Troubleshooting

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. Quotas and permission checks fail closed: you get told the window is used up, rather than a quietly worse answer. This page collects those messages across Cortex Chat, Cortex Code and Cortex Bot, grouped by what you were trying to do when you met one. Every failure that came from the server also carries a stable problem code with its own page, linked where it applies.

Signing in

What you see	What it means	What to do
`The server could not be reached. Try again.`	The sign-in request did not land	Choose Retry. It only ever re-fires on a click, because retrying sends another email
`That sign-in was not completed. Choose another option.`	The sign-in step was cancelled before it finished	Start again, or pick a different method
`The sign-in window could not be opened. Allow pop-ups and try again.`	Your browser blocked the sign-in window	Allow pop-ups for `cortex.foundation`, then retry
`This address does not look valid. Check the domain after the @.`	The email address was rejected before anything was sent	Fix the address
`Enter a work email or company domain.`	Single sign-on needs a work address, not a personal one	Use your organization’s address
`{email} does not have access to this Cortex space (403).`	The account exists but is not in this space	`Ask your administrator for an invitation, or try another account.`
`This sign-in attempt has expired. Start again.`	The emailed code or the attempt behind it timed out	Start the sign-in again from the dialog
`Please sign in again`	Your session expired while you were working	Sign in. You return to where you were. See `unauthenticated`

There is no second-factor field in the sign-in dialog. If your organization requires a second factor it runs during the identity step, not here. Two-factor inside Cortex is only used to confirm sensitive actions, described under Two-factor authentication.

Opening Cortex Code or Cortex Bot

Both are member surfaces, and you meet one of two dialogs. Neither redirects: the address bar keeps the URL, and neither can be dismissed with Escape or by clicking outside.

What you see	What it means	What to do
`This space is reserved`	You are a guest. The body reads that the product `is a reserved space for signed-in accounts. Chat stays available without an account.`	Choose Sign in, or Continue in Chat
`{product} is in closed beta`	You are signed in but not invited: `{product} is available to invited accounts. Chat stays open for everyone.`	Only Continue in Chat is offered. Ask for an invitation
`You do not have access to this`	A permission check refused the action	`If you expected to, whoever administers the workspace can grant it.` See `forbidden`
No Connect control for an app or for GitHub	Not offered on this deployment, or you are a guest	Sign in. If it is still missing, it is not offered here

Cortex Chat is never gated. See Accounts and sign-in for what a guest can and cannot do.

Running out of what your plan allows

What you see	What it means	What to do
`Plan limit reached` / `You have used everything this plan allows in the current window.`	A quota window is spent	Wait for the reset shown as `Resets in {label}`, or choose Upgrade for unlimited. A `Continue with {model}` action may also be offered
`You have used this plan limit`	The same thing, from the generic error card	`The limit resets on its own. Upgrading lifts it immediately.` See `quota_exceeded`
`{left} of {limit} free messages left` above the composer	You are a guest and the allowance is counting down	Sign in before it runs out to keep going
`Sign in to continue` in the composer banner	The guest allowance is used up	Sign in. The Free plan’s windows start fresh on the account
`Not included in your plan`	The plan does not include that capability	Compare plans under Settings → Plan & billing. See `entitlement_required`
`Too many requests`	Requests arrived faster than the limit allows	`This clears by itself.` Pause, then retry. See `rate_limited`
`Too much running at once`	Too many runs in parallel on the account	`One finishing frees a slot.` See `concurrency_limit_reached`
`That is too large to send`	The attachment is over the limit	`Files can be at most 10 MB. Remove or shrink the attachment and try again.` See `payload_too_large`
`That file type is not supported`	The format is not accepted	`Attach a different format, or paste the contents into the message instead.`

The two windows the product actually enforces are messages today and messages this month. A turn charges both, and whichever runs out first is the one that stops you. See Plans and quotas.

Getting an answer in Chat

What you see	What it means	What to do
A spinner on the send button	A turn is in flight	Wait, or press `Esc` to stop it
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
An error square where an image should be	The fetch or the generation failed. It is never a spinner	Retry the request
`Improving prompt…` on an image card	The picture is queued while Chat completes the scene	Wait. The card becomes a skeleton, then the image
No mic in the composer and 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	Ask again later. Silence is not a verdict
Deep Research is missing	It is a Chat feature	You are in Code or Bot. Switch to Chat
`This request was declined`	The request falls outside what Cortex will help with	`Rewording it may be enough.` Retrying the same words will not. See `content_policy`
`Support is available`	The conversation was paused so you could see support resources	Read the resources shown. See `safety_intervention`

Running a session in Cortex Code

What you see	What it means	What to do
Reconnect next to GitHub	The GitHub connection lapsed	Reconnect from Code Home or Settings → Integrations
Cloud compute is unavailable	The deployment has no Cloud runtime right now	Try again later, or use a local host from the desktop app or the Cortex CLI
A Secrets URL sends you home	There is no Secrets page	Set environment inside the session
A review shows `failed` rather than approved	A review that could not run is stored as failed	Read the check run, then fix and push

More in Code troubleshooting and CLI troubleshooting.

Driving a bot’s computer

What you see	What it means	What to do
`Connecting` on the Computer rail	The computer is starting	Wait a moment
`Stream Unavailable`	The computer is running but its live desktop is not reachable	Open the desktop again, or sleep and wake it
An Allow / Deny / Always widget	The bot parked a consequential step. Nothing runs until you choose	Read the step, then decide
`computer could not start` in your notifications	A bot’s computer failed to wake	Open the bot and try the computer again
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

When Cortex itself is unavailable

What you see	What it means	What to do
`Cortex is temporarily unavailable`	Something upstream is down and is being worked on	Retry after a pause. See `service_unavailable`
`No capacity right now`	Every backend that can serve the model is saturated	`A moment usually clears it.` See `no_capacity`
`The assistant failed`	The request reached the assistant and came back an error	`Retrying often works.` See `upstream_failure`
`The assistant took too long`	The request was abandoned rather than left hanging	A shorter prompt or a faster model usually gets through. See `upstream_timeout`
`Something broke on our side`	A Cortex fault, already recorded	Retry, and quote the reference id if you get in touch. See `internal`
`You are offline. Messages wait here until you are back.`	Nothing was sent	It resumes when the connection returns. The banner clears itself
`Cortex is taking a short break` with `We'll be right back`	A maintenance window	The screen shows `Time remaining` and ends on `Coming back now`. Check the status page for the real window

If Chat, Code and Bot are all failing at once, check status.cortex.foundation before filing anything. Planned windows and incidents are posted there. See System status.

Reporting it

Three codes may add a second detail line under the message: validation_failed, bad_request and invalid_state. Field-level messages are short and specific, such as This is required., This is longer than allowed. and This is not one of the accepted values. When you report something, keep the reference id from the error, the time, and the surface you were on. Signed-in members file a bug from inside Cortex with Report a bug, next to Settings in the sidebar footer. Guests cannot: reporting needs an account. Screenshots must be PNG, JPEG or WebP, up to five, 4 MB each, and going over that answers Each screenshot can be at most 4 MB. or Screenshots must be PNG, JPEG or WebP. More than five reports, or more than fifteen screenshot uploads, in an hour is refused with Too many requests.

Welcome

Your account

Apps and downloads

Help

Signing in

Opening Cortex Code or Cortex Bot

Running out of what your plan allows

Getting an answer in Chat

Running a session in Cortex Code

Driving a bot’s computer

When Cortex itself is unavailable

Reporting it

​Signing in

​Opening Cortex Code or Cortex Bot

​Running out of what your plan allows

​Getting an answer in Chat

​Running a session in Cortex Code

​Driving a bot’s computer

​When Cortex itself is unavailable

​Reporting it

​Related

Signing in

Opening Cortex Code or Cortex Bot

Running out of what your plan allows

Getting an answer in Chat

Running a session in Cortex Code

Driving a bot’s computer

When Cortex itself is unavailable

Reporting it

Related