Runtime recovery
Recover a cloud or local session when its computer or agent stops responding.
When a session can't continue, Alan shows a banner above the composer with what's wrong and one or two actions. Use the banner to identify what needs attention:
| Layer | What failed | Typical banner | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Machine | Your computer or VM is offline, or the cloud computer is asleep, shut down, or gone | "This session uses name, but the computer is offline." / Computer asleep | Reconnect, send a message to wake it, or Repair session |
| Agent | The machine is fine but the coding agent crashed, timed out, or disconnected | Agent disconnected, Computer is unresponsive | Repair session, then Restart computer |
| Run | The task or setup itself failed | Agent could not start, "Couldn't set up the workspace." | Retry task, Start new attempt, or fix the cause |
Recovery never moves a session between cloud and local. If you decide to switch, do it deliberately; see Switch a task between cloud and local.
Cloud sessions
The computer is resting. An asleep or shut-down computer is normal; send a message and Alan brings it back. See Sandboxes.
The agent stopped responding. Messages such as "Agent didn't respond within 30 seconds.", "Agent has been disconnected." or "Agent connection failed." indicate a problem communicating with the coding agent. The banner reads, for example, "The computer is still running. Repair the session before sending another message."
- Choose Repair session. It reconnects the session without replacing the computer.
- If it stays stuck, choose Restart computer. Running processes end; files are kept.
- Only if Alan says Session repair needed and offers Rebuild computer, rebuild. It replaces the workspace, so uncommitted or unpushed files may be lost.
The run failed. Choose Retry task or Start new attempt to run the work again. If a failure message names a missing variable or a broken script, fix it in the environment's Setup first; see Cloud setup.
"Message not sent." If sending failed because the computer isn't responding, the error offers Restart computer.
Local computers and VMs
When the session's machine isn't usable, the banner names it and offers one action:
| Banner | Action |
|---|---|
| "This session uses name, but the computer is offline." | Reconnect (on that computer); otherwise open the Alan desktop app on it |
| "name is reconnecting." | Wait; the session is available when the computer is ready |
| "Sign in to continue this session on name." | Sign in |
| "This session uses name, but the computer is disabled." | Enable |
| "Update Alan to continue this session on name." | Update Alan |
| Update required | Run the update command shown on that machine, then reconnect |
| "This session uses name, but the computer was removed." | Reconnect on that computer, or Start new session |
Runtimes that support queued messages let you send while a machine is briefly offline: the composer reads Runs when name is online, and the message runs once the machine is back.
If the machine is online but the work fails, check the folder and branch: the folder may have moved (Folder moved or deleted → Locate folder), or the checkout may be on the wrong branch. In Settings → Account → General, check that the coding agent shows as installed and signed in on the machine's Agents tab. See Local execution.
Checklist before you retry
- Is the session cloud or local, and is it the target you meant?
- Is the machine Ready, or the cloud computer awake?
- Does the repository, folder and branch still exist?
- Is the coding agent installed and signed in (local), or enabled for the environment (cloud)?
- Retry in the same session if the target is right; start a new session if the old target is gone.