Desktop App

This page covers the issues most often hit with Snippbot Desktop, in a symptom → cause → fix layout.

macOS blocks the app from opening

Symptom. Double-clicking Snippbot shows “Snippbot” can’t be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software” (or similar), and the app doesn’t launch.

Cause. Snippbot Desktop betas are ad-hoc signed, not signed with an Apple Developer ID or notarized. Gatekeeper blocks that by default.

Fix. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, find the blocked-app notice for Snippbot, and click Open Anyway, then confirm.

Caution

On macOS 15 (Sequoia) and later, right-click (or Control-click) → Open no longer bypasses this for ad-hoc signed apps — you have to use the System Settings route above.

See Install for the full walkthrough.

Windows shows a SmartScreen warning

Symptom. Running the installer shows “Windows protected your PC” with Snippbot listed as from an “Unknown publisher.”

Cause. The Windows installer isn’t code-signed yet.

Fix. Click More info, then Run anyway. See Install.

”Not found” when choosing “This computer”

Symptom. On the Choose daemon step, “This computer” shows “Not found” (or “No daemon is running on this computer”).

Cause. The app only checks http://127.0.0.1:18781 for “This computer” — if nothing is listening there, it reports not found. Usually this means the daemon isn’t running at all, or it’s running on a different port.

Fix. Start your daemon (for example snippbot service start from a terminal, if you installed it that way), then click Search again on the same screen. If your daemon uses a non-default port, choose Remote server instead and type the full address, e.g. http://127.0.0.1:<port>.

A remote address over plain http:// is refused

Symptom. Entering an address like http://bot.example.com gives an error such as “use https:// for a daemon outside this computer or local network.”

Cause. Snippbot Desktop only allows plain http:// for loopback, private-network, and .local addresses — anything that could be reached from the open internet must use https://, so a device token is never sent in clear text.

Fix. Put the daemon behind HTTPS (a reverse proxy, a tunnel, or Cloudflare Access) and use the https:// address, or, if the daemon really is on your own machine or LAN, double-check you’re using an address like 127.0.0.1, 192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x, or a .local hostname rather than a public one.

The daemon is too old

Symptom. “Try connection” succeeds in reaching a Snippbot daemon, but shows something like “this daemon is too old for the desktop app” — or, when signing in with “keep me signed in” checked, “this daemon is too old to keep you signed in.”

Cause. Snippbot Desktop needs daemon 0.11.1 or later, which added the app’s CORS origin and the “keep me signed in” device-token flow. Older daemons answer health checks fine but fail the desktop-specific checks.

Fix. Update the daemon to 0.11.1 or later, then try again. If you can’t update right away, you can still sign in without checking “keep me signed in” — that falls back to a plain session for the current launch only.

Cloudflare Access challenges

Symptom. “Try connection” reports “service token needed” or “service token refused,” or signing in redirects to a Cloudflare Access login page.

Cause. The daemon sits behind Cloudflare Access, which requires a service token (a Client ID and Client Secret), not your normal Snippbot username and password.

Fix. Get a Cloudflare Access service token from the daemon’s owner, then on the Choose daemon step enter its Client ID and Client Secret and click Save token and try again. See Connect to Your Daemon.

The Quick Chat hotkey doesn’t work, or triggers something else

Symptom. Pressing ⌥Space / Alt+Space does nothing, or opens something other than Quick Chat.

Cause. Another app on your system has already registered that same global hotkey. Snippbot can’t share it, and it also won’t silently steal it — it keeps your previous working hotkey and reports that the new one is taken.

Fix. Go to Settings → This desktop app → Quick chat, click Change, and press a different combination (it needs at least one real modifier: Ctrl, Alt/Option, or Cmd/Win).

”Connection lost” / “Can’t reach daemon” banners

Symptom. A red banner at the top of a conversation reads “Connection lost to <daemon>. Remote work may still be running. Reconnecting…” or “Can’t reach <daemon>. Agents keep working on the server; you’ll see their replies when you reconnect.”

Cause. The app’s connection to the daemon (health check or event stream) has dropped — your network changed, the daemon restarted, or it’s temporarily unreachable.

Fix. Nothing to do but wait, or click Retry / Retry now in the banner. Agents and jobs keep running on the daemon itself the whole time; closing or reopening the desktop app doesn’t pause them, and you’ll see everything that happened once the connection comes back.

Your sign-in expired

Symptom. The app drops back to a “Welcome back. Sign in to continue” screen out of nowhere.

Cause. Your “Keep me signed in” duration (1, 7, 30, or 90 days) ran out, or you unchecked it and only signed in for that one launch.

Fix. Sign in again — see Connect to Your Daemon. If you want a longer-lived sign-in, check Keep me signed in and pick a longer duration next time.

A pairing code or link expired

Symptom. Entering a 6-digit code, or clicking an Open in Snippbot Desktop link, fails with something like “invalid or expired code.”

Cause. Pairing codes and links are short-lived on purpose.

Fix. Go back to the web UI’s Devices page (or Devices → Pair Desktop App, or the executor pairing dialog for tools on this computer) and generate a fresh code or link, then use it right away.