From fdf1180722a225671fc91f789893896bfee1053c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Steve Dudenhoeffer <steve@stevedudenhoeffer.com>
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2026 02:36:41 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] Add better error handling for Cloudflare rate limiting

- Handle None returns from pull_statuses gracefully
- Add specific error messages for rate limiting scenarios
- Skip None posts in iteration to avoid TypeErrors

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 src/poller.py | 51 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++----
 1 file changed, 47 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/poller.py b/src/poller.py
index bf74367..11c4db2 100644
--- a/src/poller.py
+++ b/src/poller.py
@@ -98,15 +98,38 @@ def fetch_and_relay_post(post_url: str) -> bool:
         api = Api()
         # Fetch user's statuses and find the matching post
         print(f"Fetching statuses for @{username} to find post {post_id}...")
-        statuses = list(api.pull_statuses(username, replies=True))
+        statuses_gen = api.pull_statuses(username, replies=True)
+
+        if statuses_gen is None:
+            print(
+                "Failed to fetch statuses (API returned None). "
+                "This may be due to rate limiting or Cloudflare blocking.",
+                file=sys.stderr,
+            )
+            return False
+
+        statuses = list(statuses_gen)
+
+        if not statuses:
+            print(
+                "No statuses returned. The API may be rate-limited or blocked.",
+                file=sys.stderr,
+            )
+            return False
 
         for post in statuses:
-            if str(post.get("id", "")) == post_id:
+            if post and str(post.get("id", "")) == post_id:
                 print(f"Found post {post_id}")
                 return process_single_post(post, username)
 
         print(f"Post not found in recent statuses: {post_id}", file=sys.stderr)
         return False
+    except TypeError as e:
+        print(
+            f"API error (likely rate-limited or blocked by Cloudflare): {e}",
+            file=sys.stderr,
+        )
+        return False
     except Exception as e:
         print(f"Error fetching post: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
         return False
@@ -129,10 +152,21 @@ def poll_loop() -> None:
             print(f"Checking for new posts from @{TRUTH_USER}...")
 
             # Fetch recent statuses
-            statuses = list(api.pull_statuses(TRUTH_USER, replies=False))
+            statuses_gen = api.pull_statuses(TRUTH_USER, replies=False)
+            if statuses_gen is None:
+                print(
+                    "Failed to fetch statuses (rate-limited or blocked). Retrying...",
+                    file=sys.stderr,
+                )
+                time.sleep(POLL_INTERVAL)
+                continue
+
+            statuses = list(statuses_gen)
 
             # Process in chronological order (oldest first)
             for post in reversed(statuses):
+                if post is None:
+                    continue
                 post_id = str(post.get("id", ""))
                 if not post_id:
                     continue
@@ -175,9 +209,18 @@ def initial_seed() -> None:
     api = Api()
 
     try:
-        statuses = list(api.pull_statuses(TRUTH_USER, replies=False))
+        statuses_gen = api.pull_statuses(TRUTH_USER, replies=False)
+        if statuses_gen is None:
+            print(
+                "Failed to fetch statuses (rate-limited or blocked).", file=sys.stderr
+            )
+            return
+
+        statuses = list(statuses_gen)
         count = 0
         for post in statuses:
+            if post is None:
+                continue
             post_id = str(post.get("id", ""))
             if post_id and not is_post_seen(post_id):
                 mark_post_seen(post_id)