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Debug Desktop Startup Failures

documentation/docs/troubleshooting/desktop-startup-debugging.md

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When goose Desktop fails before the backend becomes ready, the normal server log may be empty or incomplete. In that case, the most useful artifact is the startup diagnostics JSON written by the desktop app.

Find the Startup Diagnostics Log

goose Desktop writes one startup diagnostics file per launch attempt.

Typical locations:

  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Goose/logs/startup/
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Goose\logs\startup\
  • Linux: ~/.config/Goose/logs/startup/

The files are named like:

text
goosed-startup-2026-04-21T01-24-03.149Z-23416.json

If several files exist, use the newest one.

What To Share

When reporting a desktop startup failure, share:

  • the newest goosed-startup-*.json
  • your goose version
  • your operating system and version

For Windows native crashes, also attach the Windows crash report for goosed.exe if available.

Common places to find the Windows crash report:

  • Event Viewer: Windows Logs → Application
  • Reliability Monitor: View technical details
  • WER files on disk:
    • %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportArchive\
    • %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportQueue\

Look for a Report.wer related to goosed.exe.

If you are filing a GitHub issue or asking for support, this is usually enough:

  • the newest goosed-startup-*.json
  • your goose version
  • your operating system and version
  • on Windows, Report.wer for goosed.exe if Windows created one

What The Startup Log Contains

In most cases, sharing the newest startup log is enough.

If you want a quick high-level read, focus on these fields:

  • childExitCode or childExitSignal Shows whether the backend process exited during startup.
  • certFingerprintSeen Shows whether the backend reached the TLS startup stage.
  • healthCheckSucceeded Shows whether the desktop app ever observed the backend as ready.
  • stderrTail Shows the most recent startup output captured from the backend, including major startup stage markers when available.
  • events Shows the order of major startup steps like process spawn, health check, and child exit.

For session or in-app issues after goose has started, use the normal diagnostics bundle described in Diagnostics and Reporting.