Troubleshooting
Start Friday troubleshooting by protecting work that has not been posted. Copy an update or reply into a private text editor before you reload, go back, or sign in again. If a submission had an uncertain result, check the project record before you retry so that you do not create a duplicate.
Write down the visible status number and exact message. The same action can fail for different reasons, and the status narrows the next safe step.
Friday troubleshooting after a submission
A slow response or interrupted page does not always mean that the action failed. Before submitting the same content again:
- Copy the draft to a private text editor.
- Open the project page in a new tab.
- Check the newest updates or replies for the content.
- Check the visible delivery state when the action sent email.
- Retry only if the expected record is absent.
If the record exists, do not post it again. Email sending can also have an uncertain result when a mail server accepts a message but the final response is lost. The service does not promise exactly once delivery or inbox receipt, so repeated posting can produce duplicate messages.
Read Email Delivery for delivery behavior and Writing an Update for the normal posting steps.
Fix a 404 missing page response
A 404 means the requested page was not found. For a private client page, update attachment, or reply attachment, it often means that the project link is missing, incomplete, or revoked.
Check the full link without publishing it:
- Return to the original email or message that contained the link.
- Open the link directly rather than copying only part of it.
- Ask the project owner whether the private link was regenerated.
- Use the newest link the owner sends.
When an owner regenerates a project link, the old client page and old attachment links stop working immediately. Existing project content remains available through the new link. Link regeneration cannot retract files that were already downloaded.
Billing pages also return 404 while billing is off. That response is expected in the current product state. There is no live checkout or charge until billing is enabled. Read Pricing and Billing before treating a missing Billing page as an account fault.
An unknown or disabled route can also return 404 by design. Do not keep changing a private token or guessing paths, because a token is an access credential. Use Client Page and Managing Projects for the intended access flow.
Handle a 403 forbidden response
A 403 means the server understood the request but will not allow it. Check that you are using the intended account, project, and link. Do not try to bypass the restriction by changing a record number or copying another person's URL.
The application often uses 404 instead of 403 for protected project resources so that it does not reveal whether another account's record exists. A visible 403 can still come from a surrounding service, browser policy, or a future protected route.
Return to the normal site navigation and repeat the intended action once. If the response remains, record the page name, time, and exact message, then use Getting Help. Do not include a session cookie, password, or private project token in the request.
Recover from a 400 bad request
A 400 response means the submitted request was invalid. A common cause is a stale form from an older tab. Forms carry a session protection value, and the old value may no longer match after another login, logout, password reset, or newly issued session.
Use these steps:
- Copy all draft text to a private text editor.
- Note any file you selected, because reloading clears the file chooser.
- Reload the page from normal site navigation.
- Paste the draft back into the new form.
- Select the file again if needed.
- Submit once, then check the project record.
Malformed form data can also return 400. If a fresh form fails repeatedly, try once in a private browser window. Do not weaken browser security settings.
An invalid or expired password reset link also produces an error on its confirmation form. Request one new link and use only the newest email. See Password Reset for the full process.
Reduce a 413 request too large error
A 413 means the request body is larger than the route allows. The correct fix is to reduce the submitted content, not to repeat the same request.
Owner update attachments can be one PNG, JPEG, PDF, or UTF 8 plain text file at most 5 MiB. Client replies can include up to three PNG, JPEG, or PDF files, each at most 5 MiB. File extension, declared type, and content must agree.
Authentication and billing forms have a much smaller 16 KiB request limit. A normal email and password fit within that limit, so a browser extension or malformed submission may be involved if one of those simple forms returns 413.
For an attachment error, confirm the file size on your device. Export or compress the file to an allowed size and type, then select the new file from a freshly loaded form. Do not only rename an extension, because the service checks file content as well as the name. Read Attachments for the supported combinations.
Wait after a 429 rate limit response
A 429 means too many requests were made in a limited period. Stop submitting the form and wait for the stated window before trying again.
Login errors say to try again in fifteen minutes after too many attempts. Signup uses the same message. Password reset can suppress mail while still showing its generic confirmation, so repeated reset submissions are not useful.
Client replies are also rate limited per project link. If a reply receives 429, preserve the reply text and wait rather than submitting it repeatedly. Check the project first if the response was unclear, because the previous reply may already be present.
Do not rotate a project link merely to avoid a rate limit. Rotation revokes the old link for every recipient and changes access to the page and attachments. Use it only when you mean to replace the link.
Troubleshoot sign in and password reset
Check that the email is the account email and that the password has no accidental characters added by copying. Passwords can be 12 to 128 characters. Repeated failed logins can trigger the fifteen minute limit.
If you cannot remember the password, request one reset and look for the exact subject "Reset your password." The link expires after one hour, can be used once, and is replaced by a newer request. A successful reset revokes all older account sessions and returns you to login.
If you were signed out unexpectedly, the session may have reached its 12 hour expiry. A logout or password reset from another browser can also revoke older sessions. Sign in again through the normal login page instead of trying to reuse an old form.
Troubleshoot exports and project pages
If "Export account" does not appear to download a file, check the browser download list and download permissions. Sign in again if the session has expired. The expected filename is client-updates.txt.
The export contains project and client text records, dates, authors, and attachment filenames. It does not contain attachment bytes, private tokens, passwords, or credentials, and it cannot restore an account. Read Exporting Your Data before relying on it as a complete backup.
If a project is missing from your owner list, confirm that you signed in with the account that created it. Owner records are scoped to their account. Do not test another account's numeric project address, because protected child records follow the authorized parent project.
Send a safe support request
Use the Support link in the site footer after you have preserved the draft, checked for an existing record, and followed the status specific step. Include the status, exact message, page name, approximate time with time zone, and action you took.
Do not include passwords, reset links, session cookies, private project links, full card details, or credentials. No guaranteed response time or round-the-clock support is promised.
When troubleshooting in Friday, protect your draft, check whether the action succeeded, and avoid an unsafe duplicate. For privacy handling, read Privacy and Security and the current Privacy Policy. For service limits, read the Terms. The main Guide covers the normal project update workflow.