Troubleshooting

Fixes by symptom — signing in, connecting accounts, held episodes, posts that did not go out, credits and caps, webhooks, films and uploads.

Find what you see, then follow the fix. Most messages in ChannelForge say what happened in plain words; this page adds why, and what to do next. If you are still stuck, write to support@storeswiki.com with a link to the page that shows the problem.

Signing in#

You see	Why	What to do
"That email and password do not match."	The address or the password is wrong.	Check the address, or press Forgot? beside the password — the reset link works once, for 1 hour.
"Too many attempts. Try again in N minutes." (or seconds)	Too many tries from your address or on your account in a short time. After 10 wrong passwords in a row, an account also locks for 15 minutes.	Wait the time it says, then sign in, or reset your password.
"That reset link has expired or was already used. Ask for a new one."	A reset link lasts 1 hour and works once.	Ask for a new one with Forgot? on the sign-in page.
Your confirmation link does not work	A confirmation link lasts 24 hours.	Sign in and ask for a new one: "We sent a new link to …".
"That code did not work. Use the current code from your app, or a recovery code."	The two-factor code was wrong or had expired.	Use the code your app shows now (check your phone's clock is set automatically), or one of your ten single-use recovery codes.
You lost your phone and your recovery codes	Neither factor is left.	Write to support@storeswiki.com from the account's address.
"This account is disabled. Contact support."	The account was disabled.	Write to support@storeswiki.com.
"Sign-ups are paused right now…"	New sign-ups are closed for the moment.	Write to us from the contact page and we will invite you.
You were signed out	A session lasts 30 days from sign-in; changing your password signs out your other sessions.	Sign in again. Account & security → Where you're signed in lists every session.

A client of an agency signs in with a link emailed to them, which works once, for 15 minutes. Your account.

Connecting accounts#

The platform's card on Settings → Connections#

You see	Why	What to do
setting up	Our app on that platform is still being set up or approved (Pinterest, until Pinterest approves it).	Nothing yet: it opens by itself.
upgrade	The platform is not in your plan (the Trial publishes to YouTube only).	An owner upgrades in Settings → Billing once checkout opens; until then, contact us.
switched off	The platform is switched off for the workspace. Accounts connected before stay listed so you can remove them.	Disconnect them, or ask us.
"The connection was cancelled on the platform's screen."	The platform's consent screen was closed or declined.	Press Connect again and approve.
"The connection did not complete: …"	The platform refused, with its reason.	Read the reason; most often the account lacks a permission the platform needs.
An account reads "expired: reconnect"	The platform refused its sign-in (a changed password, a revoked app, an expired token).	Press Connect again for that platform. LinkedIn sign-ins last 60 days and need reconnecting then.

A connected account posts nothing until it is linked to a channel: choose it under Which account each channel posts as.

By platform#

Facebook and Instagram — when Facebook asks which Pages to share, select all of them, every time. One ChannelForge app serves every connection, and a sign-in with fewer Pages can end the other connections to the Pages left out. Instagram must be a professional account linked to one of your Pages.
YouTube — choose the right channel on Google's consent screen. Some features need one more permission, asked by a reconnect: Connect YouTube with analytics (watch hours and Shorts views), Connect YouTube with revenue (profit), Allow Studio to manage this channel (comments, replies, edits), and allowing edits for titles in other languages.
TikTok — posts are "Only me" until TikTok's audit of our app passes; that is TikTok's rule, not a fault.
Pinterest — a personal account may be refused its boards: switch to a free business account at Pinterest, then reconnect.
Bluesky — Bluesky lets an account upload videos only once its email is verified there; until then posts wait.
X — posts wait while our X API credits are used up, and go out once they are renewed; no episode loses a try.

Facebook and Instagram · YouTube · TikTok · X · Bluesky · Pinterest

An episode is held#

A held episode did not pass the quality checks after its fix rounds. It is not posted and not charged. Its page says so — "Its quality checks held it, so it was not charged; releasing it charges what it cost to make, once." — and shows What held it and What the critic would change.

Why episodes are held#

The reason starts with	Means
"The critic scored it 7/10 — a short needs 8 to pass."	The independent critic found it not good enough yet; its notes say what it would change. It may add "It found a fact that is not right." (its fact check failed) or "It found something the platforms' rules would not allow." (its policy check failed).
Picture, Pace, Captions, Sound, Flashing, Length, On-screen text	A measured gate failed — for example a broken frame, a pace too fast to read, loudness, flashes, or a length outside the format's range. The reason says which and why.
Narration or Facebook edit	The voice did not match the script, or the 90-second edit did not hold together.
Variety	Too like the channel's recent episodes.
An originality reason ("Close to your episode …")	Too close to an earlier episode, of yours or another channel's of the same format.

Quality gates lists every gate.

What to do#

Release it — Release for posting — N credits charges what it cost to make, once, and the schedule may then post it.
Edit it — with the light editor; a revision that passes every check says "Revised: this version passed every check — release it…". A revision that fails is not charged. Editor and storyboards.
Leave it — the channel's schedule makes another episode; the held one never goes out by itself.
"Its video never finished rendering, so there is nothing to release." — it was not charged: generate another from the channel's page.

A post did not go out#

Look at Publishing first#

Publishing → Slots the scheduler could not fill lists the latest slots that posted nothing, with what and why:

What	Why it says	What to do
not-connected	"no chosen platform is connected"	Connect the account and link it to the channel.
missed	"found N min late — not posted late"	A slot more than 10 minutes late is never posted late; the episode goes at the next slot.
empty	"no episode ready for this platform"	Nothing ready: raise the channel's episodes a day, or wait for the next one.
empty	"no approved episode ready — N waiting for approval"	Approve episodes in Approvals.
refused	"ChannelForge's YouTube uploads for today are used up — the next YouTube post goes out after midnight Pacific"	YouTube allows a fixed number of uploads a day; the episode keeps its place.
refused	X's daily limit or its pause, Bluesky's daily allowance, a twin channel posting to its family's account, a product channel's post	The reason says which; the episode waits for the next slot.
capped	a spending cap	Raise the cap, or wait for next month.
over-budget	not enough credits to make the next episode ahead	Add credits.
skipped	a storyboard not approved in time	Approve the next one sooner, or let boards approve themselves.

Then the episode's own page#

Each platform's row on the episode page shows the post's state and, if it failed, the platform's reason:

The row shows	Means	What to do
failed, with a reason	The platform refused the post.	Fix what it names, then Retry.
may be live — Look for it, then retry	The answer was lost (X, Threads, Bluesky); the account is read first, so it is never posted twice.	Press it.
may be live — Confirm it is not live, retry	The answer was lost and the platform cannot be asked.	Check the account; retry only if it is not there.
connect	The channel has no account on that platform.	Link one in Settings → Connections.
not in plan	The platform is not in your plan.	Upgrade.
TikTok: "Posted. TikTok gives a post's address once a public post has been moderated…"	An "Only me" post has no public address.	Nothing to do.

A Facebook post needs the episode's 90-second edit; a long episode without one is refused for Facebook before anything is sent. A held episode never posts. Scheduling and autopilot.

Credits and spending#

You see	Why	What to do
"Not enough credits: this needs about N, and M are available. Add credits or upgrade in Settings → Billing."	The job reserves its price before it starts.	Add credits once checkout opens (until then, contact us); nothing already made is removed.
A setup or a schedule is "waiting"	It ran short of credits or met a spending cap.	It carries on by itself once credits or the cap allow.
A job charged more than it reserved	A job can use a little more than its reservation; the difference is charged at the end.	See both numbers in Settings → Credit history.
Credits came back after a job	Unused reservation returns at once; work that failed on our side is not charged.	Nothing: Credit history lists it as returned or not charged.
Trial credits are gone	Trial credits last 30 days.	Choose a plan or a pack once checkout opens; until then, contact us.
Work stopped at a spending cap	Caps count this calendar month's charges (UTC) plus what is reserved now.	Owners change the workspace's cap in Settings → Billing; owners and admins change a channel's on its page.

Settings → Credit history lists every credit in and out — charged, returned, not charged, rolled over, expired — with filters and a CSV; Settings → Usage shows what the workspace used. Credits and plans.

Webhooks#

Open Settings → API & webhooks and press Deliveries beside the endpoint: it shows the newest 50, each with what was sent, the answer, its tries and the next one. Send a test event checks that the endpoint answers and that it checks the signature; Resend sends a delivery again.

You see	Why	What to do
Nothing arrives	The endpoint must be https, at a public address, and answer itself: redirects are never followed. Webhooks are delivered on plans that include the API.	Check the address and the plan; send a test event.
A delivery is retrying	Your endpoint did not answer 2xx.	Retries follow at 1 minute, 5 minutes, 30 minutes, 2, 6, 12 and 24 hours, then the delivery fails for good.
The endpoint was switched off	20 deliveries failed in a row, or a REST hook answered 410 Gone.	Fix the endpoint, then Turn on beside it (a REST hook subscribes again).
The signature does not match	It is computed over the raw body.	Verify `X-Forge-Signature` (HMAC-SHA256 of the timestamp, a dot and the exact body) before parsing; refuse anything older than 5 minutes.
The same event twice	A retry after a lost answer.	De-duplicate on the event's id.

Events and deliveries are kept 30 days. Webhooks.

Films#

You see	Why	What to do
"Long-form films need a paid plan — trial and free credits alone never start one."	Films need a paid plan.	Choose a plan once checkout opens.
"This channel has no film template…"	Films are made with the channel's film template.	A format channel has one once its kit is built; for a channel built from a brief, build its template from Long-form → Channels.
"This channel already has a film in production — one at a time per channel."	One film per channel at a time.	Wait for it to finish.
"Your plan's films in production and waiting are all taken…" or "…for the last 30 days are used up."	Your plan's film limits.	Wait, or move to a larger plan.
"Films are at capacity right now…"	It would not start within a day.	Try again later; nothing was held.
"The price changed since this page was opened…"	The price list changed.	Review the new price and confirm again.
Held — not charged	The film did not reach 8 out of 10 after its included rounds.	Improve the chosen acts, Release it at its price, or Discard it for free. Its preview is watermarked.
A film failed	On our side: not charged, and Try again resumes it from the last finished stage (three tries at most). On yours (its channel deleted mid-run, for example): what it used is charged, at most a tenth of its price.	Read the reason on the film's page.
A scheduled film post did nothing	Direct publishing of films is being switched on; until then a post is a dry run.	Download the film, and copy its posting pack from its Publish tab, meanwhile.

Films.

Uploads#

You see	Why	What to do
A footage upload is refused	Only mp4, mov or webm files, within your plan's size and length (shown on the footage page), with the rights box ticked: "I own this footage or have the rights to use it."	Check the file and tick the box.
A link to a video is refused	Clipping works from uploads only; nothing is ever downloaded from YouTube or anywhere else.	Upload the file.
An upload stopped	Uploads resume: choose the same file again and it goes on where it stopped. One left unfinished for 26 hours is closed.	Start it again.
"transcription is not available in this channel's language … yet"	Footage is transcribed in its channel's language, and our transcription service does not offer that one yet. Nothing was charged.	Use a channel whose language is offered.
The footage file is gone	Footage files are deleted 30 days after upload; transcripts, moments and clips stay.	Upload it again to make more clips.
Storage is full	Your plan's storage holds what you upload: footage, product pictures and voice recordings.	Delete footage you no longer need, or move to a larger plan.
A product picture is refused	PNG, JPEG or WebP, up to 5 MB each, 10 per product.	Resize or convert it.

Clipping · Product kit.

Still stuck?#

FAQ — short answers
Status — whether every part of ChannelForge is running
Contact or support@storeswiki.com

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