Troubleshooting

Errors are printed on stderr as one line starting with Error:, and the command exits with status 1. A wrong command line exits with status 2. Find the message below.

The command is not recognised

error: 'account add' has been replaced by 'account login'.

You typed a previous-CLI command. The error names the replacement, and ente help migration lists all of them. Learn more in Migration.

If ente is not found, the installation directory is not on your PATH; see Install Ente CLI. If ente --version prints an error instead of ente and a version, another ente is running; see Identify which executable runs.

The account or app cannot be selected

Message	Fix
no accounts; use account login --app <APP>	Log in. Check ENTE_CLI_HOME if you expected saved accounts.
no account selected; use account switch <NAME> or name an account explicitly	Run ente account switch NAME, or add --account NAME to the command.
no account named "work"; use account list	ente account list shows the saved names.
account "personal" is not logged into Ente Auth; use account login --account "personal" --app auth	Log that account into the app the command needs.
multiple apps are saved without Photos; select one with --app	Add --app auth or --app locker to the admin or totp command.

The vault cannot be unlocked

Message	Fix
no saved vault key for this CLI home	The key is tied to the path of the CLI home. Move the directory back, or set the ENTE_CLI_VAULT_KEY you generated.
access to system secret storage was denied	Unlock the credential store, or use ENTE_CLI_VAULT_KEY as in Set up a headless machine.
cannot unlock CLI vault: wrong key or damaged file	ENTE_CLI_VAULT_KEY differs from the key used when the vault was created.
ENTE_CLI_VAULT_KEY must be standard padded base64 of exactly 32 bytes	Use the value printed by ente vault key generate without edits.

"system vault key is invalid" with KeePassXC

CLI 0.4.0 could save an unreadable key in KeePassXC. Upgrade to 0.4.1, delete the io.ente.cli entry for your CLI home from KeePassXC, and delete the CLI home folder (~/.local/share/ente-cli by default; use your configured path if you set XDG_DATA_HOME or ENTE_CLI_HOME). Then log in again.

Your data in Ente and exported files are untouched. If you have an existing Photos export, run your usual export command with --adopt once to reconnect it.

Login or creation did not finish

• login requires otp in --input: the server wants an email code. Request one with ente account request-otp --email alice@example.com --purpose login, then add it to the input JSON.
• Code not accepted. Check the code and your computer's date and time, then try again.: authenticator codes depend on the clock.
• cannot create this account; use account login for an existing account: the email is already registered. Log in instead.
• unfinished creation uses Ente Auth; resume with --app auth: rerun account create with the app you started with and the same password. If the server already has the account, account login completes it.
• account already exists on this device; use account login: the account is saved under another name. ente account list shows it.
• passkey login requires an interactive terminal: log in once from a terminal, or enable authenticator protection so totp can be supplied in JSON.

Hosts, TLS and server compatibility

• cannot reach the selected Ente server: check the host and your network. The CLI trusts the certificates your operating system trusts.
• account "home-server" uses https://api.example.org; supply a new account name to log in to another server: a saved name keeps its server. Use a different --account NAME.
• host must be an HTTP or HTTPS origin: pass only the origin, such as https://api.example.org, with no path.
• File downloads require the v3 API. Update your Ente server or check its proxy configuration.: the server or its reverse proxy does not serve /files/download/v3/. Update the server, and make sure the proxy forwards that path.
• HTTP 401: the saved login is no longer valid; log in again.

Offline data is missing

• no local data; run the command online first (also no local Photos data and no local Auth data): --offline only reads what an earlier online run synced. Run the command once without --offline.
• files for album "Holidays" have not finished syncing; run the command online first: the last online run did not finish that album.
• download requires network access and export requires network access; remove --offline: these commands always need the network.

Export problems

Message	Fix
This folder contains an export from the old CLI or Ente Desktop. Use --adopt if you want to take it over.	Stop the other writer, then rerun with --adopt. See Take over a Photos export.
this export is not associated with this CLI home; use --adopt	The export was made from another CLI home. Rerun with --adopt to reconnect it.
nonempty destination has no recognized export.json	The directory holds other files. Use an empty directory or an existing export.
another writer is maintaining this export	An export is already running on this directory.
this export belongs to another source account	Export with the account that created it, or choose another directory.
adoption filters must select exactly the recorded album IDs	Pass the same album filters the previous job used, or none.
no album matches "holidays" or album "Holidays" is ambiguous	Names are exact and case-sensitive. Use the album ID from ente photos album list.
conflict: at .../IMG_0001.jpg: locally changed media	You edited an exported file, or a file of yours occupies that path, and the CLI left it alone. Move it away to let the export write there.
export is incomplete	The summary line shows pending copies and failures. Read the lines above it, fix the cause, and rerun.

The output path cannot be used

• output already exists: codes.txt: --output never overwrites. Choose a new name, or let auth export DIR pick a dated name.
• output parent directory does not exist and cannot save download to ./IMG_0001.jpg: create the directory, or pick a name that does not exist yet.

Report a problem

Open an issue at github.com/ente/ente/issues with the output of ente --version, your operating system, the command with secrets removed, and the error line.