Troubleshoot Aside

Use this page when Aside needs input, a task stalls, password autofill does not appear, Aside Vault will not unlock, browser import fails, browser sync needs attention, or you need to report a bug.

Task is waiting for youCopy Anchor Link

1. Open the task.
2. Find the input or approval request.
3. Review the requested action.
4. Approve, reject, or answer.
5. Resume the task if the UI shows a resume action.

If Aside reaches a sign-in screen, it can use allowed saved credentials through autofill. If the site asks for MFA, passkey approval, CAPTCHA, or identity verification, complete the visible step or answer Aside's request, then resume the task.

Aside may show visible task states such as waiting for approval, waiting for an answer, errored, or finished. Approve or deny approval popovers directly from the browser surface. Questions and draft reviews open the task detail page.

Task is going the wrong wayCopy Anchor Link

Use a follow-up.

• Use Steer if the agent needs correction during the current run.
• Use Queue if the instruction can wait until the current run finishes.

Example: Stop using the billing page. Use the invoices page instead, and do not send any emails.

Task waits for a notificationCopy Anchor Link

Aside can pause a task while it waits for a notification. Open the task to see whether Aside needs a reply, approval, or a connected app event.

Password autofill does not appearCopy Anchor Link

Check these settings:

1. Open Settings > Passwords.
2. Confirm Use default password manager is enabled if you want Aside to manage passwords.
3. Confirm Enable Autofill is on.
4. Check Disable in incognito if you are in an incognito window.
5. Check Excluded domains.
6. Check whether insecure-site autofill is allowed for the current site.

If the site uses a passkey, MFA, or a multi-step login, Aside can fill the saved credential first. Complete the visible verification step and wait for the next prompt.

1Password extension does not workCopy Anchor Link

1. Open the 1Password app.
2. Go to Settings > Browser > Connect to additional browsers, then click Add browser.
3. Select Aside.
4. Copy ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/NativeMessagingHosts/com.1password.1password.json to ~/Library/Application Support/Aside/NativeMessagingHosts/com.1password.1password.json.

Apple Passwords extension does not workCopy Anchor Link

Enter this prompt in Aside:

Use the Apple Passwords skill and check whether Apple Passwords is connected properly.

After Aside finishes the check, open the Apple Passwords extension again. You should now be able to use it.

Aside Vault does not unlockCopy Anchor Link

Aside Vault has its own password, separate from your Aside account password. If the unlock screen rejects it, choose Forgot password? on the unlock screen (the key icon in the toolbar, or Settings > Passwords).

• You have your recovery key. Enter the 12 words, then set a new unlock password. Look for a .txt file that starts with aside-recovery-key, or check the email you used when you set up the vault. Your passwords stay intact.
• You do not have your recovery key. Choose Reset Aside Vault. This creates an empty vault; the passwords in the old vault cannot be recovered. The reset asks you to type reset my vault, enter an email code, set a new password, and save a new recovery key. Confirm the key, then choose Reset. Nothing changes until that last step, so the new password and key do not work if you close the dialog before it.

If the new password or recovery key is still rejected after a reset, make sure you are unlocking the same account you reset. Settings > Passwords lists the accounts and vaults on this device.

Browser import failsCopy Anchor Link

Try these checks:

1. Confirm the source browser profile still exists.
2. Close the source browser if the import needs exclusive access.
3. Use file import for sources that require it.
4. Retry import.

On Windows, Chrome often keeps running after you close its last window, and the import keeps asking you to close Chrome. Open Task Manager, end every Google Chrome process, then choose Try again. If Task Manager shows none, restart Windows and run the import before you open Chrome. The same applies when creating a new Aside profile from Chrome fails while copying cookies.

Aside can show these import errors:

• Browser import is unavailable in this version of Aside.
• Browser import failed.
• Please upload a ZIP file for Safari ZIP import.
• Failed to read the ZIP file for unreadable Safari ZIP import.

Streaming sites show "unsupported browser" or fail to playCopy Anchor Link

Streaming sites like Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and Netflix may show You are running an unsupported version of this browser (for example Prime Video error code 7132) or fail to play protected content when the Widevine DRM module is outdated or has not finished downloading.

1. Open aside://components.
2. Find Widevine Content Decryption Module.
3. Click Check for update.
4. Wait for the status to change to Up-to-date.
5. Reload the streaming tab.

CLI cannot open the Windows installation keyCopy Anchor Link

aside account list or another CLI command fails with:

Cannot open Windows installation key aside.install.sig

The CLI signs in to Aside Browser with a key stored under the Windows user who runs the browser. This error means the command ran as a different Windows user, so the key is not visible to it. The key itself is intact. Do not reset installation keys, sign out, or reinstall to fix this.

Common causes:

• A coding agent such as Codex ran the command inside its sandbox, which uses a separate Windows account. Approve running aside outside the sandbox when the agent asks, or run the command yourself.
• The terminal was opened as another user (including an elevated prompt that used a different administrator account) or through a remote session.

Run the command from a regular PowerShell window opened as the same Windows user who runs Aside Browser.

Aside keeps restarting or can't connect to its local serviceCopy Anchor Link

Aside shows Something went wrong. Aside can't connect to its local service., Settings and chats never load, routines look missing, and the local service restarts every 10 to 30 seconds. The log in .aside/logs/daemon-YYYY-MM-DD.log repeats:

[Installation] failed to initialize IK

The local service could not open or create the keys that protect its data on this computer. Reinstalling Aside does not fix this, because the keys live outside the app. That line appears for several different causes, so check the error on the same log entry and follow only the matching section below. Do not sign out, reinstall, or reset keys before you know which one it is.

Keys are incomplete or inaccessibleCopy Anchor Link

If the error is:

Installation security is incomplete or inaccessible. Existing keys and encrypted data have been preserved. Do not reset installation keys or sign out; contact Aside support.

Aside could not reach part of its key storage, and it stopped without changing anything so your encrypted data can still be recovered. Do not use the repair below, because it replaces the keys and the data they protect can no longer be read. These checks are safe and often fix it:

1. Restart the computer.
2. Sign in to the same Windows or macOS user account that first set up Aside, and start Aside normally, not with Run as administrator.
3. Windows. Open tpm.msc and check that it says The TPM is ready for use. If the TPM is off, which can happen after a BIOS update, turn it back on in the BIOS. Do not clear the TPM.
4. macOS. If you recently changed your login password, open Keychain Access, unlock the login keychain, and allow Aside when it asks for keychain access.

If Aside still does not start, quit it, copy the .aside folder somewhere safe, and send that day's daemon log to support@aside.com.

If that error ends with native keys=present and wrapped data key=missing, the data key is already gone from this computer and these checks can't bring it back. Use the repair below instead.

Repair the installation keys (Windows and macOS)Copy Anchor Link

Use this repair only when the log shows one of these errors.

After a motherboard or TPM (security chip) replacement, or after moving a Windows installation to new hardware:

Windows installation key pair is incomplete (signing=missing, encryption=present)

The signing key lived in the old hardware's security chip and cannot be reissued from your account.

When the installation data key is no longer stored on this computer:

Installation data key is missing and can't be recovered.

In both cases the repair creates a new set of keys instead of restoring the old one.

1. Quit Aside completely.
2. Create an empty file named repair-installation in your .aside folder. Use a terminal, not Explorer or Finder, so it doesn't get a .txt extension.
   • Windows (PowerShell): New-Item -ItemType File "$env:USERPROFILE\.aside\repair-installation"
   • macOS (Terminal): touch ~/.aside/repair-installation
3. Start Aside again. Sign in again if asked, and unlock Password Manager with its password.

Aside removes the file once the keys are healthy. A healthy installation ignores it.

Clear a stuck key (Windows only)Copy Anchor Link

If the log shows Windows installation key already exists: 0x8009000F or Failed to create Windows installation key: 0x8009000f, Windows is holding an old copy of a key that it can neither open nor replace. Clear both keys:

1. Quit Aside completely. Check Task Manager for any remaining Aside process.
2. Open PowerShell, paste the following, and press Enter:

foreach ($name in 'aside.install.sig','aside.install.kem') { foreach ($prov in 'Microsoft Platform Crypto Provider','Microsoft Software Key Storage Provider') { try { $p = New-Object System.Security.Cryptography.CngKeyCreationParameters; $p.Provider = New-Object System.Security.Cryptography.CngProvider($prov); $p.KeyCreationOptions = [System.Security.Cryptography.CngKeyCreationOptions]::OverwriteExistingKey; $k = [System.Security.Cryptography.CngKey]::Create([System.Security.Cryptography.CngAlgorithm]::ECDsaP256, $name, $p); $k.Delete(); "$prov / $name : cleared" } catch { "$prov / $name : $($_.Exception.Message)" } } }

3. Start Aside again and sign in.

If it still fails, send the PowerShell output and that day's daemon log to support@aside.com.

Using one account in several browser profilesCopy Anchor Link

One Aside account on a computer is shared by every browser profile that signs in with it. A second profile that signs in joins the account, and its chats, projects, routines, and memory are the same ones you see in the first profile.

Each chat remembers the profile it ran in, because its tabs and logins live there. Opening an idle chat from another profile moves it to that profile. A chat that is still running in another profile shows This task is running in another browser profile. with an Open in <profile> action that switches to it.

Settings > Account > Sign out acts on the current profile only. While other profiles on this computer still use the account, the dialog says Sign out this profile? and the account stays signed in there. Signing out of the last profile signs the account out of the computer.

If a profile shows Settings > General > You're using Aside in local mode even though another profile is signed in, sign in from that profile. It connects to the existing account instead of creating a new one, and the chats and routines you saw in the other profile appear there too.

Browser sync needs attentionCopy Anchor Link

New Tab shows Browser sync needs attention, or Settings > Account > Browser data recovery says This device has no sync key.

Aside encrypts your synced browser data, such as bookmarks and history, with a sync key. Aside keeps this key for you, so a new device gets it on its own. Accounts created before September 2026 kept the key only on their devices, and Aside moves it to the server the next time a device that has it opens Aside. This message means neither this device nor Aside has the key yet.

Try these in order. Each one keeps more of your synced data than the next.

1. Open Aside on another device where sync still works. That device hands the key to Aside on its own; opening Settings > Account there does it right away. Then quit and reopen Aside on this device.
2. Use your recovery key. Open Settings > Account and select Recover under Browser data recovery. Enter the 12-word recovery key you saved when you signed up. Look for a .txt file that starts with aside-recovery-key, or check your email.
3. Use your account password. Accounts created before September 2026 have an Aside account password. On the recovery key screen, select I don't have my recovery key and enter that password.
4. Reset browser sync. If nothing above works, select I don't remember my password, then Email me a code, and enter the code from your email.

Resetting browser sync:

• Keeps the bookmarks, history, and other browser data on this device and syncs them again
• Deletes browser data that exists only in the previous sync
• Moves every device signed in to this account to the new sync

Aside Vault and your Aside sign-in are not affected. After any of these steps, quit and reopen Aside to resume sync.

Changing the recovery key asks you to restore browser syncCopy Anchor Link

Changing the Aside Vault recovery key shows Restore browser sync before changing your recovery key.

For accounts created before September 2026, the same 12-word recovery key also restores browser sync. Aside keeps that key working until browser sync no longer depends on it. Restore browser sync with the steps above, then change the recovery key again.

Computer Use is not availableCopy Anchor Link

Computer Use lets tasks read and control apps on this computer. It works only in tasks that run on this computer, on macOS or Windows.

1. Open Settings > Agents and turn on Computer Use.
2. On macOS, allow Accessibility and Screen Recording for Aside in System Settings > Privacy & Security. Aside picks each permission up right away.
3. Run the task on this computer. Tasks running in the cloud or on another device through Remote Control cannot use it.

Report a bugCopy Anchor Link

You can contact support at support@aside.com.

Include:

• Task URL or task ID
• Approximate time
• Website or app involved
• Expected result
• Actual result
• Screenshot or artifact path, if available
• Any visible error message

You can also send feedback in the app:

• Open Settings, then choose Send feedback.
• Open a task detail page, open the more actions menu, then choose Send feedback.

General feedback can include screenshots. Task feedback can include the task transcript and diagnostics.

Report a performance issueCopy Anchor Link

Please send us the following information to help us diagnose the issue at support@aside.com:

Download histogram dataCopy Anchor Link

1. Open aside://histograms
2. Click Download to save the .txt file

• The file will usually be around 3–10 MB

Record a performance traceCopy Anchor Link

1. Close any unnecessary tabs in Aside
2. Open aside://tracing
3. If that URL does not work:

• Open aside://chrome-urls/?host=chrome://tracing/#internal-debug-pages
• Click Enable debugging pages

4. Click Record in the upper-left corner
5. Configure the settings as follows:

• Preset: Manually select settings
• Change Record until full to Record continuously
• System tracing: Off
• Use protobuf: On
• Default enabled categories: All
• Under Default disabled categories, click None, then select only:
  • v8.cpu_profiler
  • cpu_profiler
  • devtools.timeline
  • renderer.scheduler
  • v8.gc
  • v8.compile
  • system_metrics
  • memory-infra

6. Click Record and wait about one second
7. Open a new tab and reproduce the issue on the affected website as you normally would
8. As soon as the issue occurs, return to the aside://tracing tab and click Stop
9. Click Save and send us the generated .pftrace.gz file.

• Please do not rename the file or change its extension.

RelatedCopy Anchor Link

• Run tasks
• Use routines
• Use Password Manager