Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions for Orb.

Connection Issues

Cannot Connect to Relay

Error:

Error: dial tcp [::1]:8080: connect: connection refused

Causes:

• Relay server not running
• Wrong relay address
• Firewall blocking connection
• Network unavailable

Solutions:

1. Verify relay is running:

curl -I http://localhost:8080
# Should return HTTP response

1. Check relay address:

# Ensure protocol and port are correct
ws://localhost:8080  # Correct
wss://localhost:8080 # TLS version
http://localhost:8080 # Wrong (HTTP, not WebSocket)

1. Test with local relay:

# Terminal 1: Start relay
orb relay

# Terminal 2: Try connection
orb connect --session <ID> --passcode <CODE> --relay ws://localhost:8080

1. Check firewall:

# Linux
sudo ufw allow 8080

# macOS
# System Preferences → Security → Firewall

# Windows
# Windows Defender Firewall → Allow an app

Session Not Found

Error:

Error: session not found

Causes:

• Wrong session ID
• Session expired (>24h)
• Session never created
• Typo in credentials

Solutions:

1. Verify session ID:

# Double-check session ID from sharer
# It's case-sensitive: abc123 ≠ ABC123

1. Check session age:

# Sessions expire after 24 hours
# Ask sharer to create new session

1. Create fresh session:

   # Sharer creates new session
   orb share ~/files
   # Note new credentials
   

Authentication Failed

Error:

Error: authentication failed
Error: handshake failed

Causes:

• Incorrect passcode
• Passcode has extra spaces
• Wrong key derivation
• Crypto mismatch

Solutions:

1. Verify passcode exactly:

# Passcode is case-sensitive
# Check for spaces: "pass code" vs "passcode"
# Copy-paste to avoid typos

1. Request credentials again:

# Ask sharer to resend passcode
# Use secure channel

1. Create new session:

   # If passcode lost/wrong, start over
   orb share ~/files  # New credentials
   

Handshake Timeout

Error:

Error: context deadline exceeded
Error: handshake timeout

Causes:

• Network latency
• Sharer not connected
• Firewall blocking packets
• Relay issues

Solutions:

1. Verify sharer is connected:

# Check sharer terminal shows:
# "Waiting for connection..."

1. Test network speed:

ping -c 5 relay.example.com
# Check latency

1. Use closer relay:

# Self-host relay geographically closer
# Or use relay with better connectivity

1. Try again:

   # Temporary network issue
   # Simply retry connection
   

Sharing Issues

Permission Denied

Error:

Error: permission denied

Causes:

• No read access to directory
• Files owned by different user
• SELinux/AppArmor blocking

Solutions:

1. Check permissions:

ls -la /path/to/share
# Ensure files are readable

1. Fix permissions:

chmod -R +r /path/to/share
# Make all files readable

1. Run as correct user:

   # If files owned by different user
   sudo -u owner orb share /path/to/files
   

Directory Not Found

Error:

Error: directory does not exist

Causes:

• Typo in path
• Directory moved/deleted
• Relative vs absolute path

Solutions:

1. Verify path:

ls /path/to/directory
# Confirm exists

1. Use absolute path:

# Instead of: orb share ../files
orb share /home/user/files

1. Check current directory:

   pwd
   # Verify you're where you think you are
   

File Browser Issues

Browser Won't Launch

Error:

Error: failed to initialize browser

Causes:

• Terminal not supported
• TTY not available
• Connection failed before launch

Solutions:

1. Use supported terminal:

2. iTerm2 (macOS)

3. Terminal.app (macOS)
4. Windows Terminal
5. Alacritty
6. GNOME Terminal
7. Dumb terminal

8. Non-interactive shell

9. Check TTY:

tty
# Should output /dev/pts/0 or similar
# Not "not a tty"

1. Verify connection:

   # Ensure handshake completed
   # Check connection logs
   

Cannot Download Files

Error:

Error: download failed

Causes:

• Disk full
• Permission denied (local)
• Network interruption
• File locked on sharer side

Solutions:

1. Check disk space:

df -h .
# Ensure enough space

1. Check write permissions:

ls -la .
# Ensure current directory is writable

1. Change download location:

cd ~/Downloads
orb connect --session <ID> --passcode <CODE>

1. Try smaller file first:

   # Test with small file
   # If works, issue is large file handling
   

Display Corruption

Symptoms:

• Garbled text
• Broken boxes
• Missing characters
• Weird colors

Causes:

• Terminal encoding wrong
• Unicode not supported
• Terminal too small
• Color scheme issues

Solutions:

1. Set UTF-8 encoding:

export LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8
export LANG=en_US.UTF-8

1. Resize terminal:

# Minimum 80x24
# Recommended 120x30

1. Reset terminal:

reset
# Clear any corruption

1. Try different terminal:

   # Use modern terminal emulator
   # Enable UTF-8 support
   

Build Issues

Build Fails

Error:

Error: build failed

Causes:

• Go version too old
• Missing dependencies
• Network issues downloading modules
• Platform not supported

Solutions:

1. Check Go version:

go version
# Need Go 1.21 or higher

1. Update dependencies:

go mod tidy
go mod download

1. Clear cache:

go clean -cache
go clean -modcache

1. Build with verbose output:

   go build -v -x
   # See detailed build steps
   

Binary Not Found

Error:

bash: orb: command not found

Causes:

• Binary not in PATH
• Binary name incorrect
• Wrong directory

Solutions:

1. Check binary location:

which orb
# If empty, not in PATH

1. Run with full path:

/usr/local/bin/orb --version
./orb --version

1. Add to PATH:

   export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/orb
   # Or copy to /usr/local/bin
   

Performance Issues

Slow File Listing

Symptoms:

• Directory loading takes forever
• Browser appears frozen

Causes:

• Large directory (thousands of files)
• Network latency
• Slow disk on sharer side

Solutions:

1. Wait for completion:

# Large directories take time
# Be patient

1. Share smaller directory:

# Instead of sharing entire home:
orb share ~/specific-project

1. Check network:

   ping -c 10 relay.example.com
   # Look for packet loss
   

Slow Downloads

Symptoms:

• File download takes very long
• Much slower than expected

Causes:

• Network bandwidth limited
• Large file size
• Relay bottleneck
• Encryption overhead

Solutions:

1. Check network speed:

# Run speed test
# Compare to expected bandwidth

1. Use local relay:

# If over internet, use local relay
# Reduces hops

1. Compress files:

# Sharer compresses before sharing
tar -czf archive.tar.gz files/
orb share .

1. Split large files:

   # Split large files
   split -b 100M largefile.dat part-
   # Download parts separately
   

Relay Server Issues

Relay Won't Start

Error:

Error: address already in use

Causes:

• Port 8080 already used
• Another orb relay running
• Other service using port

Solutions:

1. Check port usage:

# Linux/macOS
lsof -i :8080
netstat -an | grep 8080

# Windows
netstat -ano | findstr :8080

1. Kill conflicting process:

# Find PID from above
kill <PID>

1. Use different port:

   orb relay --port 9090
   

Relay Crashes

Symptoms:

• Relay exits unexpectedly
• Connections drop

Causes:

• Out of memory
• Too many connections
• Bug in code
• System resource limits

Solutions:

1. Check logs:

# Look for error messages
# Check system logs

1. Increase limits:

# Linux
ulimit -n 4096  # File descriptors

1. Restart relay:

orb relay --port 8080

1. Monitor resources:

   # Watch memory/CPU
   top
   htop
   

Platform-Specific Issues

Windows

Issue: Antivirus blocks Orb

Solution:

1. Add orb.exe to exclusions
2. Windows Defender → Virus & threat protection
3. Add exclusion for orb.exe

Issue: WebSocket connection fails

Solution:

# Check Windows Firewall
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Orb" -Direction Inbound -Port 8080 -Protocol TCP -Action Allow

macOS

Issue: "orb" cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified

Solution:

# Remove quarantine
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine orb

# Or allow in System Preferences
# Security & Privacy → Open Anyway

Issue: Permission denied

Solution:

# Make executable
chmod +x orb

# Move to /usr/local/bin
sudo mv orb /usr/local/bin/

Linux

Issue: SELinux blocks connections

Solution:

# Temporarily disable
sudo setenforce 0

# Or create policy
# Check audit logs for denials

Issue: systemd service won't start

Solution:

# Check status
systemctl status orb-relay

# View logs
journalctl -u orb-relay -f

# Test manually first
/usr/local/bin/orb relay

Getting Help

Collect Debug Information

# Version
orb --version

# System info
uname -a  # Linux/macOS
systeminfo  # Windows

# Network
ip addr  # Linux
ifconfig  # macOS
ipconfig  # Windows

Enable Debug Logging

export ORB_DEBUG=1
orb share ~/files
# More detailed output

Report Issues

When reporting bugs, include:

• Orb version (orb --version)
• Operating system and version
• Command that failed
• Complete error message
• Steps to reproduce

Community Support

• GitHub Issues: Report bugs
• Discussions: Ask questions
• Documentation: Check this guide
• Examples: See usage examples

Common Error Reference

Error	Meaning	Solution
connection refused	Relay not reachable	Check relay running
session not found	Invalid/expired session	Create new session
authentication failed	Wrong passcode	Verify credentials
permission denied	No file access	Check permissions
address in use	Port already used	Use different port
handshake timeout	Handshake didn't complete	Check network
context deadline exceeded	Operation timed out	Retry or check network

Next Steps

• Review Commands reference
• Check FAQ
• Read Security details