actualbudget/actual

[Bug]: Internal error when trying to sync accounts with GoCardless when restoring from a backup

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#4742 opened on Apr 4, 2025

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 (4 comments) (2 reactions) (0 assignees)JavaScript (7,129 stars) (603 forks)batch import
bank syncbuggood first issuehelp wanted

Description

Verified issue does not already exist?

  • I have searched and found no existing issue

What happened?

When restoring a backup it does not seem like the GoCardless Secret Id and Secret Key are restored.
If a user tries to sync the bank accounts after restoring a backup the message "An internal error has occured" appears.

Since there is no indication that the secrets are not restored it is highly confusing for a user to repair the problem. I was thinking I had to set up a whole new instance and backfill all changes because I could not get it working again and there was no "Repair GoCardless sync" button or something.

To fix this one has to go to "Add an Account", "Set-up GoCardless for bank-sync" and add the secrets there (again). After that syncing works again.

How can we reproduce the issue?

  1. Set up an Actual instance with a bank account that is synced with GoCardless
  2. Create a Backup of that instance ("Export data")
  3. Delete everything; Set up a new instance.
  4. Import the backup into that instance
  5. Click "Sync" on the bank account that should be connected with GoCardless
  6. See "internal error" occuring

Where are you hosting Actual?

Other

What browsers are you seeing the problem on?

Chrome, Firefox

Operating System

Linux

Contributor guide

Tech stack
javascriptnodejs
Domain
backenddatasecurity
Issue type
bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
half day
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
fresh
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
None
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
45
Research direction
Investigate the backup export and import functionality in the Actual codebase, specifically how GoCardless secrets (Secret Id, Secret Key) are handled. Look at files related to backup (e.g., server side backup handlers) and GoCardless integration. Determine why secrets are not restored and propose a fix to include them in the backup data.