Skip to content

Troubleshooting

The phone cannot open Ninaivu

  • The phone must be on the home Wi-Fi, not mobile data.
  • Use the address the console's Server page lists under for the household. localhost only works on the server itself.
  • Network access on the Server page must be on; off, Ninaivu answers on the server only. Turning it on needs a restart.
  • Windows: if the firewall blocks it, the startup log prints the two netsh commands that open the ports; run them once in a terminal opened as administrator.

I cannot open the console from my laptop

The console answers on the computer Ninaivu runs on only, until you tick Open this console from other devices at home too on the Server page (at that computer). Ninaivu restarts, and the console is then on the home network too. Away from home, open it over Tailscale or WireGuard: it does not answer the internet, so it will not open through a forwarded port or a tunnel.

A profile will not open away from home

Through a forwarded port, a tunnel or Tailscale Funnel, Ninaivu is on the internet, and a profile without a PIN does not open there; plain HTTP is refused altogether. Use Tailscale, or give the profile a PIN and reach Ninaivu over HTTPS. More on remote access.

Someone forgot their password or PIN

Ninaivu stays at home and sends no email, so a new password comes from an administrator, not from a link.

  • A family member presses Forgot your password? (or Forgot your PIN?) on the sign-in screen and then Let an administrator know. The console's Overview shows Asked for help signing in, and their card on People is marked. Press Reset password on that card: Ninaivu suggests a temporary password, which you tell them. They sign in with it and choose their own straight away. For a PIN, choose PIN under Entry and give them a new one.
  • An administrator can be reset by another administrator the same way. The only administrator, or every one of them, sets a new password on the computer Ninaivu runs on: open the Ninaivu Control Panel, press Reset a password…, pick the name and type the new password twice. Or run ninaivu reset-password NAME in a terminal there. Either one signs that person out everywhere. Phones backing up with a phone key carry on; use Sign out everywhere on People if a phone was lost.

The browser warns about the certificate

Only when HTTPS is on (the console's Server page). Ninaivu then serves HTTPS with its own certificate authority. Trust it once per device: the tray's Trust the HTTPS certificate, or the Server page's button, and the tray page for doing it by hand on Windows and macOS. Or put Tailscale or a reverse proxy in front, which bring their own. On plain HTTP, the default, there is no certificate to trust.

Nothing appears after choosing the folder

The library is indexed in the background; a large one takes a while. The Overview's Library numbers and the Server page's log show it going. If the folder is on a drive that is not plugged in, the gallery says so rather than showing nothing.

The scan is slow

System → Performance says what this computer can do and what would help. On a small machine, turn off the passes you do not need on AI models (text in photographs and video moments are the expensive ones), or choose power-saving on the Server page while the household is using the computer. A scan can be stopped and picks up where it left off.

An import says some files could not be copied

Open Library → Import and the Errors list: each file says why, in plain words. The usual ones:

  • not allowed to read or write this file: on a Mac the file may be locked (Get Info → Locked), or Ninaivu may need Full Disk Access (System Settings → Privacy & Security); then press Retry failed. Clips a camera or dashcam protected on its card are copied like any other, and the card is left alone.
  • the drive reported a read or write error: the card, disk or cable may be failing; copy what you can from it soon.
  • the name or folder path is too long, may not accept this file name or too large for the archive drive: the archive drive cannot hold that file (a FAT32 drive stops at 4 GB); a drive formatted APFS, NTFS or ext4 can.
  • the archive drive is full: the import stopped and kept what it copied. Make room and press Start.

A file that failed for a passing reason was already tried a second time. Retry failed, or the next Start, tries the rest again.

Uploads say there is not enough free space

Uploads and phone backups are refused while the server's disk has less than 2 GB free, so the index and the thumbnails always have room. Free some space, or move the library to a larger drive.

A model would not download

The models come from GitHub and Hugging Face. Check the machine has internet at the moment of the download; the AI models page says which file failed. Once a model is here nothing is asked of the internet again.

Mugil says the copy did not restore

The weekly test brings a few files back and compares them. If it fails, Mugil → Test restores says which file and why; the usual causes are a changed Google password (sign in again on Mugil) and a full Drive.

Mugil says nothing is uploading

Encryption is on by default, and nothing is uploaded until the encryption key exists. Make it on the Mugil page and keep the recovery file.

Ninaivu will not start

The log in the Control Panel (or the tray's View the log) has the reason. The common ones: the port is taken by another program (Ninaivu then moves to the next free one and says so), the state folder is on a drive that is not mounted, or another Ninaivu is already running from the same state folder.

Straight after an update: the first start of a new version copies the settings and the index into backups/before-update in the state folder, and does not start if that copy cannot be made, usually because the disk is full. An older version started over an index a newer one changed does not start either, and says which copy to restore. The technical administrator guide has the steps.

Moving to another computer

System → Move to another computer lists the three things that make an installation and, on the new machine, points the index at wherever the library landed without re-indexing. The details.

Getting help

Ask whoever looks after your Ninaivu; the technical administrator guide says where to report a problem. Say which version (System → Home & extensions shows it under This home), what you did, and what the log said.