# Troubleshooting (/troubleshooting)


## "Provider is unavailable or cannot serve model"

The chat is pinned to a model whose provider is not enabled, has no
credential, or does not list that model.

Tidebreak does not fail over to another provider. A foreground turn stays on
the model you chose and refuses loudly rather than quietly answering from
somewhere else. Fix the provider in **Settings → Providers**, or change the
model on the chat.

## The agent says it cannot run commands

Code execution has no backend selected. On macOS the local sandbox is used
automatically; on Windows and Linux you must configure one — Docker, E2B, or
Daytona — under **Settings → Code execution**.

If Docker is selected, check that the container runtime is actually running.

## A package install fails

`pip install` needs the chat's network policy to be **Package installs** or
wider. Set it from the composer's **Tools → Network**. See
[Code execution](/code-execution).

## Search does not work on a Gemini model

Gemini models in Tidebreak do not use a provider-side search. With **Search
mode** on Automatic and no search key saved, there is nothing for the tool to
call. Add a key under **Settings → Web search**, or run that chat on an
Anthropic or OpenAI model.

## macOS keeps asking for keychain access

macOS ties keychain approvals to a binary's code signature. After an update,
or when switching between a release build and one you built yourself,
previously stored credentials belong to a different signature.

Re-enter the credential, or run:

```sh
tidebreak rehome-secrets
```

which rewrites each stored credential under the running binary's signature.

## The app will not start, or reports the data directory is in use

One process owns the application data directory at a time, enforced with a
lock file. Close the other instance — including a headless `tidebreak serve`
pointed at the same directory.

## Chats disappeared after an update

While Tidebreak is pre-1.0, opening a database written by an incompatible
older build can rebuild it rather than migrate it. Export anything you need
to keep with **Save as…** on outputs, and treat the local database as
disposable until 1.0.

## Reporting a problem

The chat header menu has **Copy debug info** and **Save debug bundle…**.
Attach the bundle to a
[GitHub issue](https://github.com/brightwave-inc/tidebreak/issues) — it carries
what is needed to reconstruct the turn.

Logs are at `logs/tidebreak.log` inside the application data directory.