Troubleshooting - Cortex Docs

Cortex prefers a clear message over a spinner. When something cannot run, the product says so in plain words and, where it can, tells you what to do next. This page collects those messages across Chat, Code, and Bot. The CLI has its own page.

What you see	Meaning	Do this
This space is reserved on `/code` or `/bot`	You are a guest. Code and Bot are member surfaces.	Sign in, or Continue in Chat.
Sign in to continue in the composer banner	Today’s or this month’s guest allowance is used up.	Sign in to continue on Free, or wait for the reset shown under Settings → Plan & billing.
A dialog asking for an authenticator code	You asked to export or delete data.	Confirm with your authenticator app.
No Connect control for an app or for GitHub	That connection is not available on this deployment, or you are a guest.	Sign in; if the control is still missing, it is not offered here.

Quotas and plans

What you see	Meaning	Do this
`quota_exceeded`	The daily or monthly window is used up.	Wait for the reset, or move to a plan with higher ceilings.
`entitlement_required`	The plan does not include that capability.	Compare plans under Settings → Plan & billing.
`rate_limited`	Too many requests in a burst.	Pause, then retry.
`concurrency_limit_reached`	Too many things running at once on the account.	Let a session or run finish first.

See Plans and quotas.

Chat

What you see	Meaning	Do this
Cortex is responding… with a spinner on the send button	A turn is in flight.	Wait, or press Esc to stop it.
An error square where an image should be	The Library fetch or the generation failed. It is never a spinner.	Retry the request.
Improving prompt… on an image card	The picture is queued; Chat is turning your ask into a complete scene first.	Wait — the card becomes a skeleton, then the image.
No mic in the composer, no Listen under an answer	Voice is not available on this deployment.	Nothing to configure — the capability is off, not broken.
Origin check says it cannot run	The check is unavailable here. Cortex says so rather than guessing.	Ask again later; do not treat silence as a verdict.
A reply cut short, then the thread reconnects	The connection dropped. Run state lives in the thread.	Do not resend; the reply that started continues.
Deep Research is missing	Deep Research is a Chat feature.	You are in Code or Bot; switch to Chat.

Code

What you see	Meaning	Do this
Reconnect next to GitHub	The GitHub connection lapsed.	Choose Reconnect in Code Home or Settings → Integrations.
Code says Cloud compute is unavailable	The deployment has no Cloud runtime right now. Code never runs your repository on the API instead.	Try again later, or use This PC on the desktop app or CLI.
`/code/secrets` sends you home	There is no Secrets page. Environment for a guest belongs to that guest.	Set environment inside the session.
A review shows failed, not approved	A Cortex Security review that could not run is stored as failed.	Read the check run; fix and push.

More: Code troubleshooting.

Bot

What you see	Meaning	Do this
Connecting on the Computer rail	The Cloud guest is starting.	Wait a moment.
Stream Unavailable	The guest is running but its live desktop is not reachable.	Use Open desktop again, or Sleep and wake it.
An Allow / Deny / Always widget	The bot parked a consequential step for you. Nothing runs until you choose.	Read the step, then decide.
The setup form instead of a bot list	The account has no bots yet. That is a setup, not an empty list.	Create a bot.

More: Bot troubleshooting.

Service errors

Every API failure is a problem document with a stable code, and the web app renders catalogue copy for it. Three codes may show a secondary detail line: validation_failed, bad_request, invalid_state. User-facing text names a product surface, never a vendor. Full list: Problem catalog.

Code	Retry?
`service_unavailable`	Yes, after a pause
`upstream_failure`, `upstream_timeout`	Yes
`no_capacity`	Yes; higher plans get priority when the fleet is busy
`internal`	Yes; keep the `request_id` if you report it
`safety_intervention`, `content_policy`	No — change the request

System-wide outages

If Chat, Code, Bot, or the API are all failing at once, check status.cortex.foundation before filing a bug. Fleet incidents and maintenance windows are posted there — see System status.

Reporting a problem

Keep the request_id from the error, the time, and the surface you were on. From the CLI, cortex feedback bug "what happened" --include-logs attaches diagnostics.

Chat troubleshooting — turns, files, models, and connections.
Code troubleshooting — gates, Reconnect, and runtimes.
Bot troubleshooting — computers, parked steps, and routines.
CLI troubleshooting — the terminal.
Problem catalog — every code, its status, and whether retrying helps.

⌘I

​Sign-in and access

​Quotas and plans

​Chat

​Code

​Bot

​Service errors

​System-wide outages

​Reporting a problem

​Related

Sign-in and access