troubleshoot

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Diagnose and fix common Script Kit issues. Use when the user reports bugs, crashes, missing features, or unexpected behavior in Script Kit GPUI.

johnlindquist By johnlindquist schedule Updated 4/30/2026

name: troubleshoot description: Diagnose and fix common Script Kit issues. Use when the user reports bugs, crashes, missing features, or unexpected behavior in Script Kit GPUI.

Troubleshoot

Diagnose and fix common Script Kit issues.

Log Files

~/.scriptkit/logs/script-kit-gpui.jsonl

JSONL format — each line is a JSON object with timestamp, level, message, and optional fields.

Reading Logs

# Last 50 lines
tail -50 ~/.scriptkit/logs/script-kit-gpui.jsonl

# Filter errors
grep '"level":"ERROR"' ~/.scriptkit/logs/script-kit-gpui.jsonl | tail -20

# Filter by module
grep '"target":"script_kit"' ~/.scriptkit/logs/script-kit-gpui.jsonl | tail -20

Compact AI Log Mode

Set SCRIPT_KIT_AI_LOG=1 for compact, human-readable log output (useful for debugging):

SCRIPT_KIT_AI_LOG=1 ~/.scriptkit/cache/Script\ Kit.app/Contents/MacOS/script-kit-gpui

Common Issues

Script Not Appearing in Menu

  1. Check file location: Must be in ~/.scriptkit/plugins/main/scripts/*.ts
  2. Check metadata export: Must have export const metadata = { name: "..." }
  3. Check syntax: Run bun check ~/.scriptkit/plugins/main/scripts/your-script.ts
  4. Check logs: Look for parse errors in the log file

Script Crashes on Run

  1. Check SDK import: First line must be import "@scriptkit/sdk";
  2. Check Bun availability: Run which bun in terminal
  3. Check for Node.js patterns: Replace CommonJS imports, fs.readFile, child_process with Bun equivalents
  4. Check logs for the error stack trace

Hotkey Not Working

  1. Check config syntax: Validate ~/.scriptkit/config.ts has correct hotkey format
  2. Check for conflicts: Another app may have claimed the hotkey
  3. Try a different hotkey: Some key combinations are reserved by macOS
  4. Restart Script Kit: Close and reopen the app

Theme Not Applying

  1. Validate JSON: Run cat ~/.scriptkit/theme.json | python3 -m json.tool
  2. Check color format: Use "#RRGGBB", "rgb(r,g,b)", or "rgba(r,g,b,a)"
  3. Save the file: Theme reloads on save, not on edit

Extensions Not Loading

  1. Check file location: Must be in ~/.scriptkit/plugins/main/scriptlets/*.md
  2. Check frontmatter: Must have ---\nname: ...\n--- at the top
  3. Check fence syntax: Use ```bash, ```tool:name, or ```template:name
  4. Check for syntax errors in tool: scriptlets

Debugging a Script

Add Logging

import "@scriptkit/sdk";

export const metadata = { name: "Debug Example", description: "Testing" };

console.log("Script started");
const input = await arg("Enter something");
console.log("User entered:", input);
// Check logs for output

Test in Terminal

cd ~/.scriptkit
bun run plugins/main/scripts/your-script.ts

Check TypeScript Errors

cd ~/.scriptkit
bun run typecheck

File Locations Quick Reference

What Where
App logs ~/.scriptkit/logs/script-kit-gpui.jsonl
Scripts ~/.scriptkit/plugins/main/scripts/
Extensions ~/.scriptkit/plugins/main/scriptlets/
Config ~/.scriptkit/config.ts
Theme ~/.scriptkit/theme.json
SDK (read-only) ~/.scriptkit/sdk/kit-sdk.ts
Databases ~/.scriptkit/db/
Cache ~/.scriptkit/cache/

Reset to Defaults

To reset configuration:

rm ~/.scriptkit/config.ts
rm ~/.scriptkit/theme.json

Script Kit will recreate them with defaults on next launch.

To reset everything (nuclear option):

rm -rf ~/.scriptkit

Script Kit will recreate the full workspace on next launch.

Install via CLI
npx skills add https://github.com/johnlindquist/script-kit-next --skill troubleshoot
Repository Details
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article Path SKILL.md
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