Plaid Sync Recovery

Recovery Procedures

Stale data (sync stopped)

1. Check if sync scheduler/cron is active
2. Trigger manual sync for affected user's items
3. Verify new transactions in DB
4. Check purchase evaluation queue — stale balances affect decisions

Token expired (ITEM_LOGIN_REQUIRED)

1. Requires user action — must re-authenticate through Plaid Link
2. Notify Bob to reach out to user
3. Verify "Re-link account" UI prompt works

Rate limiting

1. Check for accidental polling loops
2. Implement exponential backoff if missing
3. Dev environment has lower limits than production

Downstream Impact

Failed sync affects: cash flow forecasting (stale balances), purchase evaluation (wrong signals), goal tracking (wrong progress), balance-based alerts (won't fire). Always check these after recovery.

Validation

1. npm test -- --grep plaid
2. Verify last sync timestamp updated in DB
3. Confirm downstream services reflect new data