Chat troubleshooting - Cortex Docs

Chat says what is wrong in plain words rather than spinning. This page maps those messages to causes and fixes. For the whole app, see Troubleshooting; for the terminal, CLI troubleshooting.

The reply

What you see	Cause	Fix
A reply cut short, then the thread reconnects	The connection dropped mid-reply	Do not resend. Run state lives in the thread; the reply that already started continues. See Streaming.
The send button stays a stop control	A turn is in flight	Wait, or press Esc to stop it. The partial reply stays.
A long thread answers more vaguely than it did	The thread was compacted to fit the model’s context window	Start a new chat, or put the standing detail in a project so it is not repeated. See How Chat works.
A turn fails with `service_unavailable`	Compaction could not summarise the thread	Retry. Compaction fails closed rather than dropping your earlier turns.

Files and images

What you see	Cause	Fix
A file will not attach	Type or size check failed at upload	A rejected file is not attached and does not enter Library. Try a supported type or a smaller file.
An error square where an image should be	The Library fetch or the generation failed	Retry the request. It is never an endless spinner.
Improving prompt… on an image card	The picture is queued; Chat is completing the scene description first	Wait — the card becomes a skeleton, then the image.
A generated picture is missing from the thread	It saved to Library but the fetch failed	Open Library and attach it from there.
Image generation is unavailable	The deployment has image generation switched off	The request fails closed before any quota is spent. See Image generation.

Models and research

What you see	Cause	Fix
The model on the chip is not the one you picked	Peak-hour fallback, or the conversation kept the model it was created with	Check the chip: it always names the model serving the conversation. See Models.
A model is missing from the chip	Availability depends on your plan	Compare plans under Settings → Plan & billing. See Plans.
Deep Research is missing	You are in Code or Bot	Deep Research is a Chat feature. Switch to Chat.
A research run stops early	A per-run cap was reached	Questions, sources, and parallelism are capped per run. See Deep Research.
Origin check says it cannot run	The check is unavailable on this deployment	Ask again later. Cortex says so rather than guessing — do not read silence as a verdict. See Origin check.

Voice

What you see	Cause	Fix
No mic in the composer	The deployment cannot transcribe	Nothing to configure — the capability is off, not broken.
No Listen under an answer	The deployment cannot speak	Same. Voice controls appear only when the deployment behind them can do the work.

See Voice.

Quotas and access

What you see	Cause	Fix
Sign in to continue above the composer	The guest allowance for today or this month is used up	Sign in to continue on Free, or wait for the reset.
`quota_exceeded`	A daily or monthly window is exhausted	The error carries when it resets. See Plans and quotas.
`entitlement_required`	The plan does not include that capability at all	Compare plans under Settings → Plan & billing.
`rate_limited`	Too many requests in a short burst	Pause, then retry.
Projects, Library, or Memory are missing	You are a guest	Those need a signed-in account. See Accounts.
A connected app cannot be used in Chat	The connection is enabled for Bot only	Customize → Connectors → enable it for Cortex Chat. See Tools and connectors.
No Connect control for an app	That connection is not available on this deployment, or you are a guest	Sign in; if it is still missing, it is not offered here.

Still stuck

Keep the request_id from the error, the time, and the surface you were on. Check status.cortex.foundation if Chat is failing alongside other products — see System status. Full error semantics: Problem catalog.

How Chat works — the tool loop and its round budget.
Streaming — what a dropped connection does and does not lose.
Troubleshooting — the same guidance across all products.

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