Troubleshooting

Find the message you are seeing on this page with your browser’s search (Ctrl+F, or ⌘F on a Mac). Each entry says what it means and what to do. Messages are shown exactly as Archon writes them; parts in angle brackets, such as <market>, stand for a value.

Ask your agent

Self-hosting? Paste the exact line into your assistant and ask “what does this mean and what should I do?”. It can read this page. Never paste your API key into a chat, only the message.

First checks

The engine opens nothing

This is the most common question, and usually nothing is wrong. Check in this order:

1. Is it halted? The dashboard status says so, and a HALT: note explains when. See the HALT entry.
2. Is close-all on, or are new trades paused? Both stop entries by design. See Controls.
3. Is there an UNDERSIZED note? The account is too small for the number of slots. See UNDERSIZED.
4. Are all the slots full? A new signal waits until a held position exits.
5. Is the rule flat? The dashboard shows each market’s stance and why. Trend rules spend long stretches flat, especially after a fall. That is the rule working.
6. Is it between candles? The rules only change their mind when a 4-hour candle closes, at 00:00, 04:00, 08:00, 12:00, 16:00 and 20:00 UTC.
7. Has the hosting plan ended? A lapsed plan stops new entries on mainnet. See Billing.

A position I opened myself was closed

The engine owns the markets its rule trades. A short in one of them is closed, because the rules only hold longs. A long in one of them is kept only while the rule is long, and counts as one of the slots. Trade other markets by hand, or keep a separate Hyperliquid account for your own trading. Positions in markets the rule does not trade are never touched.

The account value jumped or dropped and I did nothing

Check the account’s transfer history on Hyperliquid. A deposit or withdrawal moves the account value; the engine moves the halt’s peak by the same amount, so a transfer is never treated as a gain or a loss. A drop with no transfer is the market.

Nothing has happened for days

Possible and often correct: a trend rule can stay flat for weeks after a fall. If the dashboard’s “Last checked” time is more than about ten minutes old, the engine is not running. Hosted: write to support@archon.quest with the time it last checked. Self-hosted: ask your assistant to check whether the engine process is running and whether the machine went to sleep.

Engine notes

These are the lines the engine writes after a cycle. Hosted accounts see them on the dashboard; self-hosted engines also print them to their log.

HALT

HALT: equity <x> is <y>% from its peak of <z>; flattening and opening nothing until a person re-arms it

What happened. The account fell 30% or more from its highest value, adjusted for deposits and withdrawals. The engine sold every position it manages and will open nothing, even if the rules turn long, until a person re-arms it. A restart does not clear it.

What to do. Look at the fills and notes leading up to it. Ask whether the market fell, whether the sizing was too concentrated (few slots), or whether something unexpected happened. When you are satisfied, re-arm from the dashboard (or ask your assistant). The peak then restarts from today’s value. See Controls: re-arm.

UNDERSIZED

UNDERSIZED: <market> is long but a position would be <x> USDC, under the venue minimum of 10; fund the account or use fewer slots

What happened. The rule wants a new position, but one slot’s share of the account (or the cash left) is under the 10 USDC minimum that Hyperliquid accepts. The engine stops opening positions for this cycle rather than send an order that would be refused.

What to do. Either deposit more, or reduce the number of slots so each is larger. With one slot per market across 32 markets, the account needs at least 320 USDC. If it appears only when the account is almost fully invested, it can also mean the cash left is small; it clears when a position exits.

Holding, no fresh signal

<market>: holding; no fresh signal to act on

What happened. The engine holds a position in this market but has no up-to-date stance from the rule: the newest candle for it is more than 10 hours old (2.5 four-hour candles), or the market has too little history. The position is kept as it is. Nothing new opens in that market.

What to do. Usually nothing; it clears when fresh candles arrive. If it persists for many hours across many markets, the candle collector has stalled. Hosted: write to support@archon.quest with the time it started. Self-hosted: ask your assistant to check the collector and the machine’s internet connection.

Bought

<market>: bought <size> at <price> (<reason>)

Normal. The rule is long in that market and a slot was free. The part in brackets is the rule’s own reason, for example new 200-bar closing high at 3402.1 for Breadth Trend, close 98.2 above SMA(200) 91.4 for Above the 200, or SMA(50) 1.02 above SMA(200) 0.97 for a crossover.

Sold

<market>: sold <size> at <price> (<reason>)

Normal. The rule went flat in a market the account held. The reason says why, for example close 135.49 below SMA(200) 158.85 for Breadth Trend, or close 0.41 below the close 150 bars ago, 0.44 for a momentum rule.

Sold after a halt or close-all

<market>: sold <size> at <price> (halted) or (close all is on)

Normal after a halt, or after you turned on close-all. Each position is sold; nothing is bought.

Short closed

<market>: bought <size> at <price> (a short in a traded market; the rules only hold longs)

The account held a short in a market the rule trades. The engine closed it with a buy that can only reduce the position. If you opened that short yourself, trade it in a market the rule does not use, or in a separate account.

Not filled

<market>: not filled: <reason>

What happened. The order reached Hyperliquid but did not fill. Orders are immediate-or-cancel and priced up to 1% through the market, so in a fast or thin market there may be nothing to fill against at that price.

What to do. Nothing. Nothing was left on the book, and the next cycle reads the account and tries again if the rule still wants the change. If the same market misses many cycles in a row, write to support@archon.quest with the reason shown (hosted), or show it to your assistant (self-hosted).

Order refused

<market>: order refused: <response>

What happened. Hyperliquid rejected the order outright. The response is Hyperliquid’s own wording. Common causes:

• The API wallet is not authorised for this account any more: it expired, was replaced by a newer key with the same name, or was made on the other network. When an API wallet is not authorised for an account, Hyperliquid treats it as its own empty account; you may see Must deposit before performing actions with the API wallet’s address. Create a new API wallet and connect it. See Connect Hyperliquid.
• Not enough margin. Something else in the account is using the margin, such as positions you opened by hand. Free some margin, or set a capital cap below the account value.
• The order is under the minimum value. Usually after a big price move between planning and sending. It resolves on the next cycle.

What to do. Fix the cause above. The engine retries automatically on the next cycle; there is nothing to clean up.

No price or size rule

<market>: no price or size rule from the venue; skipped

What happened. Hyperliquid did not return a price or a size precision for this market, typically because the market was delisted, renamed or paused.

What to do. Nothing for one cycle. If it persists, the market may have left Hyperliquid; Archon will remove it from the rule’s universe.

Rounds below the minimum

<market>: <x> USDC rounds below the venue minimum; skipped

What happened. The position’s share, once rounded down to the market’s size precision, fell under 10 USDC. It happens in markets with large minimum size steps.

What to do. The same as UNDERSIZED: a larger account or fewer slots.

Connecting Hyperliquid

The testnet faucet will not pay

Hyperliquid’s testnet faucet requires the same address to have deposited on mainnet at least once. If you signed in to Hyperliquid with an email address, testnet and mainnet give you different addresses: export the mainnet email wallet into a wallet extension and use that on testnet.

The dashboard shows a zero balance

• The account address you entered is the API wallet’s address rather than your main account’s. Hyperliquid returns nothing for an API wallet’s own address. Enter your main wallet’s address.
• The account is on the other network: a testnet balance does not show on mainnet, or the reverse.
• On testnet, the faucet has not paid yet.

The key is rejected when I paste it

• An API wallet private key is 0x followed by exactly 64 hexadecimal characters. If yours has no 0x, add it.
• If you pasted a value with 40 characters, that is an address, not a key.
• If you were asked for 12 or 24 words, stop: that is a seed phrase, and nothing in Archon ever needs it.

Sign-in and payment

These messages come from the app.

Message	Meaning and what to do
sign in with your wallet	Your session ended or never started. Connect your wallet and sign the sign-in message again.
sign-in expired, try again	The sign-in message was signed too long after it was issued. Start sign-in again and sign promptly.
signature came from a different wallet	Your wallet switched accounts between requesting and signing. Pick the same account in your wallet and try again.
early-bird payment required	This wallet has not paid for early access yet. See Billing.
that is not a transaction hash	A transaction hash is 0x followed by 64 characters. Copy it from your wallet’s activity or a block explorer.
transaction not found yet	The network has not seen it yet, or it was sent on a different chain from the one selected. Wait a minute, check the chain, try again.
transaction is still pending	It has not been included in a block. Wait, then try again.
waiting for confirmations (<n>/2)	Included, but not yet two blocks deep. It completes on its own within a minute or so.
the transaction reverted	The transaction failed on chain, so nothing was paid. Your wallet may have run out of gas. Send it again.
no ETH or USDC transfer from your wallet to securepath.eth in this transaction	The hash is a real transaction, but not a payment to Archon from this wallet. Check you pasted the right hash.
ETH sent is worth $<x>, below the $<price> price	At the ETH price when the app checked, the payment was worth less than 99% of the price. Each payment is checked on its own, so a top-up will not combine with it. Send a new payment for the full amount, and write to support@archon.quest about the short one with its transaction hash.
USDC sent is $<x>, below the $<price> price	The USDC amount was less than 99% of the price. As above.
That transaction has already been counted.	That payment already bought a hosting pack. Each payment counts once.
no such hosting pack	The page asked for a pack that is not on sale. Reload the app and choose again.
that payment was sent from a different wallet than the one signed in	Sign in with the wallet that sent the payment. Payments are tied to the wallet that sent them.
that transaction already unlocked another wallet	Each payment pays for one account. Use a new payment for this wallet.
unsupported chain	Pay on Ethereum or Arbitrum One.
could not read the chain: <detail>	Every public endpoint for that chain failed to answer. Your payment is not lost; try again in a few minutes.

Connecting a hosted account

These come from the app when you connect an account to Archon Hosted. Nothing has been stored when you see one; fix the cause and connect again.

Message	Meaning and what to do
The account must be a Hyperliquid address: 0x followed by 40 characters.	The account field needs your main wallet’s address, not a key and not a name.
That is the private key of the account itself, which can withdraw funds. ...	You pasted your main wallet’s own private key. Archon refused it and did not keep it. Make an API wallet on Hyperliquid’s API page and paste that key instead. If you think the main key may have been exposed, move your funds to a new wallet.
This API wallet is not approved for <account> on Hyperliquid <network>. ...	Hyperliquid does not list this key as an API wallet of that account on that network. Check the network, check you made it while the right wallet was connected, and check you authorised it.
This API wallet expires within a day. ...	Make a new API wallet with a longer validity, with the same name, and connect that.
<rule> can hold <n> positions and Hyperliquid refuses any under 10 USDC, so it needs at least <x> USDC to trade. ...	The account is too small for that many positions. Deposit more, or choose fewer positions at once under Advanced.
This wallet already hosts <account> on <network>. Disconnect it first.	One wallet hosts one account at a time. Disconnect the other one from the dashboard first.
Another Archon wallet already hosts this account. Disconnect it there first.	Sign in with the wallet that connected it and disconnect it there.
Mainnet hosting is prepaid. Pay for a hosting pack first.	Pay for a pack, then connect. See Billing.
Hosting runs on Hyperliquid testnet for now.	Mainnet hosting has not opened yet. Connect a testnet account.
Hosting is not switched on for this server yet.	Hosting is not running on Archon’s side. Nothing is wrong with your account; try later, or write to us.
Could not reach Hyperliquid to check the account. Try again in a minute.	Hyperliquid did not answer. Try again shortly.
<rule> is a signal-only recipe. Archon hosts the trend rules.	Volatility Harvest recipes are signals only. Choose a trend rule.

Self-hosted setup

If you self-host, your assistant reports each step. These are the problems it is most likely to bring you, and what they mean.

What it reports	What it means
The account holds nothing	The account is empty on the chosen network. On testnet, claim USDC from the faucet; on mainnet, deposit USDC. Then continue.
A position size under the venue minimum of 10 USDC	The account is too small for the number of slots. Fund it, use fewer slots, or trade fewer markets.
Positions already open in the markets it would trade	The engine owns the markets it trades. Close those positions on Hyperliquid first, or tell your assistant you want the engine to manage them.
None of these markets trade on the chosen network	Some markets exist on mainnet but not on testnet. Your assistant will choose the markets that exist.
The machine went to sleep	Positions stayed open with nothing watching them. Ask your assistant to keep the machine awake, or move to a small server.
Two engines on one account	Every position doubles. Stop one immediately, then ask your assistant to check what the account holds against what the rule wants.

Older Docker kit

Before the current engine, Archon shipped a Docker kit built on Hummingbot. If your assistant set that up and you see these, here is what they mean. The current engine replaces it; ask your assistant to move you over.

Message	Meaning
docker: command not found or Cannot connect to the Docker daemon	Docker Desktop is not installed or not running.
REFUSED: the account holds nothing.	The account is empty. Claim testnet USDC or deposit, then run again.
REFUSED: <x> USDC per position is under the venue minimum of 10.	The account is too small for the market count. Fund it, cap positions, or trade fewer markets.
REFUSED: this account already holds <markets>, in markets this bot would trade.	Close those positions first, or pass the option that says the engine should manage them.
REFUSED: none of these markets trade on <network>.	The chosen markets do not exist on that network.
NOT READY after <n> minutes	The API wallet is not this address’s on this network, or the network is down. No order is placed until it clears.
RECONCILE: lines on start	Expected after a restart with positions open.
UNMANAGED: every 30 minutes	A position in a market the bot does not trade. It is never touched.
MQTT bridge disconnected ... Reconnecting in 5.0s	Harmless in that kit’s headless mode.
that password does not unlock the existing conf/.password_verification	The kit’s settings file changed after setup. Ask your assistant to redo the credential step.
this export is a 'recipe' strategy	Volatility Harvest recipes are signals only. Choose a trend rule.

Hosting service messages

These are written by Archon’s own hosting service, not by your account’s engine. You should never need to act on them, but if support quotes one:

Message	Meaning
ARCHON_VAULT_KEY is not set; hosted trading is off	The hosting server started without its master key, so it cannot open any stored API key. Hosted trading pauses until it is fixed. Your positions are untouched.
ARCHON_VAULT_KEY must be 32 random bytes, base64-encoded	The master key was misconfigured. Same effect as above.
the stored key does not open with this master key and account	A stored API key could not be decrypted for this account. Reconnect your API wallet from the app.

Still stuck

Write to support@archon.quest. Say which wallet you signed in with, the time, and the exact message you saw. Never put a key or a seed phrase in an email. Nobody at Archon will ask for one by email; the only key Archon takes is an API wallet key, pasted into the app.

Self-hosted: ask your assistant first. If it cannot solve it, ask it to gather the engine’s recent output with the API key removed, and send that with your message.