Power Platform Community Forum Thread Details

Greetings

I am working on a workflow on PowerAutomate (PA) Descktop on a remote Windows 11 server. It loops through entries in a csv and for each entry it runs a Powershell/VBScript (I have tried both) to run the python3.13 interpreter on a python script to extract certain data from a source.

The problem is that it sometimes gets stuck indefinitely in that specific action. Even if I set timeout settings in either the VB/Powershell script or in the PA action settings, it sometimes gets ignored and never terminates.

This phenomenon occurs at random from what I can tell. It can happen at the 5th entry or the 25th. It does not seem to happen when I set a few breakpoints to test it. It also occurs both when I am connected to the server it runs on and when I am not.

What can I do to work around it?

Categories:

Power Automate Desktop

Hi @EM-31071523-0

This is a tricky but not uncommon issue when running Power Automate Desktop (PAD) flows that invoke external scripts like Python via PowerShell or VBScript — especially on remote servers.

Here’s a breakdown of what might be happening and how you can work around it:

🧠 Why It Gets Stuck Randomly

Zombie Processes: Sometimes the Python process hangs due to:
- Waiting for input/output (e.g., stdin, stdout)
- File locks or access issues
- Network or API timeouts inside the script
PAD Timeout Not Enforced: PAD’s timeout settings on script actions don’t always kill the underlying process, especially if the script spawns a child process (like python.exe).
Remote Desktop Session Effects: If the server is headless or the session is disconnected, some scripts may behave differently (especially if they rely on UI or environment variables).

✅ Workaround Strategies

1. Use `Start-Process` with Timeout Logic in PowerShell

Instead of calling Python directly, use Start-Process and monitor it:

$process = Start-Process -FilePath "python.exe" -ArgumentList "script.py" -PassThru

$process | Wait-Process -Timeout 30

if (!$process.HasExited) {

$process.Kill()

Write-Output "Process killed due to timeout."

}

This gives you manual control over the timeout and ensures the process is terminated.

2. Log and Retry Mechanism

Wrap the script call in a try/catch block and log failures. You can then:

Retry the failed entry
Skip and continue the loop

3. Run Python via `.bat` File

Sometimes calling a .bat file that wraps the Python call is more stable:

@echo off

python script.py %1

Then call the .bat from PAD or PowerShell.

4. Use a Queue-Based Approach

Instead of looping in PAD, consider:

Writing all CSV entries to a queue (e.g., SharePoint list, SQL, or Azure Queue)
Triggering a cloud flow or scheduled PAD flow to process one item at a time

This isolates failures and avoids long-running loops.