Known Issues

We know there are issues! We track all known bugs and issues on Github. Please open issues and let us know what needs to be improved!

StartError - Database Corruption

Sometimes things go wrong and the data in Planetary can be corrupted. When this happens Planetary will usually show an error message right after the app opens that says something about a "Start Error". If this happens to you the best thing to do is tap "Try Again". If you see the error message again then your database is likely corrupted.

But not to worry. Due to the peer-to-peer nature of the Secure Scuttlebutt network there are likely several friends and pub servers with a full copy of your profile and data. Syncing your data from other peers can take some time, but it's easy to do. Follow these steps:

1. Delete the Planetary app from your phone. If you are using macOS, you must also delete ~/Library/Containers/Planetary (note: this Library folder is hidden, so you either have to enable the option to show hidden items, or use Go → Go to folder in the Finder menu bar).
2. Open the App Store and download Planetary again.
3. Launch Planetary.
4. If you are greeted with an empty home feed then Planetary found your identity and is resyncing your feed. Leave your phone open with Planetary running so it has time to sync your data.
5. If you see the onboarding screens skip them and go to the Debug options.
6. On the debug menu, scroll down to the Configurations section. You should see your profile name listed there. Tap on it.
7. On the screen for your profile, tap "Select" in the top right corner.
8. Planetary will log you out and start resyncing your feed. Leave your phone open with Planetary running so it has time to sync your data.

While Planetary is restoring your profile it may prevent you from publishing new posts, following new users, joining pubs, and other actions. This is one of the precautions we take to prevent a Forked Feed. Depending on how many users you follow it may be several hours before you see all the data you had before.

Stuck Restoring

After reinstalling Planetary you may be unable to publish new posts. Planetary shows the following error message:

Planetary is currently restoring your data from the network, and cannot publish new posts at this time.

This message is part of a safeguard against Forking your feed, but in some cases it can trip when it isn't supposed to. If you think your profile has finished restoring but you are still seeing this message, please reach out to our support team so we can walk you through the process of determining if it's safe to reset it.