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Cecil Desktop
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Troubleshooting

Common problems

The system warns me when installing

Cecil Desktop is not signed yet. On Windows, click More info, then Run anyway. On macOS, open System Settings › Privacy & Security, and click Open Anyway.

Folder not found

The folder of the site was moved or deleted. If it was moved, open it again from its new location (File › Open folder…), then remove the former entry: right-click it in the sidebar, then Remove from list (the files are not deleted).

Invalid configuration

The configuration file of the site can't be loaded: the error is shown on the Overview. Open Configuration › YAML, fix the file, then click Check.

A page is missing from the site

  • It is a draft (draft: true or published: false, eye-slash icon in the tree): build with Include drafts, or publish it.
  • Its front matter is invalid (red icon in the tree): with the error front matter check, Cecil skips it. Open it, and fix the variables shown in the Front matter tab.
  • Run the Front matter diagnosis, from the Overview, to list the problems of all the pages.

The build fails

Read the log in the Build tab of the Output panel (Ctrl/⌘+J): filter it with Lines shown to see only the errors. If the error comes from the app rather than from your site, click Report to send it to the team, with the log of the build.

The preview doesn't start

If you set a Port in the preview options, it may be used by another application: empty the field to choose a free port automatically.

Publishing fails

See the troubleshooting of the publication.

Changes made in another editor don't show up

A page open in Cecil Desktop is not reloaded when it is changed by another application: open it again.

Data

  • Your sites stay where they are, on your disk: Cecil Desktop works directly on their files, and they stay standard Cecil projects.
  • The list of sites, the history of the builds and publications, and the preferences are stored by the app, in its data folder.
  • Tokens and the license key are encrypted with the system keychain, for your user account on this computer.
  • There is no telemetry: nothing is sent, except when you publish, check a license or send feedback.

Send feedback

A bug, an idea, a criticism? Use Help › Send feedback…: choose its type (bug, idea or other), give it a title and a description and, optionally, your email to get an answer.

You can attach the log of the last build of the site and the log of the app (its recent errors): they are shown before sending, and your user folder is replaced by ~. The versions of the app, of Cecil and of PHP, and your system, are always sent. Your feedback is read by the Cecil team only.