Sign-in and keys
Every sign-in, key and connection message in the editor, what it means and what to do about it.
Most of these end the same way: run DebugAI: Sign In again. Each heading below is the message as DebugAI shows it, without the DebugAI: in front, so you can search for the text on your screen.
For an AI agent signing in with npx -y @debugai/mcp login, see MCP server problems.
Signing in from the editor
Sign-in was declined in the browser.
Someone pressed Not me on the confirmation page, so no key was issued. Press Try again on the message, or run DebugAI: Sign In, and press Connect it this time.
The sign-in code expired before it was confirmed.
A code lasts 10 minutes. Press Try again to get a fresh one.
Could not reach the sign-in service. Check your connection or a proxy.
VS Code could not reach DebugAI to start a sign-in. Check that this machine can reach the hosts listed under Behind a proxy or firewall. If that is not possible, press Paste a key instead and connect with a key, as described under Pasting a key.
The browser did not open
On a machine with no browser, such as a remote server over SSH, the sign-in notice says so and names an address. Open that address on any device, sign in, type the code the notice shows and press Connect it. VS Code picks up the key by itself, as long as the notice is still waiting.
On the confirmation page
Sign in to finish connecting.
Not an error. The page needs you signed in to debugai.io before it can connect anything. Sign in, or create a free account (no card), and the page moves on to your code.
That code has expired or was never issued. Run the command again to get a fresh one.
The code is older than 10 minutes, or it was typed wrong. Run DebugAI: Sign In again for a new one.
That code was already used. Run the command again for a new one.
A code connects one sign-in, once. Start a new sign-in the same way.
Could not reach DebugAI. Check your connection and try again.
The page could not reach DebugAI's servers. Reload it. The code is good for 10 minutes from when the editor asked for it.
Request declined.
You pressed Not me, so nothing was connected and no key was issued. If you meant to connect, start again from the editor.
Pasting a key
You can connect with a key instead of the browser. Run DebugAI: Set API Key, pick Paste an API key, and paste the key from the Settings tab of your dashboard. The dashboard's Copy button copies the whole key.
Key should start with dbg_
What you pasted is not a DebugAI key. Every key starts with dbg_. Copy it again with the Copy button on the dashboard.
That key was not accepted, so nothing was changed. Copy it again from debugai.io/dashboard, whole.
DebugAI checks a pasted key with its server before keeping it, and the server refused this one. Nothing was saved, so a key you had before still works. The usual causes are a key cut short while copying, or a key that has since been rotated. Copy it again from the dashboard.
Key saved but could not verify. Check your connection.
The key was saved, but DebugAI could not reach its server to check it. The status bar shows DebugAI with a warning sign. Once you are back online, run a debug. If the key turns out to be wrong, you will see the message under Your API key is invalid or expired.
Connecting from the dashboard
The dashboard's connect button, on Setup & Guide and on Settings, is named after your editor (for example Connect VS Code). It opens the editor with your key inside the link.
Auth link missing key. Get a new link from debugai.io/dashboard.
The link reached your editor without its key. Press Connect on the dashboard again, or run DebugAI: Sign In in the editor instead.
Invalid key format. Visit debugai.io/dashboard to get your key.
The key in the link is not shaped like a DebugAI key, so the editor ignored it. Reload the dashboard and press Connect again.
A different API key is already configured. Replace it?
The editor already holds another key. That happens when you have two accounts, or when you rotated your key and the editor still has the old one. Press Replace to use the key from the link, or close the dialog to keep the one you have.
Once you are connected
Your API key is invalid or expired.
A debug was refused because the server did not accept the key. It was rotated, revoked or mistyped. Press Update Key on the message, or run DebugAI: Sign In, and you get a fresh key.
Not connected yet. Sign in for 10 free debugs a day, no card.
You ran DebugAI: Analyze Error before signing in. Press Sign in →, or I Have a Key to paste one.
No API key set.
The same, from DebugAI: Analyze Terminal Error. Press Set API Key.
Set your API key first.
The same, from an index or scan command. Run DebugAI: Sign In.
DebugAI is still not connected. Signing in takes one browser confirmation.
You opened the dashboard from the editor 90 seconds ago, and no key has reached the editor since. Press Sign in to connect from the editor, or Paste a key.
After you rotate your key
Rotate key… on the dashboard's Settings tab stops the old key at once. Every editor and MCP client that held it stops working until you reconnect it:
- VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium: run DebugAI: Sign In.
- MCP clients: run
npx -y @debugai/mcp login --forceonce on each machine. Every MCP client on that machine reads the new key, without a restart.
If an MCP client still fails after that, run npx -y @debugai/mcp doctor. A key written in plain text into a client's config outranks the stored one, and doctor names the file it is in. See MCP server problems.
Behind a proxy or firewall
From VS Code, the extension talks to these hosts over HTTPS:
| Host | What for |
|---|---|
debugai-mvp-production.up.railway.app | The DebugAI API: sign-in codes, indexing, debugs, scans, your plan and usage |
us.i.posthog.com | Product events, and only while VS Code telemetry is on |
In your browser, sign-in uses debugai.io (the confirmation page and the dashboard) and clerk.debugai.io (the sign-in form).
The MCP server talks to the same API host. Run through npx, it also needs the npm registry, to download @debugai/mcp.