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Troubleshooting

1. Error: PATBA_API_KEY environment variable is not set.​

  • Cause: The CLI could not find PATBA_API_KEY in the environment or in a .env file in the directory where the command was executed.
  • Solution: Ensure your .env file is in the current working directory (process.cwd()) from which you run the command, or export the variable directly. See Configuration.

2. Failed to initialize remote thread​

  • Error message: ❌ Failed to initialize remote thread: {"error":"401 Unauthorized"} (or another network error).
  • Cause: Usually a network connection failure to d33ib4uu7f4xpi.cloudfront.net, or an invalid/expired/incorrect API key.
  • Solution:
    • Verify your internet connection.
    • Check that PATBA_API_KEY is correct, valid, and active.
    • Test connectivity manually: 
      curl -X POST -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" https://d33ib4uu7f4xpi.cloudfront.net/threads

3. Zed fails to load the custom agent server​

  • Cause: Zed cannot find the node executable, or the path to index.js in your settings.json is incorrect.
  • Solution:
    • Confirm you've compiled the source with npm run build.
    • Verify the path to dist/index.js is absolute and uses forward slashes /.
    • If using a global install, confirm patb-cli is on your PATH by running patb-cli -h in a new terminal.
    • Check Zed's logs (zed: open log in the command palette) for the exact error.

4. import / module resolution errors when running node dist/index.js​

  • Cause: Running files without building first, or a Node version mismatch.
  • Solution: Update Node.js to v20+, and always run npm run build after editing TypeScript source.