Troubleshooting
What a message or state in Polaris means, and what to do about it.
Each entry names what you see and what to do. The linked page has the details. Labels in bold are what Polaris shows; agent names such as Codex or Claude Code change with the Session.
Signing in and opening Polaris
“Polaris couldn’t be reached”
Polaris couldn’t load. Check your internet connection and reload the page.
“Your session expired”
Sign in again. Your Sessions and their work are still there.
“Polaris can’t open here”
Polaris refused a request it needs to start, such as loading your account, so reloading gives the same answer. Polaris can’t show the support form here, so email andreas@plrs.sh with what you were doing.
I signed in but can’t see my team’s work
You may not be a member of that organization yet. Ask one of its owners to invite you; see Organizations.
A page shows an error
Select Reload to load the page again. A link to a page that doesn’t exist shows Go to Polaris, which opens Start.
Starting a Session
My repository isn’t in the list
Select Connect GitHub repository and give the Polaris GitHub App access to it. In a team, an owner or admin can add it in Settings → GitHub; see GitHub.
“Polaris is still checking access to this repository.”
Wait a moment, then start again.
“Polaris lost access to this repository.”
Owners and admins select Open GitHub settings, update access, then start again. Members ask an organization admin.
“This project or setup no longer exists.”
Choose another Project.
“This agent can’t run on this machine.”
Refresh the page and choose another agent.
Models changed
The model or effort you chose is no longer offered. Review them and start again.
Machine setup failed
The new Machine didn’t finish starting. Select Try setup again; nothing ran, so nothing was lost.
Couldn’t reach GitHub
GitHub didn’t respond while the Machine was getting your code. Select Retry in the same Session.
Branch not found
The branch no longer exists. Start again from Start with another branch.
Couldn’t access the repository
Polaris couldn’t read the repository’s code, usually because the Polaris GitHub App lost access to it. Reconnect the repository in Settings → GitHub, then try again.
Couldn’t start a Machine
Polaris can’t start new Machines right now, and the Polaris team has been alerted. Try again in a little while.
Messages
My message says Not sent or Not queued
Polaris couldn’t save the message. Select Retry; it can’t send the message twice. If only Remove is offered, remove it and send it again.
My message says Not confirmed
Polaris couldn’t confirm that it saved the message. Select Retry. Polaris uses the same message, so the agent can’t get it twice.
My message says Couldn’t confirm the agent got this
Polaris stopped trying to deliver the message without knowing whether the agent got it. Watch whether the agent answers it. To send it anyway, select Send again; Polaris asks first, because the agent may repeat the work. Edit puts the text in the composer so you can change it first.
My message says Not delivered
The agent didn’t get the message. If Polaris loses contact with a Machine and puts it to sleep while your message is waiting to be delivered, it can wake the Machine once automatically. If that wake fails or the Machine loses contact again, select Retry. The message stays in the Session, with the action that can help:
- Retry sends it once the Machine can take it.
- Send again sends it as a new message, and Edit puts it in the composer. Attachment unavailable on a message with an image offers both. When an attached file was the problem, such as one that says it’s no longer available, only Edit is offered, so you can attach it again.
- Contact support appears when Polaris can’t deliver it on its own. Your message stays saved.
- No action means the Machine is gone; see “This machine is no longer available.”.
“Your message is saved. Restart the agent to apply the selected configuration.”
The settings you chose for this message need a fresh start of the agent. Select Apply changes…, then Restart and apply. Restarting can interrupt other Sessions and background work on the same Machine; the Session’s history stays. Apply changes… is also in the Session’s Session actions menu.
“Agent isn’t starting · Polaris is retrying”
The agent keeps stopping as it starts. Polaris keeps trying by itself and sends your message once the agent starts, so you don’t need to do anything. To cancel the message, select Stop agent.
If the agent still doesn’t start after several tries, usually within about ten minutes, Polaris stops trying and your message says Not delivered. Select Retry to try again with a fresh start; your message is sent once. Sending a new message also tries it again.
“Couldn’t reach the Machine to stop. Try again.”
Select Stop agent again.
An attachment says Upload failed
Select Retry on the attachment.
The composer says Watch only
You can follow this Session but not send messages in it. Ask the Session’s owner for access; see Share a Session.
The Session says Reconnecting…
The live connection dropped. The transcript stays readable and your draft stays in the composer. Polaris catches up on its own; you don’t need to refresh. After two continuous minutes with this page visible, Could not reconnect appears with Retry alongside your transcript. Select Retry to try again now; Polaris also continues trying in the background. If no history has loaded yet, it shows Session history is unavailable with Retry instead.
The sidebar says Reconnecting…
The sidebar is waiting for current Session updates. Any rows already loaded stay readable and their actions remain available. Polaris reconnects on its own; the message clears when updates resume. You don’t need to refresh.
When the agent stops
The Turn says The agent stopped unexpectedly.
The agent stopped before the Turn finished. What it already did stays. Send a message to continue, or select Report a problem to send a report with this Session attached.
Your message wasn’t saved
The agent stopped right after it took your message, before it saved it. When the agent continues, it won’t have that message. Select Retry to send it again.
The agent couldn’t finish this turn
The agent reported a failure, and its own explanation shows on the row. Select Continue to carry on, or Switch Codex account (or the Session’s agent) to try another account. Continuing doesn’t resend your message.
Machine needs attention
The Machine stopped before the Turn could finish. Send your message again. If it keeps happening, select Contact support.
“Part of this session is missing from this view because of a Polaris error.”
A Polaris error hides part of the history. It doesn’t stop the agent, and Stop agent still works. Select Contact support. The notice clears once Polaris can read the history again.
Agent accounts
Usage limit reached
The agent’s account hit its usage limit, for example Claude Code usage limit reached. With Switch accounts at usage limits on, Polaris moves to another connected account and continues for you. Otherwise, select Switch Claude Code account to pick another account, or wait for the limit to reset and select Continue task. See Agent accounts.
Agent credentials need attention
The agent couldn’t sign in with its account, so the Turn didn’t run. Select Reconnect with the agent’s name, then sign in again or paste a new key.
My message waits for an agent account
The row under your message says why, such as No Codex account is connected. or Codex needs you to sign in again., with one action, such as Connect Codex. Polaris sends every waiting message as soon as an account works, so you don’t send them again. This organization uses its own Codex accounts. means an Owner or Admin turned off members’ own accounts: choose one of the organization’s accounts. See Agent accounts.
The Machine
The transcript ends with Machine went to sleep
Machines sleep when nothing needs them. Send a message to wake it. Your files are kept, but programs such as a dev server stop until they’re started again; see Previews.
A panel says Machine is asleep
Select Wake machine, or send a message.
“Polaris can’t send work to this machine. Go to Start to continue.”
Polaris can’t reach this Machine. Open Start and start a new Session from the same repository. Work the agent pushed is safe on GitHub.
“This machine is no longer available.”
The Machine is gone, so this Session can’t continue. Its transcript stays readable. Start a new Session from the same repository, or select Contact support if you didn’t expect it. Machine unavailable on a Turn means the same. See Machines.
Setup, variables and Previews
A setup row says .agents/setup failed
The script failed, but the Session still works. Select View log to see why, then Ask agent to fix. A row that says Not executable needs the same fix. See Workspace setup.
A resume row says Project variables unavailable
Polaris couldn’t load the Project’s variables, so .agents/resume didn’t run.
Check the Project’s environment variables, then ask
the agent to run resume again.
The first Turn says Waiting for setup
The Project waits for setup before the agent starts. Select Start now to start it anyway.
A command doesn’t get a variable
Commands get the Project’s variables only when started through Polaris. Ask the agent to run it with the Project’s variables, or see Machine commands to do it in the Terminal.
A Preview doesn’t load
- Machine is asleep: select Wake machine.
- Website is unavailable: the Machine is awake but your app isn’t running. Ask the agent to start it again.
- Preview is unavailable: try again, or open the Session to check the app.
- Machine is unavailable: open the Session to check the Machine.
- Preview is no longer available: ask the agent for a new Preview.
Browser didn’t start or Desktop didn’t start
Select Try again. See Browser and Desktop.
GitHub
GitHub access needs attention
The Session owner’s GitHub sign-in expired. They select Reconnect GitHub. The agent keeps working on the Machine meanwhile.
GitHub access is temporarily unavailable
Wait a moment and try again. You don’t need to sign in again.
Cloud access
Agents see these messages when they use Cloud access, and
usually tell you what they mean. Each starts with polaris:.
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
cloud credentials are unavailable right now. Try again shortly. |
Try again in a minute. |
isn't available to this Project. |
Ask an organization admin to add this Machine’s Project to the role. |
needs approval. Ask with: polaris access request … |
Ask the agent to request access, then approve it in the Session. |
this role is always available. |
The role needs no request. Use its profile directly. |
this Machine can't get cloud credentials right now. |
Try again shortly. If it keeps happening, contact support. |
this role's AWS trust configuration refused access., AWS rejected this role's identity token., this role's AWS configuration is invalid., or AWS refuses sts:AssumeRoleWithWebIdentity |
Ask an organization admin to test the connection in Settings → Cloud access and fix the failed check. |
this audience isn't allowed. |
Compare the audience with the service’s Token audience in Settings → Cloud access, or ask an admin to connect the service. |
Machine commands has the commands behind these messages.
Still stuck?
Select Contact support where Polaris offers it, or ask the agent to report the problem. Report a problem shows every way to reach the Polaris team.