Troubleshooting

Common TrueDeck issues and fixes. Version target: 0.3.x.

Cursor IDE blocked or Cursor Agent missing

Symptom: Error like Blocked: Cursor IDE cannot be spawned or Cursor shows unavailable in the palette.

Cause: TrueDeck only runs cursor-agent CLI, never Cursor IDE (Cursor.exe / IDE cursor.cmd).

Fix:

1. Install Cursor Agent CLI (Windows):

irm https://cursor.com/install?win=1 | iex

2. Confirm install under %LOCALAPPDATA%\cursor-agent\ (versions with node.exe + index.js).
3. Restart TrueDeck so resolve cache refreshes (or wait ~5 minutes / reopen palette probe).
4. Do not point the agent command at Program Files\cursor\….

See Agents.

Agent CLI not found

Symptom: CLI not found (…); Install with: …

Fix:

• Install the vendor CLI and ensure it is on PATH for the same environment Electron inherits
• On Windows, log out/in or restart TrueDeck after installing global npm tools
• Check known paths (npm global under %APPDATA%\npm, nvm4w, ~/.local/bin)
• Use the install one-liner from the error / Agents table

Agent frame missing or garbled

Symptom: No TrueDeck header, or agent TUI fights the header.

Fix:

Check	Action
Setting	Settings → Terminal → Agent frame TUI on
Restart tab	Close and reopen the agent (Ctrl+T) - toggle applies to new tabs
Script present	Dev: resources/agent-frame/truedeck-frame.mjs; packaged: extraResources
node-pty	Frame needs node-pty via NODE_PATH / TrueDeck node_modules
Shell panes	Shell only frames if Frame shell panes too is on
Conflict	Disable frame for agents that mishandle CSI offset

See Agent frame.

Lag / many panes

Symptom: UI or machine slows with many simultaneous agents.

Fix:

• Hard cap is 16 panes; soft warning near 12
• Close unused agent tabs (each is a full CLI + model process)
• Prefer side-by-side only when you actively compare agents
• Build the Rust backend for lower I/O overhead (RUST-BACKEND, FAST-PTY) - does not reduce model latency

Session restore tab flood

Symptom: On launch, many agent CLIs spawn at once.

Cause: reopenLastProject + saved session-layout.json respawns tabs for the last active project (hard-capped, sequential on Windows).

Fix:

• Close tabs you do not need before quitting
• Disable Reopen last project in settings if you prefer a clean launch
• Emergency: set env TRUEDECK_RESTORE_PTYS=0 to open the project with no tabs
• Delete or edit session-layout.json in the data directory as a last resort

Sessions empty after restart (exe)

Symptom: You quit with agent tabs open; reopening the packaged app shows no terminals.

Cause (fixed in source): restore used to skip PTY respawn unless TRUEDECK_RESTORE_PTYS=1. Default is now restore on.

If you still see it on an older build: rebuild/reinstall from current source, or set TRUEDECK_RESTORE_PTYS=1 for that install only.

TERM / colors / broken agent TUI

Symptom: Agent UI is black-and-white, or lacks alt-screen / mouse.

Fix:

• TrueDeck forces color-capable env on every PTY: TERM=xterm-256color, COLORTERM=truecolor, TERM_PROGRAM=TrueDeck, FORCE_COLOR=3, CLICOLOR=1
• Parent NO_COLOR / FORCE_COLOR=0 / TERM=dumb (common when TrueDeck is launched from Cursor, Claude Code, or Grok Build) are stripped so CLIs keep their native colors
• Rebuild the backend after pulling color fixes: npm run build:backend
• Resize the pane after spawn so xterm FitAddon / PTY rows match
• Try with agent frame off if the CLI assumes full terminal ownership incorrectly

PTY backend stuck on node-pty

Symptom: Settings shows node-pty (TS fallback).

Fix:

npm run build:backend
# or
npm run build:pty

Install rustup + MSVC tools on Windows; free enough disk for the toolchain. Override path with TRUEDECK_BACKEND_BIN / TRUEDECK_PTY_BIN if needed.

MCP not visible in Cursor / Claude / Grok

Fix:

1. Settings → MCP → ensure servers enabled
2. Run sync / truedeck_apply_mcp via hub tools
3. Confirm client config files were written (export JSON to verify map)
4. Restart the agent CLI after inject
5. Align TRUEDECK_DATA_DIR if you use a custom data dir

See MCP.

Memory / palace issues

Fix:

• TrueMemory files always work under .memory/ offline
• MemPalace: install native mempalace / mempalace-mcp, not Docker, for the default path
• Set palace path in Settings / onboarding
• Read memory-providers.md

Helpers:

uv tool install mempalace
.\tools\ensure-mempalace.ps1

Task board will not run

Issue	Fix
“Open a project first”	Ctrl+O
Agent missing	Install CLI; try Shell as smoke test
Task stuck running	Close the session tab; exit should move card toward review
No idea in frame	Dispatch sets TRUEDECK_TASK_* and .truedeck/current-focus.md

Electron will not start after install

• Confirm Node 20+
• Re-run npm install (rebuilds native modules for Electron)
• Delete node_modules and reinstall if ABI mismatch after Electron upgrades
• Check console for main-process errors when launching npm start

Shortcuts not working in terminal

TrueDeck attaches a capture-phase keydown listener and filters xterm so app shortcuts work while focused. If a shortcut fails:

• Confirm it is in the shortcut table (e.g. Ctrl+T = new agent, not next tab)
• Avoid conflicting global OS hotkeys
• Ctrl+A is intentionally left to the terminal / agent

Getting more detail

• Main process logs appear in the terminal that launched npm start
• Look for tags: [pty], [backend], [agent-frame]
• Report issues with OS, TrueDeck version, agent id, and whether frame/Rust backend are enabled