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Troubleshooting

Common issues and how to resolve them.

Setup Issues​

API key not working​

  1. Verify your key is saved in the correct location:

    • Global: ~/.dexto/.env
    • Project: .env in your project root

  2. Check the key has the correct format:

    • OpenAI keys start with sk-
    • Anthropic keys start with sk-ant-
    • Google keys are alphanumeric

  3. Verify the key has correct permissions on the provider's dashboard

  4. Run dexto setup to re-enter your API key

Provider not found​

  • Use a supported provider name from the list:

    • google, groq, openai, anthropic, xai, cohere
    • openrouter, glama, litellm, openai-compatible
    • local, ollama, vertex, bedrock

  • Run dexto setup to see available providers in the interactive menu

Local model download fails​

  1. Check available disk space (models are typically 2-8GB)
  2. Ensure you have a stable internet connection
  3. Try a smaller model variant
  4. Run dexto setup and select a different model

Setup stuck or frozen​

  • Press Ctrl+C to cancel and restart
  • Try running with --no-interactive flag: dexto setup --provider google --model gemini-2.5-pro

Runtime Issues​

"No API key configured"​

Your provider requires an API key that isn't set up yet.

Solutions:

  1. Run dexto setup to configure interactively
  2. Set the environment variable directly: 
    # For Google Gemini
    export GOOGLE_GENERATIVE_AI_API_KEY=your-key-here

    # For OpenAI
    export OPENAI_API_KEY=your-key-here

    # For Anthropic
    export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-key-here

MCP server connection failed​

  1. Check the MCP server is running
  2. Verify the configuration in your agent YAML file
  3. Check network connectivity for remote servers
  4. Run with --strict flag to see detailed connection errors

Agent not found​

  1. Check the agent name or path is correct
  2. List installed agents: dexto agents list --installed
  3. Install the agent: dexto agents install <agent-name>
  4. For custom agents, verify the path exists: dexto --agent ./path/to/agent.yml

Rate-limiting errors​

You've hit the provider's rate limits.

Solutions:

  1. Wait a few moments and retry
  2. Switch to a model with higher limits
  3. Consider upgrading your API plan
  4. Use a different provider temporarily

Common Questions​

How do I change my provider?​

Run dexto setup to access the settings menu where you can change your provider, model, and default mode.

How do I update agents?​

After updating Dexto, run:

dexto agents sync

This syncs your installed agents with the latest bundled versions.

Where are settings stored?​

FileDescription
~/.dexto/preferences.jsonGlobal preferences (provider, model, mode)
~/.dexto/agents/Installed agent configurations
~/.dexto/.envAPI keys (global)
.envAPI keys (project-specific)

How do I reset everything?​

# Reset configuration
dexto setup --force

# Or delete the config directory
rm -rf ~/.dexto

How do I see what model I'm using?​

In interactive mode, run /model current or /config to see your current configuration.

Can I use multiple providers?​

Yes! You can:

  • Switch providers with dexto setup
  • Use different providers per agent (configure in agent YAML)
  • Override the model for a single session: dexto -m gpt-5

Getting Help​

If your issue isn't covered here:

  1. Check the full documentation
  2. Search GitHub Issues
  3. Open a new issue with:
    • Dexto version (dexto --version)
    • Operating system
    • Steps to reproduce
    • Error messages (if any)