Diagnose and recover

Applies to SiliconForge 0.1.2 · Updated 2026-09-30. Check platform limits.

Before this task: Prepare a safe, reproducible issue report →

Preserve the project first. Identify the failing layer and collect the smallest useful evidence before changing state.

Make the problem safe to investigate#

Save work if the application responds. Record the time, release, project and operation. If a job is active, inspect its status rather than launching duplicate work. Before deleting state, reinstalling or rolling back, keep a private backup with the application closed. Do not attach confidential RTL, credentials or raw crash dumps publicly.

Identify the symptom#

Application absent from the launcher/menu

Check installation location and platform registration. On extracted Linux bundles, confirm AppRun and the rest of the runtime still exist together. This is not an AI authentication problem.

Startup exits immediately

Capture the exact launch error. Check CPU architecture, complete runtime and, on ARM64, the glibc requirement. Do not substitute host Python for missing signed files.

Window hangs or force-quits

Record the operation, project size, elapsed time and whether the same small project reproduces it. Avoid repeatedly triggering the same failing write operation.

Design index fails or looks incomplete

Check native sources, top, includes, defines, parameters and build-copy drift. Use Open project files to inspect inputs; after correction choose Retry indexing.

Tool missing or blocked

Open Settings → Validation & tools → Refresh tool doctor. Record the resolved tool, version and authority failure. If the current release instead reports SchemaError: verified tool doctor schema is invalid, use the known display-limitation guidance; do not treat that parser error as a tool verdict. A skipped check remains missing.

AI authentication, model or sandbox failure

Confirm the selected route and credentials in dedicated settings. Do not bypass Windows isolation, disclose more context or switch to a different model silently.

Payment confirmed but access unavailable

Preserve the receipt and use activation recovery. Do not pay a second time.

Reduce to a useful reproduction#

1. Write the smallest exact sequence from opening the application to the symptom.
2. Try the non-confidential stream example in a disposable folder. Do not alter the original failing project to force a reproduction.
3. If the small project succeeds, compare relevant differences: source count, constructs, build profile, dependencies and selected tool flow.
4. Capture the visible error and available run/correlation identifier. A screenshot can show state, but a redacted textual diagnostic is easier to search and reproduce.
5. Apply one targeted correction and rerun the original failing step. Keep before/after evidence rather than changing several unrelated settings at once.

Expected result: a reproducible layer-specific problem, a verified targeted fix, or a clearly identified external blocker. “It works after deleting everything” is not a safe recovery procedure.

Worked recovery: simulation stopped after a source edit#

1. Keep the failed compile/simulation text and identify the project directory and source you ran. Do not apply an AI repair or rerun a different profile yet.
2. Classify the first useful error. A missing executable is a tool problem; a syntax/include error is a compile-input problem; reset did not clear valid is an assertion mismatch in a run that actually executed.
3. Run the unchanged public two-file example in its own folder with the same simulator. If that cannot compile, resolve the environment before changing the original design.
4. If the example passes, compare the original project's top, source list, defines, includes and first diagnostic. If it fails exactly after the tutorial's deliberate reset edit, restore that assignment rather than disabling the check.
5. Make one intentional correction, compile fresh output and run again. Record both the original failure and the corrected result; inspect exit status and the expected marker.

Recovered means: the original failing operation now works for the intended input, or the remaining tool/configuration/design blocker is identified. Success in a different project is diagnostic information, not proof that the original problem disappeared.

Stop the affected action, not your investigation#

For an index lock, stale comparison, changed source binding or interrupted candidate apply, preserve state and use version-control recovery before retrying writes. Read-only source inspection and collecting a redacted reproduction can continue. Do not force a checkout, delete local state, repeatedly pay for activation, or send additional AI context merely to make an error disappear.

Recover when paid access is unavailable#

Keep your project and secure credentials intact. Open existing work and inspect results without buying again. To preserve saved source, choose Application menu → Export source copy… and a new archive filename. This separate recovery action does not require passing package checks; it excludes unsaved drafts and private application state and is not a verified engineering package. See source-copy boundaries. Check Settings → Usage & cost → Desktop subscription for missing activation, expiry, revocation, clock or signing-key errors. Reconnect and refresh after a verified renewal; use support for account recovery. A transport failure alone does not cancel an unexpired signed lease. Do not copy another installation’s lease, delete history or change the clock to evade expiry. Safe-save and read-only behavior distinguishes data recovery from new paid work.

A minimal support report#

Application release and platform/CPU:
Operation and exact steps:
Expected behavior:
Actual behavior and exact redacted error:
Time and run/correlation identifier, if shown:
Does the public stream example reproduce it?
Relevant tool doctor result, if this is a tool failure:
What changed since the last successful attempt:

Send only what is needed through support. Redact keys, activation claims, checkout URLs, private paths where sensitive and confidential source. Logs, waveforms and crash dumps can contain design data; agree on a private channel before sending larger artifacts. Never send card numbers.

Presentation reset is not project repair#

Settings → Advanced → Reset workbench layout and preferences concerns presentation preferences. It is not a promise to recover corrupt source or repair tool provenance. Use it only for a relevant layout/preference problem after recording customized settings; do not confuse it with deleting project history.

Update and rollback safely#

Retain the previous verified installation and a closed-project backup. Test a replacement runtime with a disposable project copy. Use an authorized compatible rollback target; older binaries may not read newer state. Application rollback does not undo source edits. Follow maintenance and backup and release recovery, not an improvised directory wipe.

Related: input diagnosis, tools, assistant recovery, candidate review.

Recover the context of an earlier AI change#

Reopen the same project and choose Changes → Saved AI proposals…. Select the exact entry and open its retained source comparison and recorded candidate output. You do not need to send another AI request just to recover an existing proposal. Opening history does not reapprove a plan or apply a candidate. Read the saved-proposal boundaries before continuing a staged change.

When Save cannot finish#

If closing with Save fails, the application keeps the window and remaining drafts open and identifies the file and safe recovery action. Files already saved stay saved: this is not an all-or-nothing multi-file transaction. Resolve the reported permission, storage, conflict or connection issue, then save again. Do not reload or discard the unsaved draft merely to dismiss the error. A changed-on-disk conflict needs comparison before retrying; exporting saved source does not include unsaved editor drafts.

Need help? Report an issue. Include your application version; never include credentials.