Troubleshooting

Quick fixes for the most common issues. If you are setting up or running the Partner backend, that is a separate operator topic and is not covered here.

The host shows as "offline"

Partner stays reachable through an outbound connection, so the host needs working internet access. If you lose the network, Partner keeps its identity and retries automatically with backoff — it does not invent a new identity.

• Check the machine has internet access.
• Confirm the service is running:
  • Linux: systemctl status partnerd
  • Windows: Get-Service partnerd
  • macOS: sudo launchctl print system/xyz.partner.partnerd
• It will return to "reachable" on its own once connectivity is restored.

"Connection code expired" or it stopped working

The connection code is intentionally short-lived: it rotates on host restart and after use, and times out after a few minutes of being idle. Just get a fresh one:

partnerd status   # shows the current code
partnerd rotate   # force a new code

"This machine is already owned"

A host can belong to only one account at a time. If claiming fails because the machine is already owned, the current owner must revoke it first; then you can claim it.

No missing-DLL / missing-library errors — by design

Partner installers are self-contained. If you ever see a missing-library, a missing-DLL dialog, or a "command not found" for a runtime, you most likely have an unofficial or corrupted build. Re-download the signed package from the official source. You should never need to install Visual C++ redistributables, .NET, Go, Xcode, or any other toolchain.

To confirm the binary is self-contained:

• Linux: ldd $(command -v partnerd) → "not a dynamic executable"
• macOS: otool -L "$(command -v partnerd)" → only system libraries

The service did not start at boot

The .deb, .rpm, .msi, and .pkg installers all register a managed service set to start automatically. If it did not:

• Linux: sudo systemctl enable --now partnerd
• Windows: ensure the partnerd service StartType is Automatic and start it.
• macOS: reinstall the .pkg, which reloads the daemon.

The portable AppImage does not register a managed service, so it will not auto-start. Use the .deb/.rpm for an always-on host.

After a reboot the machine ID changed

This should not happen — Partner derives a stable machine ID from the operating system and persists its identity. The one expected exception is the cloned-disk case (see the FAQ). If you see a changed ID without cloning a disk, capture the host logs and report it:

• Linux: journalctl -u partnerd
• Windows: Event Viewer / the Partner log file
• macOS: /var/log/partnerd.log

Still stuck?

Collect the host logs (above) and your Partner version (partnerd --version where available) when asking for help.