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Common Issues

Quick fixes for the problems people hit most often, and the ones that look like problems but are normal.

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My helper looks offline. Is something broken?

Usually not. Idle helpers go to sleep to save resources, and this is the single most common “problem” that is not a problem.

Here is what sleeping actually means:

  • Nothing is lost. An email that arrives while your helper is asleep is stored durably, wakes the helper, and gets handled once it is back up. Messages are never dropped because the helper was sleeping.
  • Opening the Helper page wakes it. Go to Helper in the dashboard sidebar. If the helper was asleep, it starts waking automatically. You will see “Waking — usually 10–40 seconds.”
  • Your Inbox still works. Reviewing and approving drafts in Inbox does not need a running helper. Approvals are handled by the platform, not the helper itself.

Status messages you may see on the Helper page:

  • Sleeping: normal idle state. Open the page or send it work and it wakes.
  • “Queued — waiting for capacity. We’ll start your agent automatically.”: nothing to do; it will start on its own.
  • “Waking — usually 10–40 seconds.”: give it a moment.

If you clicked Stop yourself, the helper stays stopped until you start it again. BrainRoad never auto-wakes a helper you deliberately stopped. Your data and configuration are preserved while the workspace is stopped. If it stays stopped for roughly 30 days without an active subscription, it may be archived, which removes the hosted workspace and its storage; BrainRoad emails you before that happens. See What Happens During Your Trial for the retention details.

Helper will not start

Work through these in order:

1. Check for a billing or trial block

If your trial has ended or there is a billing issue, the Helper page shows a billing prompt instead of starting the helper. Resolve that first. See Plans & Pricing.

2. Check your API key

Every new workspace starts with a BrainRoad trial key already configured, so a fresh helper does not need any key setup. If you have been using the trial key for a while, it can run low or run out. The Helper page shows a banner when trial usage is low or exhausted.

To check or fix keys:

  1. Go to Helper in the sidebar.
  2. Open the API Keys tab.
  3. Confirm a key is listed and marked valid.

You can add your own key from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter, xAI, or another supported provider (see Choosing a Provider). If a key was rotated or revoked at the provider, remove it and add the fresh one, then start the helper again.

3. Wait out a capacity queue

If the status says “Queued — waiting for capacity. We’ll start your agent automatically,” that is exactly what happens. The start request is saved and runs as soon as there is room. No action needed.

4. Restart

If the helper seems stuck starting:

  1. On the Helper page, click Stop.
  2. Wait a few seconds for a full shutdown.
  3. Click Start and give it up to a minute to boot.

5. Still stuck?

Check the Work Ledger (in the sidebar) for recent errors. The “Work record” tab shows what your helper has been doing in plain language; the “Technical activity” tab shows the lower-level events. If an error names a specific provider, verify that key at the provider’s own dashboard. Otherwise, contact support with a screenshot of the error.

Onboarding chat seems stuck

Your helper’s first-conversation setup happens in the runtime’s own chat, opened in a new tab from the Helper page. If that chat seems stuck or unresponsive:

  1. Close the chat tab.
  2. On the Helper page, click Stop, wait a few seconds, then Start.
  3. Open the chat again from the Helper page once the helper is running.

A restart clears stuck in-progress sessions. Anything already saved (your helper’s name, uploaded Brain documents, Inbox items) is preserved.

Slow responses

Response speed depends mostly on the AI model provider behind your key. If replies are slow:

  • On the trial key, heavy use can slow things down; adding your own provider key usually helps.
  • On your own key, check the provider’s rate limits and quota at their dashboard. Entry-level API tiers often throttle.

Dashboard not loading

Try a hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R, or Cmd+Shift+R on Mac). If that does not help, clear your browser cache. On a corporate network or VPN, make sure WebSocket connections to the dashboard are not blocked by a firewall or proxy; the live parts of the dashboard depend on them.

Where to find logs

  • Work Ledger (sidebar): the owner-facing record of what the helper proposed, what you reviewed, and what happened. The “Technical activity” tab has the detailed audit feed. Works even while the helper is stopped.
  • Runtime logs: the helper runtime (OpenClaw or Hermes) has its own logs screen, opened from the dashboard. The helper must be running.
  • Console (sidebar): a live shell into the helper’s workspace, for hands-on inspection. Requires a running helper.