fallback-and-resilience
What to do when a tool fails, an API hits a rate limit, or a site blocks scraping. Maps every primary tool to its best fallback so a single failure doesn't block the search.
npx skills add borski/travel-hacking-toolkit --skill fallback-and-resilience --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Fallback and Resilience Tools go down. APIs break. Have a backup plan for every search. | Primary Tool | When It Fails | Fallback | |-------------|---------------|----------| | Duffel | API error or timeout | Ignav, Google Flights skill, Skiplagged | | Ignav | API error | Duffel, Google Flights skill, Skiplagged | | Google Flights | agent-browser error | Duffel, Ignav, Skiplagged | | Skiplagged | 502/timeout (Cloudflare issues) | Kiwi.com MCP, Duffel, Ignav | | Kiwi.com | Server error | Skiplagged MCP, Duffel | | Seats.aero | API error or stale data | Check airline website directly, use Duffel for GDS inventory | | Southwest | SW rate limiting or bot detection | Wait a few minutes and retry. Use Docker (`ghcr.io/borski/sw-fares`) if running locally fails. Google Flights skill for SW cash prices as a fast fallback. | | SerpAPI | Rate limit (100/mo free) | Trivago for hotels, web search for destination discovery | | Trivago | Server error | LiteAPI for hotels, SerpAPI Google Hotels | | LiteAPI | Auth error (401) | Trivago MCP, SerpAPI Google Hotels | | Airbnb | Scraping blocked | Suggest user check airbnb.com directly | | AwardWallet | API error | Ask user for their balances direct
- General Rules
- Never Claim MCP Is Unavailable Without Calling It
- IP Allowlist Errors (Common First-Time Failure)
- "No Cached Availability" Is Not the Final Word
- Patchright-Based Skills (Southwest, AA, Chase, Amex, TaW)
- Docker Image Failures
What does the fallback-and-resilience skill do?
What to do when a tool fails, an API hits a rate limit, or a site blocks scraping. Maps every primary tool to its best fallback so a single failure doesn't block the search.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add borski/travel-hacking-toolkit --skill fallback-and-resilience --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From borski/travel-hacking-toolkit, a repository with 611 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.