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Creating a list with backend worklow - too slow

Need help Database
#1

Hello there,
I have been facing a big problem, which is that my app creates a list with a backend workflow, and it takes way too long… To create 77 entries I needed exactly 2min40sec, which is way too long. I’ll explain how it all works:

  1. In a popup we select a list of clients (name, phone number), and by pressing a button it saves them into a custom state.

  2. Once it is done, the popup closes and by clicking another button, it is possible to save. It triggers a workflow, and the relevant action is “Schedule API Worflow” which triggers a backend workflow creating a list of “Users”, which contains the client phone number and their campaign (another data type which contains the list of messages these clients will receive, but this is not important).

So yeah I’m wondering how to create this list of “users” containing the “clients” stored in the custom state, with a normal speed. Because it is way too slow, and unfortunately I have found no way to create a list of things without using the backend workflow trick.

I have tried a plugin called List shifter, but couldn’t make it work (the iterate function I think?).
Thanks in advance!

#2

What is the reason you are creating the list of clients with the name and phone number? Are you allowing existing users to create a list of their clients as a sort of contact or are you allowing them to create users?

For my apps when I build for clients who want to allow users to upload a list of users or contacts, I use the CSV upload feature, and I use a free plugin called 1T CSV uploader to help with that.

I don’t know off hand how fast or slow it is, but nevertheless, I always incorporate a ‘loading’ popup to entertain the user has the data is being created, and then signal when the data has been processed. I think typically I’ve experienced uploading the CSVs to populate about 100 entries within 10 seconds or so.

#3

The list of clients with the phone number and name was already created beforehand, and the reason I’m doing this is to associate those with a “campaign”. A campaign is a couple of SMS sent with the Twilio API. So it is important for me to differentiate the actualy client database, and the list of clients who are registered to that campaign (most likely not the full list of clients in the database).
I hope it makes it a bit more clear, I know “user” can be a misleading name, it just means the list of clients who are registered to that campaign.

The client database is indeed filled up with the CSV uploader! And it is pretty fast. The issue is when I wanna select a couple of these clients and create a new list of them.

I did put a “loading” icon indeed, as I don’t want people to send SMSes to the list without it being full first. But yes… I wish it lasted only 10 seconds, as I said I have to wait almost 3 min for a list of 77 clients and that’s the issue I’m trying to solve.

#4

Little update here, I managed to make it work with Listshifter instead of Backend workflow, it is now taking 40 seconds to create the full list instead of 2min40 sec! It’s a big improvement, but I was wonderinf if it was possible to go even faster than that? Because I’m worried to try that once the lists have like 500 users or something… Will still take a while to create it. Thanks in advance!

#5

Try using the Data API Bulk Create endpoint - it’s the quickest was to create multiple things in the database.

Although, from your post, I can’t really work out what you’re trying to do, nor why it needs to happen quickly??..