Troubleshooting
No Provider Configured
If Clew doesn't start, set at least one provider API key in your environment:
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
clew
Or use the /model command inside the REPL to switch providers.
Build Errors on Windows
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force node_modules
bun install
bun run dev
Peer / Peer Discovery Not Working
- Ensure both instances are on the same LAN
- Check that UDP multicast is not blocked by your firewall
- Run
/peer discoverwith a longer timeout - Try sharing via file registry:
/peer share
MCP Server Connection Failures
- Verify the server command exists (
which npx,which uvx) - Check
.mcp.jsonsyntax - Run
/mcp listto see all connected servers - For SSE servers, verify the remote URL is reachable
Context Limit Reached
Use the compact command to compress conversation history:
❯ /compact
This triggers the multi-pass context compaction system.
Permission Denied Errors
Switch to a permissive mode or configure allow rules:
❯ /permissions auto # auto-approve safe tools
❯ /permissions plan # full bypass for planning
See Permission Model for details.
Provider Switch Issues
- Ensure the corresponding API key is set
- Some models have tool-calling limitations
- Run
/model listto see available models with capability tags
Getting Help
- Run
/doctorfor system diagnostics - Run
/statusfor session info - Check
.session/for session logs - Open a GitHub issue