Build
Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

Fixes for the problems you’re most likely to hit, from installing to signing and updates.

npm ci fails

Check that node --version says 22.19 or later. Delete node_modules and run npm ci again; never npm install, which can change the lockfile.

The app quits as soon as it starts

Another copy of NeverQuestAlone is running, often an installed one. A run from source is the same app, and only one copy runs at a time: a second one quits. Quit the other copy first.

Linux: the app stops at once, about the “SUID sandbox helper”

Ubuntu 23.10 and later keep apps from making the user namespaces Electron’s sandbox uses, so Electron falls back to its helper and asks for it to be set up. Do what it asks, once after each install:

sudo chown root:root app/desktop/node_modules/electron/dist/chrome-sandbox
sudo chmod 4755 app/desktop/node_modules/electron/dist/chrome-sandbox

Never start the app without its sandbox.

The app opens, but connecting an AI fails

  • “Anthropic didn’t accept that key.” (with your AI company’s name): copy the key again from that company’s site. A missing character is the usual cause.
  • “Your account at Anthropic has no credit.”: add credit there, then click Test again.
  • A model on your computer: start Ollama or LM Studio first, and check the address, for example http://localhost:11434/v1 for Ollama.

NeverQuestAlone can’t see the game

A run from source has no capture helper until you build one: Screen reading from source says how, on a Mac and on Windows. Until then, turn off Screen reading on the app’s Your data page: your messages wait for a /reload in game, and replies still come in.

Windows keeps your key only until you quit

Smart App Control blocked the part of the app that saves keys, because a build from source isn’t signed. Until you sign it, the app keeps your key only until you quit.

The Mac says the app is damaged or can’t be checked

The app isn’t signed and notarized, or a file changed after signing. Sign and notarize it (see Release your own), then check it with spctl --assess --verbose "/Applications/<Your App>.app".

Windows says “Windows protected your PC”

Your installer isn’t signed, or its certificate is new. Sign it. With a new certificate, the warning fades as more people install it.

The app doesn’t update

A run from source never updates itself. For a release, check that releases in identity.json names the repository you publish to, and that WINDOWS_PUBLISHER is the name your certificate is issued to. An update signed by anyone else is refused on purpose.

Still stuck

Search the issues on GitHub, then open one with what you ran, what you expected and what happened. Never paste an API key. Security problems go to the private report, never a public issue.