Diagnosing Frontend Issues¶
Problems with the user interface can be caused by a bug or an incompatible browser:
- some features may not be supported by non-standard browsers, as well as nightly, unofficial, or outdated versions
- not all video and audio formats can be played with every browser, device, and operating system
- for example, AAC - the default audio codec for MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 - is supported natively in Chrome, Safari, and Edge, while it is only optionally supported by the OS in Firefox and Opera
If the user interface doesn't load at all, our App Not Loading checklist helps you identify and resolve the cause.
Try Another Browser¶
To test if you have a general problem that is not browser-specific, open the Web UI in other browsers:
- if you are using Firefox Nightly, try the stable version and Chrome or Chromium
- if you have browser plugins installed, try disabling them to see if this makes a difference
- when the problem disappears, you know that the issue is browser-dependent or caused by a plugin
- otherwise, the issue may not be specific to the browser version
- make a note in which browsers the problem occurs, as this will be helpful when submitting a support request
The user interface works with most modern browsers, and runs best on Chrome, Chromium, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. Opera and Samsung Internet have been reported to be compatible as well. Due to limited resources, we can not test every release with all browser types and versions.
Getting Error Details¶
If possible, please also include the error type, error message, and URL of the affected resource when submitting a support request. For this purpose, check the browser console for warnings and errors as described below. It is perfectly fine to take screenshots instead of writing down the details.
In case you don't see any log messages, try reloading the page, as the problem may occur while the page is loading.
- press ⌘+Option+J (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+J (Windows, Linux, Chrome OS) to go directly to the Developer Tools
- or, navigate to More tools > Developer tools in the browser menu and open the Console tab
- press ⌘+Option+K (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+K (Windows) to go directly to the Firefox Web Console panel
- or, navigate to Web Development > Web Console in the menu and open the Console panel
Before you can access the console in Safari on MacOS, you first need to enable the Develop menu:
- Choose Safari Menu > Preferences and select the Advanced Tab
- Select "Show Develop menu in menu bar"
Once the Develop menu is enabled:
- press Option+⌘+C to go directly to the Javascript Console
- or, navigate to Develop > Show Javascript Console in the browser menu
Browser logs on Apple mobile devices running iOS or iPadOS can be viewed when you connect them to a Mac. Before you can connect your device to a Mac, you must allow your device to be inspected:
- Open the Settings app
- Go to Safari
- Scroll down to Advanced
- Enable the Web Inspector toggle
If you now connect the device to your Mac with a cable, websites opened in Safari on iOS and iPadOS will appear in a submenu for the connected device in the Develop menu of the Safari desktop browser. Note that when prompted, you may need to confirm that you trust the Mac you are connecting your device to.
Web pages (and other content) are separated by app, making it easier for you to find the web page you are looking for. Once you have found and selected the site you want to inspect, a Web Inspector window will open. See Apple's Developer Guide for additional help and information.
We kindly ask you not to report bugs via GitHub Issues unless you are certain to have found a fully reproducible and previously unreported issue that must be fixed directly in the app. Ask for technical support if you need help, it could be a local configuration problem, or a misunderstanding in how the software works.