Troubleshooting

This page maps common symptoms to the part of Cortex that owns the answer.

The Wire File Does Not Parse

Check the exact grammar first:

• Wire grammar
• Modules, imports, and file returns

The parser error should tell you where syntax stopped matching. If the source parses but does not compile, move to the next section.

The Wire File Parses But Does Not Compile

Common causes:

• an executor name is not in the registry
• a contract name is not declared or registered
• a required singular input is not connected
• output ports do not match downstream input requirements
• a pure expression references a name outside its scope

Relevant references:

• Contracts, ports, and matching
• Executors and alphabet
• Configured executors
• Pure execution

Pulse Starts But Does No Useful Work

The stock cortex-pulse binary has an empty task registry. If the process is healthy but no task kinds can run, confirm that you are using a consumer binary that passes a populated registry to runPulse.

Also check:

• database connection settings
• --lease-owner
• task definition rows
• scheduler polling interval (--poll-interval)
• per-task-type concurrency limits

A Run Is Waiting

Waiting is usually explicit. Check signal state and host delivery:

• Signals
• Host actions
• Events

A Run Fails During Resume

Resume failures usually indicate a persisted state or compatibility problem. Check:

• checkpoint envelope version
• graph state consistency
• task definition availability
• executor registry compatibility

Relevant references:

• Pulse schema
• Pulse types
• Pulse events