# Troubleshooting

> Source: https://parallelworks.com/docs/ai/ai-chat/troubleshooting

# Troubleshooting

This page covers common issues you may encounter when using AI Chat and how to resolve them.

## No Providers Available

**Symptom:** The provider or model dropdown is empty, or you see a message indicating no providers are configured.

**Cause:** No AI Chat providers have been set up for your organization, or you do not have permission to use the available providers.

**Solution:**
- Contact your organization administrator and ask them to configure an AI Chat provider. See [AI Chat Providers](/docs/ai/ai-chat-providers) for setup instructions.
- If providers exist but you cannot see them, ask the administrator to grant your group access to the provider. See [Managing Provider Permissions](/docs/ai/ai-chat-providers/managing-permissions).

## Connection Errors

**Symptom:** You receive an error when sending a message, such as "Failed to connect" or "Provider endpoint unreachable."

**Cause:** The underlying AI provider endpoint may be unavailable, misconfigured, or experiencing an outage.

**Solution:**
- Verify that the provider endpoint is correct and accessible. For custom OpenAI-compatible providers, confirm that the endpoint URL is reachable from the ACTIVATE platform.
- For session tunnel providers, ensure the tunnel is active and the compute session is running. Tunnels are only available while the associated session is active. See [Session Tunnels](/docs/ai/ai-chat-providers/session-tunnels).
- For Azure OpenAI providers, verify the API key and endpoint in the provider configuration. Check the [Azure status page](https://status.azure.com/) for any ongoing outages.
- Try sending another message after a few moments. Transient network issues may resolve on their own.

## Slow or Stalled Responses

**Symptom:** The AI response takes a long time to appear or the loading indicator runs indefinitely.

**Cause:** This can happen for several reasons:

- **Reasoning models** use an extended thinking phase before generating a response. This is expected behavior and can take significantly longer than standard models. See [Using Reasoning Models](/docs/ai/ai-chat/using-reasoning-models).
- **High model load** on the provider side can cause delays, especially with shared or rate-limited endpoints.
- **Large conversation context** can increase processing time as the model processes more tokens.

**Solution:**
- If using a reasoning model, wait for the response to complete. The thinking phase may take 30 seconds or longer for complex prompts.
- For standard models, try starting a new conversation to reduce context size.
- If the issue persists, check with your administrator whether the provider endpoint is under heavy load.

## File Upload Failures

**Symptom:** A file upload fails or you see an error when attaching a file to a message.

**Cause:** The file may exceed size limits or be in an unsupported format.

**Solution:**
- Check the file size. Regular files have a maximum size of 25 MB, while documents have a maximum size of 100 MB.
- Verify that the file type is supported. Common supported types include text files, code files, PDFs, images, and office documents.
- Try uploading a smaller file or splitting large files into smaller parts.
- See [Attaching Files](/docs/ai/ai-chat/attaching-files) for detailed information on supported formats and size limits.

## Model Not Listed

**Symptom:** A specific model you expect to see is not available in the model dropdown.

**Cause:** The model may not be deployed on the provider, or the provider configuration may not include it.

**Solution:**
- Verify with your administrator that the desired model is deployed and available on the provider endpoint.
- For Azure OpenAI providers, confirm that the model deployment name is correctly configured.
- For custom providers, ensure the endpoint's `/v1/models` response includes the model you are looking for.
- Check that you have permission to use the provider that hosts the model.

## CLI Chat Issues

**Symptom:** The `pw ai chats new` command fails or cannot connect.

**Cause:** Authentication, network, or model identifier issues.

**Solution:**
- Verify you are authenticated: run `pw auth login` if needed.
- Confirm the model identifier is correct. It must use the format `owner:provider/model-name` (for example, `me:my-provider/gpt-4o`). Run `pw ai models ls` to see available models.
- Check your network connection to the ACTIVATE platform.
- See [Using the CLI](/docs/ai/ai-chat/using-the-cli) for detailed setup instructions.

## Getting Help

If the solutions above do not resolve your issue:

1. Check the [AI Chat overview](/docs/ai/ai-chat) for general guidance on available features.
2. Review the [AI Chat Providers](/docs/ai/ai-chat-providers) documentation to verify your provider configuration.
3. Contact your organization administrator for platform-specific assistance.
4. Reach out to Parallel Works support for further troubleshooting.

## Related Documentation

- [Getting Started with AI Chat](/docs/ai/ai-chat/getting-started) - First-time setup walkthrough
- [Attaching Files](/docs/ai/ai-chat/attaching-files) - File upload details and limits
- [Using Reasoning Models](/docs/ai/ai-chat/using-reasoning-models) - Understanding reasoning model behavior
- [AI Chat Providers](/docs/ai/ai-chat-providers) - Provider configuration and management