> Fetch the index of every Tonbo docs page as Markdown at https://tonbo.dev/llms.txt

# Troubleshooting: refused writes

Last updated 29 October 2026

Look up what you see when Tonbo refuses or holds back a database’s commits: why, and what to do.

| What you see | Why | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `replication.condition` is `payment_required` | Tonbo refuses writes with `402 PAYMENT_REQUIRED`: the account’s balance is zero. | Add credit (see [When the balance runs out](https://tonbo.dev/docs/databases/pricing.md#zero-balance)). |
| `replication.condition` is `forbidden` | Tonbo answers `403`, for example `ACCOUNT_REVOKED` when the account’s access was revoked. Commits wait on the machine until access is restored. | [Talk to a founder](https://cal.com/tzu-gwo/hi-from-tonbo). |
| `503 AUTHORIZATION_UNAVAILABLE` in a proxy’s log | Tonbo could not check the account for a moment and asked the client to retry after `Retry-After`. | Nothing: the package retries on its own. |
| `UrsulaWriteRefusedError` with the kind `too_large` | A transaction is over the commit limit, and committed nothing. | Split it into smaller ones (see [Limits](https://tonbo.dev/docs/databases/limits.md#transaction)). |
| `UrsulaWriteRefusedError` with the kind `backlog_full` | 64 MiB of compressed commits, by default, wait for Tonbo, because it cannot be reached or refuses them. | Look at `replication.condition` for the cause; writes resume once the commits reach Tonbo. |