fix(table): fire-and-forget run-column dispatch

Large fan-outs (thousands of rows) issue sequential trigger.dev HTTP calls
inside scheduleRunsForRows.batchEnqueue. Awaiting that loop held the HTTP
response (and the AI tool span) open for ~5 min on a 6k-row table — the user
saw an 11-min "running" because the tool didn't return until every job had
been enqueued. Run the dispatcher in the background and return immediately;
contract response now reports `triggered: null` since the count isn't known
synchronously.

Author: TheodoreSpeaks

apps/sim/app/api/table/[tableId]/columns/run/route.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { createLogger } from '@sim/logger'
+import { toError } from '@sim/utils/errors'
 import { type NextRequest, NextResponse } from 'next/server'
 import { runColumnContract } from '@/lib/api/contracts/tables'
 import { parseRequest } from '@/lib/api/server'
@@ -29,15 +30,21 @@ export const POST = withRouteHandler(async (request: NextRequest, { params }: Ro
     const access = await checkAccess(tableId, auth.userId, 'write')
     if (!access.ok) return accessError(access, requestId, tableId)
 
-    const { triggered } = await runWorkflowColumn({
+    // Dispatch in the background — large fan-outs (thousands of rows) issue
+    // sequential trigger.dev calls and would otherwise hold the HTTP response
+    // open for minutes, blocking the AI/copilot tool span and the UI mutation.
+    void runWorkflowColumn({
       tableId,
       workspaceId,
       groupIds,
       mode: runMode,
       rowIds,
       requestId,
+    }).catch((err) => {
+      logger.error(`[${requestId}] run-column dispatch failed:`, toError(err).message)
     })
-    return NextResponse.json({ success: true, data: { triggered } })
+
+    return NextResponse.json({ success: true, data: { triggered: null } })
   } catch (error) {
     if (error instanceof Error && error.message === 'Invalid workspace ID') {
       return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Invalid workspace ID' }, { status: 400 })

apps/sim/lib/api/contracts/tables.ts

@@ -895,7 +895,12 @@ export const runColumnContract = defineRouteContract({
   body: runColumnBodySchema,
   response: {
     mode: 'json',
-    schema: successResponseSchema(z.object({ triggered: z.number() })),
+    /**
+     * `triggered` is `null` when the dispatcher runs in the background — the
+     * actual count is only known after a fan-out that may be tens of thousands
+     * of rows, and we don't hold the HTTP response open for that long.
+     */
+    schema: successResponseSchema(z.object({ triggered: z.number().nullable() })),
   },
 })
 

apps/sim/lib/copilot/tools/server/table/user-table.ts

@@ -1415,19 +1415,24 @@ export const userTableServerTool: BaseServerTool<UserTableArgs, UserTableResult>
           }
           const requestId = generateId().slice(0, 8)
           assertNotAborted()
-          const { triggered } = await runWorkflowColumn({
+          // Dispatch in the background — large fan-outs (thousands of rows)
+          // issue sequential trigger.dev calls and would otherwise hold the
+          // tool span open for minutes, blocking the chat connection.
+          void runWorkflowColumn({
             tableId: args.tableId,
             workspaceId,
             groupIds,
             mode: runMode,
             rowIds,
             requestId,
+          }).catch((err) => {
+            logger.error(`[${requestId}] run_column dispatch failed`, err)
           })
           const scopeLabel = rowIds ? `${rowIds.length} row(s) by id` : runMode
           return {
             success: true,
-            message: `Triggered ${triggered} row(s) across ${groupIds.length} column(s) (${scopeLabel})`,
-            data: { triggered },
+            message: `Started running ${groupIds.length} column(s) (${scopeLabel}). Cells will populate as workflows complete.`,
+            data: { triggered: null },
           }
         }