App setup, sign-in and getting help

Installing and updating the desktop app, signing in, emails that did not arrive, moving a computer's data to your account, and how to reach support. Back to the Help center.

Move: duplicates kept, 'On your account, not on this computer', tags won't fit (200) — The move never silently merges or deletes.
First sign-in after update: 'Move this computer's data to your account' — Saved proxies now live on your account rather than on one computer, so the same list appears wherever you sign in.
Move asks to re-type a proxy password / passwords differ — Two situations make the move stop on a proxy's password.
Move as a team member: settings shown then removed from this computer — If you're a member (not the owner or an admin) of the team workspace you're moving into, your local profile settings can't change the team's; the move shows the differences so you…
'Your browser is blocking site storage' during sign-in or sign-up — The dashboard keeps your sign-in in the browser's site storage.
'Couldn't reach Driftstack' / Offline pill / server not answering — The pill in the app shows the last connection check: green Connected, amber Connecting… or Server busy, red Offline.
'Couldn't copy — clipboard blocked' — The app tried to write to your clipboard and the system refused, so it tells you instead of letting you assume the copy worked.
'Your sign-in has expired. Sign in again' (dashboard) — The dashboard shows this whenever the server answers a request with 401 or 403.
Desktop app: 'This API key wasn't accepted' / sign-in not accepted — The server refused the key or sign-in the app holds.
Download and install the desktop app (macOS, Windows, Linux) — The desktop app supports macOS, Windows and Linux and is a free download, from the Driftstack releases page that every Download button on the website and the dashboard opens.
Uninstall or reinstall the desktop app: what stays on your account — Removing the desktop app deletes nothing on your Driftstack account. Sign out first, so its sign-in leaves the computer with it.
Desktop app first run: sign in with the browser (or paste an API key) — There is no license key to buy or find.
App can't use the computer's secure storage (setup wizard every launch, key not saved) — The app keeps your sign-in credential in the computer's secure credential store (on a Mac, the Keychain), never in a plain file.
Desktop app signed me out: 'Your sign-in was revoked' / 'no longer valid' — When the server refuses the app's saved sign-in with a definite "revoked" or "invalid" answer, the app signs itself out once and shows a notice: "Your sign-in was revoked — sign…
Update couldn't be installed / app couldn't restart / move to Applications — The app installs updates on its own unless a session is running. When an install fails, it is usually because the app is not running from Applications.
'Please update Driftstack to keep editing' (old desktop build refused) — Your copy of the desktop app is older than the version the service now requires, so saves and launches from it are refused with "Please update Driftstack to keep editing." (HTTP…
Didn't get the verification, sign-in, reset or invite email — Every account email comes from [email protected].
'An account with this email already exists' — That email address already has a Driftstack account, so signup refuses to create a second one.
Email support: replies by email; reports and reference numbers — Write to [email protected].
'Couldn't save the export — check the app's file-access permission' — The app could not write the export file where you chose.
'This feature is not available on this deployment' (503) — A 503 of type feature-unavailable means the thing you asked for is switched off where this server runs — not that the service is down.
Forgot password / reset link problems — Use Forgot password on the sign-in page.
'This Free desktop credential cannot access this API route' — On the earlier Free plan the desktop app's own sign-in credential reached only the routes the app itself uses; anywhere else the request was refused with HTTP 403 and this sentence. Every current plan and the Trial include the API.
Help: start a conversation, replies in app/dashboard and by email — Open Help in the desktop app or the dashboard and start a conversation: a subject (optional) and a message of up to 8,000 characters.
Help limits: 3 open conversations, 5 an hour, 30 messages a day — Help accepts at most 3 open conversations per account, 5 new conversations an hour, 30 messages a day, and one new conversation every 10 seconds.
Help: 'Verify your email address first, then try again' — Starting a Help conversation needs a verified email address, because a copy of every reply goes to that address.
'The item changed or is busy. Refresh and try again' (409) / not found (404) — A 409 means the item you acted on is in a state that does not allow the action right now; a 404 means it is not there under your account any more.
Cloud key on a self-hosted server (or vice-versa) never works — An API key only works on the server it was created on: a cloud key is refused by a self-hosted server and a self-hosted key by cloud.
'The service is temporarily unavailable' (500/502/503) and the status page — "The service is temporarily unavailable. Try again shortly." is what the desktop app and the dashboard say for any 500-range answer from the server.
Email or password not accepted — The server answered "Email or password is incorrect"; the dashboard shows it as "The email or password was not accepted".
'Too many incorrect passwords' — sign-in paused (a person only if the attempts weren't yours) — After 10 wrong passwords for one email address within 15 minutes, password sign-in for that address is paused for 15 minutes.
Sign in with an email link (magic link): invalid, expired or already used — A magic link is a single-use sign-in token that expires after 60 minutes; requesting a new one does not cancel the old one: each works until it expires, and using any one retires the rest.
Sign in / sign up with Google or GitHub (cancelled, stale page, https only) — The Google/GitHub buttons open the provider, then return you to Driftstack's callback page, which finishes the sign-in in the same browser window that started it.
What 'Sign out on this computer' removes and keeps — Signing out removes the app's copy of your account from this computer only.
Sign up and confirm your email (link, resend) — After you sign up, Driftstack emails you a single-use verification link; if opening it does not confirm you, paste the link on the verify page.
'Some information was not accepted' (400 validation) — The server checked what you sent and at least one field did not fit; nothing was saved or started.
Assistant says off-topic, length limit (12 turns / 1,500 chars), too many messages, unavailable — Where the assistant is switched on (it can be off on a deployment), when it can't answer it says why with a fixed sentence.
'Talk to a person': hand a chat to support (signed in vs not) — Press Talk to a person in the chat, add a message (up to 2,000 characters) and choose whether to include the transcript.
Assistant not configured: email support instead — On a deployment where the assistant isn't wired up, its routes answer "The support assistant is not configured on this deployment.
The support assistant: what it can and cannot do — Where it is switched on, the chat in the corner of the website, docs and dashboard is an AI.
Assistant limits for visitors vs signed-in customers; API keys cannot use it — Where the assistant is switched on (it can be off on a deployment), anyone can use it as a visitor, behind a browser check, with lower limits and no account facts.
What is Driftstack? The desktop app, the dashboard, the API and SDKs, and the AI agent — Driftstack gives you real browsers built from Apple’s own WebKit, running on Macs in the cloud and set up so websites see iPhone Safari. You drive them by hand in the desktop app, from code, or with the AI agent.