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Troubleshooting Guide

Quick Debugging Steps

If you're experiencing issues with the PAL MCP Server, follow these steps:

1. Check MCP Connection

Open Claude Desktop and type /mcp to see if pal is connected:

  • ✅ If pal appears in the list, the connection is working
  • ❌ If not listed or shows an error, continue to step 2

2. Launch Claude with Debug Mode

Close Claude Desktop and restart with debug logging:

# macOS/Linux
claude --debug

# Windows (in WSL2)
claude.exe --debug

Look for error messages in the console output, especially:

  • API key errors
  • Python/environment issues
  • File permission errors

3. Verify API Keys

Check that your API keys are properly set:

# Check your .env file
cat .env

# Ensure at least one key is set:
# GEMINI_API_KEY=your-key-here
# OPENAI_API_KEY=your-key-here

If you need to update your API keys, edit the .env file and then restart Claude for changes to take effect.

4. Check Server Logs

View the server logs for detailed error information:

# View recent logs
tail -n 100 logs/mcp_server.log

# Follow logs in real-time
tail -f logs/mcp_server.log

# Or use the -f flag when starting to automatically follow logs
./run-server.sh -f

# Search for errors
grep "ERROR" logs/mcp_server.log

See Logging Documentation for more details on accessing logs.

5. Common Issues

"Connection failed" in Claude Desktop

  • Ensure the server path is correct in your Claude config
  • Run ./run-server.sh to verify setup and see configuration
  • Check that Python is installed: python3 --version

"API key environment variable is required"

  • Add your API key to the .env file
  • Restart Claude Desktop after updating .env

File path errors

  • Always use absolute paths: /Users/you/project/file.py
  • Never use relative paths: ./file.py

Python module not found

  • Run ./run-server.sh to reinstall dependencies
  • Check virtual environment is activated: should see .pal_venv in the Python path

6. Environment Issues

Virtual Environment Problems

# Reset environment completely
rm -rf .pal_venv
./run-server.sh

Permission Issues

# Ensure script is executable
chmod +x run-server.sh

7. Still Having Issues?

If the problem persists after trying these steps:

  1. Reproduce the issue - Note the exact steps that cause the problem
  2. Collect logs - Save relevant error messages from Claude debug mode and server logs
  3. Open a GitHub issue with:
    • Your operating system
    • Python version: python3 --version
    • Error messages from logs
    • Steps to reproduce
    • What you've already tried

Windows Users

Important: Windows users must use WSL2. Install it with:

wsl --install -d Ubuntu

Then follow the standard setup inside WSL2.