Troubleshooting
Find help with sign-in, setup, connections, files, and Server recovery.
Start from the failed boundary. Don't delete a database, rewrite a migration ledger, or spin up another mystery instance just because the first path didn't make sense.
Users: choose the failed step
| What you see | Safe next step |
|---|---|
| Server unreachable or identity looks wrong | Confirm the full address with your administrator; localhost means the device you're using. |
| Sign-in fails, PIN forgotten, or recovery codes lost | Follow the credential-specific recovery route. |
| No Familiar or nothing to talk to | Follow the first-hour steps for an empty state; ask an administrator to check membership and model configuration. |
| A Familiar doesn't answer | Check the Room, the intended recipient, and routing before assuming it's broken. |
| Browser or Terminal missing, or handoff fails | Check the supported client, identity, and workstation prerequisites. |
| Writer won't import or export | Check the supported format and keep the source file — don't overwrite the only copy. |
| An action is denied | Read the requested action and scope, and check security posture before asking your operator. |
Administrators and developers: preserve evidence
Identify the exact deployment profile before acting — Compose diagnostics and hosted-platform recovery are different lifecycles with separate receipts. Developers should reproduce a problem on a named, disposable instance; a user's account issue never justifies a database reset or a migration-ledger repair on its own.
Share only the minimum needed to help: client and version, approximate time, error code, and a correlation ID if one was shown. Give the exact Server address privately to its administrator, not in a public issue, and never include passwords, PINs, recovery codes, session tokens, claim links, or provider keys.
Common recovery paths
- Server is unclaimed — claim it through its verified setup handoff.
- A migration won't apply — compare committed migration history with the database ledger before changing either; see database migration safety.
- Server is degraded or unreachable — identify the profile, topology, and setup state before changing anything.
- An upgrade or restore failed — preserve the recovery bundle and evidence, verify where it came from, and recover deliberately.
Can't find your symptom? Search all public documentation and scenarios, or read Security and the trust boundary for what OpenCircle does and doesn't guarantee.