---
title: "Outpost does not start"
description: "Collect logs and check likely causes when no Outpost window appears."
canonical_url: "https://meingpt.com/en/docs/integrations/vault/operations/does-not-start"
language: en
---

# Outpost does not start

If no window or console appears, you do not need the application to diagnose it.

## 1. Open the logs

Enter this in the Windows Explorer address bar:

```text
%LOCALAPPDATA%\meinGPT Outpost\logs
```

On macOS and Linux the subfolder is called `logs` as well; where the data folder itself lives on those systems is under [Where the Outpost stores data](/en/docs/integrations/vault/operations/data-locations).

`main-process.jsonl` records startup before a window exists. The same folder holds `outpost-core.log` and compatibility logs from older installations; an older rotation ends in `.1`. Copy the folder before reinstalling or changing files. **Raw logs can contain file names and paths.**

Migrated or managed installations may use a different data folder - including when this machine already has a machine-wide folder: `%ProgramData%\meinGPT Outpost` on Windows. In that case the Outpost automatically uses that folder instead of `%LOCALAPPDATA%`. Without a running application you cannot check the **System** tab that would otherwise be authoritative - if you find nothing under `%LOCALAPPDATA%\meinGPT Outpost\logs`, also check `%ProgramData%\meinGPT Outpost\logs`. For every possible location and its contents, see [Where the Outpost stores data](/en/docs/integrations/vault/operations/data-locations).

## 2. Create a diagnostics bundle without a window

Open **meinGPT Outpost - Collect diagnostics** from the Windows Start menu. This entry starts neither a window nor the Outpost core. The console prints the ZIP path; the file is stored here:

```text
%LOCALAPPDATA%\meinGPT Outpost\diagnostics
```

As with the logs above, this assumes the standard per-user data folder. On a migrated or managed installation that already uses the machine-wide folder, the bundle is written to `%ProgramData%\meinGPT Outpost\diagnostics` instead - check there if nothing appears under `%LOCALAPPDATA%`.

Only the Windows installer creates that Start menu entry. On macOS and Linux you trigger the same collection by starting the application from the command line with `--collect-diagnostics`; it prints the ZIP path to standard output and stores the file in the `diagnostics` subfolder of the data folder. On macOS that is:

```bash
"/Applications/meinGPT Outpost.app/Contents/MacOS/meinGPT Outpost" --collect-diagnostics
```

On Linux you start the downloaded AppImage itself, from the folder you put it in. Its file name carries the version, which is what the `*` stands in for:

```bash
./"meinGPT Outpost"-*.AppImage --collect-diagnostics
```

If this entry does not run either, preserve the logs and check your security product's quarantine first.

## If an error appears instead of a blank screen

If startup reports "Console unavailable," stating that the local console exited unexpectedly while the Outpost service keeps running independently, that is a different case: the display (the "console") and the background service are two separate processes, and only the display has crashed here. Steps 1 and 2 above still apply — you can collect logs and a diagnostics bundle regardless of the console's state.

Day-to-day use does **not** require "Run as administrator"; administrator rights are needed only for the one-time installation (see [Installation privileges](/en/docs/integrations/vault/deployment#installation-privileges)). If this message only occurs on an elevated launch, tell support that together with the diagnostics bundle — that is a distinct signal for us.

## If the machine is a Mac

Three causes exist only on macOS, and they come before the list further down: with them either no process ever runs — in which case no log folder appears — or the application is no longer where it was started from.

1. **The Mac has an Intel processor.** There is exactly one macOS build and it is made for **Apple Silicon**. On an Intel Mac, macOS refuses to open it and reports that the application is not supported on this Mac; started from a terminal, the same attempt ends in `Bad CPU type in executable`. Rosetta does not help — it translates in the other direction. Check it on the machine: Apple menu → **About This Mac**, under _Chip_ it has to say "Apple M…"; in a terminal, `uname -m` then prints `arm64` and not `x86_64`. Otherwise use a Windows or Linux machine for this Outpost — the application is the same on all three.
2. **The application is not in the Applications folder.** Started straight out of the mounted disk image, it runs from a read-only, temporary location: as soon as the image is ejected — at the latest on the next restart — there is nothing left to start. It cannot update itself from there either, because doing so means overwriting itself. How you can tell if it did run in between: `main-process.jsonl` records an `execPath` field at startup with the location of the running copy. If that is not `/Applications/meinGPT Outpost.app/…`, it is not installed. Open the disk image, drag the application into **Applications**, eject the image and start it from there. The data folder is untouched by this — it lives under `~/Library/Application Support`, not inside the application.
3. **The copy did not come from the original disk image.** The shipped application is signed with a Developer ID certificate, notarized by Apple and carries the ticket stapled into it — which is why it opens on a plain double-click even without internet access. If the `.dmg` is unpacked internally, re-zipped and passed around over a file share, the application bundle often does not survive it: symlinks and extended attributes are lost, the signature no longer matches, and macOS reports the application as damaged instead of starting it. Whether a copy is still intact is answered by the same two commands our build runs before every release:

```bash
spctl -a -vvv -t exec "/Applications/meinGPT Outpost.app"
xcrun stapler validate "/Applications/meinGPT Outpost.app"
```

The first has to report `accepted` and `source=Notarized Developer ID`, the second `The validate action worked!`. If it does not, download the disk image from MeinGPT again and drag the application out of it into Applications afresh. **Do not work around the message** with `xattr -cr`: that only strips the provenance marker and hides exactly the integrity failure you have just found.

If it is none of the three, the list below applies unchanged — proxy, firewall, occupied ports, system clock and a data folder on a network drive behave on macOS as they do on Windows. Read `%LOCALAPPDATA%\meinGPT Outpost` there as `~/Library/Application Support/meinGPT Outpost`.

## Likely causes — in this order

1. **Antivirus or EDR:** Defender, CrowdStrike, and similar products may block the Outpost's native Node addons or hold `data\outpost.sqlite` open. Ask the security team to inspect quarantine and events; do not blindly exclude the entire folder.
2. **Proxy or TLS inspection:** A corporate proxy can stop the outbound tunnel at certificate validation. Once the window opens again, run the check under **Connection**. For a private CA, see [Your own root certificate](/en/docs/integrations/vault/deployment/custom-ca).
3. **Outbound firewall:** The Bridge host must be reachable outbound. The exact allowlist is under **Connection → Network requirements**; no inbound ports are required.
4. **Local port blocked:** The Outpost automatically falls back to a free loopback port. One occupied port is therefore not enough; look for rules or software that prevent local binding altogether.
5. **Data folder moved:** Do not move the Outpost data folder onto SMB, a network drive, or a OneDrive-synced folder. SQLite and automatic recovery require a local disk. The path actually in use is included with the system details in a diagnostics bundle.
6. **Invalid environment variable:** In a managed installation, `MEINGPT_OUTPOST_APP_DATA_DIR` can redirect the data folder to a different path - see [Where the Outpost stores data](/en/docs/integrations/vault/operations/data-locations). An invalid value (empty, relative, a drive that does not exist) makes the storage layer fail before the window even appears. Check the value actually set and the path shown under **System**.
7. **Permissions:** The account running the Outpost needs read and write access to the data folder actually in use.
8. **Wrong system time:** A badly skewed clock can make certificates, pairing, and tokens appear invalid. The connection check warns at two minutes.
9. **Sleep or Windows Update:** If the machine slept or restarted during indexing, wake or restart it and open the Outpost again; the run continues after recovery.

## What to send support

Send the ZIP, the time of the failure, and a short description to **enterprise@meingpt.com**. It contains system and version details, redacted configuration, recovery state, and bounded log excerpts. It collects **no document files or document content**. Because it includes log excerpts, however, the current version may contain file names, paths, or search text; review the ZIP under your policy.