Graph API error (#613) Curl failed: Operation timed out — distinguishing timeout from successful post creation

Direct answer

Embed a client-generated UUID in the post content (message or link field). When a #613 timeout occurs, query the user's feed for that UUID within a narrow time window. If the UUID appears, the post was created; if absent, it is safe to retry. This is the only reliable pattern using the Graph API alone.

Why this works

The Graph API returns (#613) Curl failed: Operation timed out for both genuine network timeouts and client-side request aborts. Facebook does not provide idempotency keys for publish endpoints, and the error payload does not distinguish the two cases. The feed endpoint (/{user-id}/feed) exposes message, link, and created_time fields, allowing a post-hoc lookup by a unique token you control.

Step-by-step pattern

1. Generate a UUID per publish attempt (e.g., v4() or crypto.randomUUID()).
2. Embed the UUID in the post payload — preferably in the message field (e.g., "My update #" + uuid) or as a query parameter on a link URL.
3. Record metadata before sending: UUID, request timestamp (UTC), target endpoint, and any request ID your HTTP client generates.
4. On #613 error, wait a brief backoff (1–2 s), then call GET /{user-id}/feed?limit=25&since={request_timestamp}.
5. Scan results for the UUID in message or link. If found, capture the returned id (post ID) and treat the operation as successful.
6. If UUID not found, retry the original POST with a new UUID. Do not reuse the same UUID.
7. Log every attempt: UUID, request timestamp, error code, lookup timestamp, lookup result (found/not found), and post ID if found. This log enables later reconciliation and audit.

Verification you can run today

# 1. Create a test post with a known UUID
UUID="test-$(date +%s)-$(openssl rand -hex 4)"
curl -X POST "https://graph.facebook.com/v19.0/me/feed" \
  -d "message=Test post $UUID" \
  -d "access_token=YOUR_TOKEN"

# 2. Simulate a timeout by killing the request early (Ctrl-C)
# 3. Immediately query the feed
curl "https://graph.facebook.com/v19.0/me/feed?limit=25&since=$(date -d '30 seconds ago' +%s)&access_token=YOUR_TOKEN" \
  | jq '.data[] | select(.message | contains("$UUID"))'
# If the UUID appears, the post was created despite the timeout.

Assumptions and limits

• Requires pages_read_engagement or user_posts permission to read the feed.
• Feed queries are paginated; use a tight since window (30–60 s) to avoid rate limits and pagination depth.
• UUID must be globally unique; collisions cause false positives. Use RFC 4122 v4 or equivalent.
• If the user's privacy settings restrict feed visibility to the app, the lookup fails — treat as "unknown" and do not retry blindly.
• Posts created before the UUID was added or after it is removed are not detected; this pattern only covers the specific attempt.

One diagnostic detail that changes the recommendation

Can your integration read the target user/page feed with the same access token used for publishing? If no, the token-lookup pattern cannot work; you must accept duplicates or build an external deduplication store keyed by your own business identifier.