FAQ

Using it

Does closing the window stop my services?

No, unless you choose Stop everything and quit. Services keep running in the background service; open Pythonator again to see them. With nothing running, closing the window quits everything.

How do I start Pythonator when I log in?

Add pythonator to your system’s startup programs (Windows: the Startup folder or Task Scheduler; macOS: Login Items; Linux: your desktop’s autostart, or a systemd user service running pythonator --daemon). Tick Start when Pythonator starts on the services that should come up with it.

My service says “failed: Gave up after 5 restarts”

It crashed five times within ten minutes, so Pythonator stopped trying. The console shows why it crashed. Fix it and press Start. To change the number, see Give up after in Restarts.

The console shows “The window can’t keep up; showing the newest output only”

The program prints faster than the window can draw. Nothing is lost: the log file has every line. The window catches up when the program slows down.

Where are the logs?

In logs/ in your data folder, one file per service, rotated at 10 MB.

Can I move my services to another computer?

Copy services.json and settings.json from the data folder. Folders in it are absolute paths, so the projects must be at the same paths, or edit them.

Sandbox

My program can’t read a file outside its folder

That’s the sandbox working. Add the folder under More folders on the Isolation tab, read only if it only needs to read it. Your home folder, Pythonator’s data folder and folders of keys can’t be added.

“The sandbox couldn’t start it. Nothing ran unsandboxed.”

The operating system refused part of the sandbox. The line above it in the console says which. Common causes:

• Linux without Landlock (kernels before 5.13, or Landlock turned off): update the kernel, or use Container mode.
• Linux where unprivileged user namespaces are blocked: bubblewrap is skipped automatically; if the line names bubblewrap, install your distribution’s bubblewrap package, which comes with the permission it needs.
• Windows editions or policies that forbid AppContainers.

System check shows what this computer enforces.

My server runs, but I can’t open it in the browser

• Check its port is listed on the Network tab, and the program listens on that port (the header shows the ports it actually listens on).
• On Windows, press Make reachable… once: Windows keeps sandboxed servers unreachable, even from the same computer, until an administrator allows it. See Ports and APIs.
• On Linux 6.7+ and macOS, a sandboxed program may only listen on the listed ports. A framework that picks its own port (3000 instead of $PORT) is refused: list that port, or make it use PORT.

Other computers can’t reach my server

Choose Other computers on home or work networks too under Who may connect, make the program listen on 0.0.0.0 (or leave HOST unset), and check the computer’s firewall. On Windows, press Make reachable again after changing it.

Can a sandboxed service use my GPU?

Not in this version: the sandbox and the container give a service only the basic devices, not the graphics card’s. Use Full access for code you trust that needs the GPU.

Is Container mode safer than Sandbox?

Both keep the service to its folder. Containers add their own file system and a separate network namespace, and on Docker Desktop and Podman machine a whole virtual machine. Sandbox needs nothing installed and starts faster. Choose Container when you’d rather not have the service see your system folders at all, or need the program’s own Linux environment.

Languages

Python uses the wrong packages

Pythonator uses the project’s .venv (or venv, env) when there is one. Press Packages ▾ → Install packages to create it from requirements.txt or pyproject.toml. The environment check before each start says which Python it uses.

My language isn’t in the list

Use Custom command. To add it to the list, see Adding a language.

npm or pip can’t download anything during Install packages

Install packages turns the network on for the install, even when the service has it off. Proxy variables (HTTPS_PROXY, NO_PROXY) from where Pythonator was started are passed on; you can also set them on the service’s Environment tab. The console shows the installer’s own error.

Plugins

What’s the difference between official and third-party plugins?

Official plugins are part of Pythonator and checked by hash. Everything else is third-party: it starts in test mode with no permissions. Both run in a sandbox. See Plugins.

My plugin was disabled

Its Activity says why: it crashed three times in ten minutes, sent too many messages, or sent something that isn’t a protocol message. Fix it and tick Enabled again.

Can I write a plugin in another language?

Plugins are Python, using the SDK. They can start no other programs in their sandbox, but a plugin can talk to anything over the network with the network permission. To drive Pythonator from another language, use the background service API instead.

Upgrading

Does 0.0.10 keep my 0.0.9 services?

Yes. On first start it imports pythonator.json once. Services that don’t pass the new checks are skipped and listed. The AI assistant plugin of 0.0.9 isn’t part of 0.0.10.