Troubleshooting

Onwarder is built never to lose your words quietly. When something goes wrong, it says so in plain words and tells you what it has kept. Start with the message you see.

Onwarder says it could not save

You see Could not save on this device. Copy your text before closing, or Writing could not be saved on this device. Copy or export it now.

1. Do not close the window. Your words are still on the screen.
2. Select the scene’s text, copy it, and paste it somewhere safe, such as a note or an email to yourself.
3. Check the usual causes:
   • The device is full. Free some space.
   • In a browser, the site has run out of storage, or you are in a private window. Use a normal window and save your library to a file.
   • Another Onwarder window is open on the same book. Close the older one. If you see Close older Onwarder windows to upgrade offline storage., that is what it means.
4. When it saves again, the line at the foot of the page goes back to Saved on this device with the time.

My books have gone from the browser

Books written without an account live in that one browser on that one device. They will not appear:

• in a different browser, or the same browser on another computer,
• in a private or incognito window,
• after the browser’s site data has been cleared.

If you saved a file, open Settings, Storage and backup, Open a library file and add them back. To stop it happening, see Backups and restoring.

The browser will not open my library

Onwarder says	What to do
Your browser library is already open in another tab.	Close the other Onwarder tab, then try again. Nothing has been changed.
This browser cannot safely keep a local library.	Use a current version of Chrome, Edge or Safari. Nothing was saved in this browser.
This browser could not open persistent storage.	Try a normal (not private) window.
This library was saved by a newer version of Onwarder.	Update Onwarder, or reload the page, then open it again.

Try opening again retries once you have fixed the cause.

A book or scene will not open

• Could not open this book. Try again.: choose Try again. If it keeps happening, restart Onwarder.
• Could not read this scene. Its writing has not been changed.: open another scene and come back. Nothing in the scene was changed.
• Update Onwarder to edit this scene.: the scene was last edited in a newer version. Update the app on this device.

The desktop app says your library needs attention

If you see Your library needs attention, Onwarder could not open your library, and it has stopped rather than guess. Your files have been kept.

1. Make sure the disk your library is on is connected and has space.
2. Choose Try opening again.
3. If it still will not open, choose Show local data folder, copy that folder somewhere safe, and email us (below).

Two versions of a scene

If the same scene was changed in two places, Onwarder keeps both and asks you to choose. On a single device this can happen with two windows open. Neither version is lost: the one you do not choose stays in the scene’s history. For more than one device, see Write on more than one device.

A file will not import

See the table in Bring in a manuscript. Most problems are an older file type (.doc, .pages, .odt, .rtf) that needs saving as Word (.docx) first, or a file over 64 MB because of pictures.

An export did not arrive

• In a browser, the file goes to your browser’s downloads. Onwarder cannot see where it went, so check your Downloads folder.
• On a phone, the share sheet opens. If you closed it without choosing somewhere, export again and choose Save to Files in the share sheet. On Android, choose Save to phone in the export instead of sharing.
• Finishing details changed. Prepare the PDF again before saving. means you changed a setting after preparing the PDF. Prepare it again.
• A long book on a phone can run out of memory making a PDF or paperback interior. Use a computer for those.

The desktop app will not update

• Windows: the Microsoft Store manages updates. Open the Store, go to Library, then choose Get updates.
• Linux .deb: install new versions yourself when Onwarder tells you one is out. Your books stay as they are.
• Linux AppImage: if you see Install Onwarder for Ubuntu, your system does not allow the AppImage’s sandbox. Install the .deb instead.
• If Check now in Settings, Updates says The check could not finish. Try again., check your connection and try again later.

Backups say they need attention

You see	What to do
Backup needs attention	The last backup did not finish. Onwarder tries again by itself. Use Save to file if you want a copy now.
Waiting for a connection to back up	Your changes are saved on this device and back up when you are online.
Your Cloud backup space is full	Delete backups you no longer need under Cloud backups, or use Save to file.
Backups have stopped	Onwarder Cloud has ended. Use Save to file to keep a copy, or renew Cloud.

Your AI will not connect

• Check that the book allows AI: Settings, Writing help (AI), then the book. A book set to Off is invisible to every AI.
• On a computer, the setting under AI to use says what is wrong, for example Not signed in. Open Codex and sign in, then check again. Do that, then choose Check again.
• From a phone or the web, Ask your computer needs a computer with Phone and web can use this computer turned on, awake and running Onwarder.
• For the Claude and ChatGPT apps, the book must be in your Onwarder Cloud account. Our connection guide has the current steps for each app.

Still stuck

Email hello@onwarder.com and say what you were doing, what Onwarder said (a screenshot helps) and which device you were on. Please do not send your manuscript unless we ask. You can also ask other writers on r/Onwarder.