plugin’s [`package.json`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/package.json) or version mismatches between Ruflo core and the plugin’s API. Upgrade the plugin to the latest version or adjust its [`package.json`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/package.json) to match Ruflo’s dependency range.

## MCP Tool Dispatch Failures

All MCP‑exposed tools (`memory`, `config`, `agent`, etc.) return a `MCPToolResult`. If a tool name is unknown, the dispatcher emits an error (see [`ConfigTools.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/ConfigTools.ts) line 117, [`MemoryTools.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/MemoryTools.ts) line 120, and [`AgentTools.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/AgentTools.ts) line 93).

This typically happens when a CLI wrapper passes a typo (`--tool memroy`) or a custom script uses an outdated tool name after Ruflo’s API change. Update the tool name to the current schema (`memory_search`, `agent_spawn`, etc.) or run `ruflo mcp list` to view available commands.

## Swarm Coordination Edge Cases

The `SwarmCoordinator` orchestrates task dispatch to agents. It can emit errors when an agent cannot be found or when a task ID is missing (see lines 199 and 254).

These arise when a user references an agent ID that was never spawned or the workflow attempts to cancel a task after it has already completed. Ensure agents are spawned before task submission and guard cancellation calls with a status check.

## Practical Solutions and Code Examples

### Proper Swarm Initialization

```typescript
import { swarm_init } from '@claude-flow/mcp';

// Correctly set topology and memory backend
await swarm_init({
  topology: 'hierarchical',
  maxAgents: 8,
  memory: { backend: 'hybrid' },
});

```

The config passes validation because `'hierarchical'` and `'hybrid'` are whitelisted values (see [`ConfigTools.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/ConfigTools.ts) validation logic).

### Graceful Task Failure Handling

```typescript
import { runTask } from '@ruflo/v3';

try {
  const result = await runTask('implement-auth');
  if (result.status === 'failed') {
    console.error('Task failed:', result.errors?.[0]?.message);
    // Optional: trigger a rollback or retry
  } else {
    console.log('Task succeeded');
  }
} catch (e) {
  console.error('Unexpected error:', e);
}

```

The `runTask` wrapper inspects the `Task` instance’s `fail` method (see [`Task.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/Task.ts)).

### Restarting a Stuck Agent

```bash

# Stop the swarm (clears all agent states)

ruflo swarm stop

# Start a fresh swarm with the same config

ruflo swarm start --config ./ruflo.config.json

```

This resets any agents left in an error state (see [`Agent.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/Agent.ts) error handling).

### Loading a Plugin Safely

```typescript
import { loadPlugin } from '@ruflo/plugin-manager';

try {
  await loadPlugin('test-intelligence');
  console.log('Plugin loaded');
} catch (e) {
  console.error('Plugin load failed:', e.message);
}

```

Any exception inside the plugin is caught and logged (see [`PluginManager.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/PluginManager.ts)).

### Using MCP Memory Tools Correctly

```bash

# Store a pattern

ruflo memory store --key "auth‑jwt‑refresh" --value "Refresh token flow" --namespace patterns

# Retrieve it later

ruflo memory retrieve --key "auth‑jwt‑refresh" --namespace patterns

```

Using the exact tool names avoids the “Unknown tool” guard (see [`MemoryTools.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/MemoryTools.ts)).

## Summary

- **Configuration Validation**: Ruflo enforces whitelisted values for `topology` and `memory.backend` in [`ConfigTools.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/ConfigTools.ts); invalid values abort startup immediately.
- **Task Failures**: The `Task` class captures errors via its `fail` method, while [`WorkflowEngine.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/WorkflowEngine.ts) aggregates exceptions into error arrays.
- **Agent Status**: Agents must be in an *active* state to accept work; duplicate IDs or terminated agents trigger errors from [`Agent.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/Agent.ts).
- **Plugin Errors**: [`PluginManager.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/PluginManager.ts) catches handler exceptions during runtime loading, allowing the system to continue with remaining plugins.
- **MCP Tool Dispatch**: Unknown tool names trigger guards in [`ConfigTools.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/ConfigTools.ts), [`MemoryTools.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/MemoryTools.ts), and [`AgentTools.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/AgentTools.ts); use `ruflo mcp list` to verify available commands.
- **Swarm Coordination**: [`SwarmCoordinator.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/SwarmCoordinator.ts) emits errors for missing agents or invalid task IDs during dispatch operations.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What causes the "Invalid swarm.topology" error in Ruflo?

This error occurs when the `V3Config` object contains a `topology` value not present in the whitelist. According to the validation logic in [`v3/src/infrastructure/mcp/tools/ConfigTools.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/v3/src/infrastructure/mcp/tools/ConfigTools.ts) (lines 59‑62), only `hierarchical`, `mesh`, `simple`, and `adaptive` are valid options. Check your configuration file for typos like `circular` instead of `hierarchical`, or upgrade Ruflo if you require a newer topology type.

### How does Ruflo handle task execution failures?

Ruflo handles task failures through the `Task` class in [`v3/src/task-execution/domain/Task.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/v3/src/task-execution/domain/Task.ts). When a task encounters an exception, the `fail` method (lines 75‑80) records the error message in the task’s metadata. The [`WorkflowEngine.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/WorkflowEngine.ts) (lines 154‑162 and 272‑274) catches these exceptions, aggregates them into an `Error[]` array, and marks the task status as `failed`. You can inspect the `result.errors` array in your application code to retrieve specific failure messages.

### Why does my Ruflo agent return a status error?

Agent status errors originate from [`v3/src/agent-lifecycle/domain/Agent.ts`](https://github.com/ruvnet/ruflo/blob/main/v3/src/agent-lifecycle/domain/Agent.ts) (line 48), where the system verifies that an agent is in the `active` state before accepting requests. If you encounter this error, the agent is likely in `idle`, `busy`, `terminated`, or `error` state. Common causes include attempting to reuse an agent ID that already exists, calling an agent after the swarm has shut down, or a previous task leaving the agent in a hung state. Resolve this by restarting the swarm with `ruflo swarm stop && ruflo swarm start` or using the `agent_reset` MCP tool.