Pencel

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Troubleshooting ​

Find the problem you're seeing below. Most fixes take a minute or two.

I can't sign in ​

  • Check your internet connection. Signing in always needs one.
  • Google: Pencel opens your browser. Finish signing in there, then switch back to Pencel.
  • GitHub: Pencel shows a short code and waits. Enter the code on the GitHub page that opens, approve, then switch back.
  • Email: If your password isn't accepted, click Forgot password?. Pencel emails you a 6-digit reset code.
  • You declined the terms. Decline & sign out signs you out. Sign in again and click Agree & continue.
  • Signed in but something still says to sign in? Open Settings ▸ Account, click Sign out, and sign in again.

"This room can't run yet" or no AI access ​

This means Pencel has no way to pay for AI work right now. Click Set up AI → in the message, or open Settings ▸ Credentials, and fix one of these:

  • New account, no credits yet. Free starter credits need a verified email and anonymous usage data turned on. Verify your email in Settings ▸ Account and click Opt in in Settings ▸ Privacy.
  • Starter credits used up or expired. Choose a plan in Settings ▸ Plan & Billing, or add your own API key in Settings ▸ Credentials.
  • Your own key stopped working. Its row in Settings ▸ Credentials shows Failed. Paste a new key and click Save & test.

Other messages you might see:

MessageWhat to do
"You're out of credits"Top up in Settings ▸ Plan & Billing, wait for next month's credits, or add your own API key.
"Your current plan doesn't include this"Upgrade in Settings ▸ Plan & Billing.
"Managed AI is temporarily paused"Add your own API key in Settings ▸ Credentials to keep going.
"Too many requests right now"Wait a few seconds and try again.
"Monthly budget of $… exceeded"You hit your own spending limit. Raise or remove it in Settings ▸ Cost & Usage ▸ Monthly Budget.
"You've reached the Free plan limit"Delete workflows, agents or connections you don't use, or upgrade to Solo or Pro.

See Accounts, plans and credits.

"Can't reach the RFP sources" ​

This card means Pencel didn't start an RFP search, because it would have found nothing. The card lists each source and what's wrong with it.

  • Not signed in: click Sign in.
  • No credits for Pencel's shared source keys: on the setup card, click Get free starter credits, or choose a plan.
  • Prefer your own source keys: click Add my own keys.

After fixing it, click Fixed it? Check again on the setup card, or run a new search from the RFP room.

"GovCon wasn't searched" or "HigherGov wasn't searched" ​

Your last RFP search worked, but skipped one source. The chip on the card says why:

  • Allowance used up: you've used today's share of Pencel's key for that source.
  • Key needed: the source needs a key.
  • Turned off: the source is switched off.

Click Add my own key to add your own key for that source, so it's searched every time. The card goes away after the next search that includes it. See RFP Operations.

Gmail says "Needs sign-in", or mark as read fails ​

Needs sign-in: Google has asked you to sign in again. Open Settings ▸ Connections, find Google Workspace and click Sign in (or Re-authorize on the Installed tab).

"Reconnect Gmail with modify access to mark messages read": connections made with an older version of Pencel don't have permission to change the read state of your mail. To fix it:

  1. Open Settings ▸ Connections ▸ Installed.
  2. On Google Workspace, open the menu (the three dots) and click Disconnect.
  3. Click Connect and sign in with Google again, allowing everything it asks for.
  4. Go back to the inbox room and try again.

The inbox room reads Gmail only. Microsoft 365 mail works in chat but not in the inbox room. See Google Workspace.

A room is paused or out of budget ​

Look for a banner above the room's message box.

  • The room is paused. Click Resume, or open the room's settings (click its name) and go to Schedule ▸ Resume.
  • The room is out of credits for this month. Its scheduled work is paused, not failed. Click Open Advanced and raise or clear the Monthly budget. Otherwise it picks up again on its own when the month resets.

See Control what you spend.

Scheduled work didn't run ​

Check these in order:

  1. Pencel must be open and your computer awake. Nothing runs while the app is closed or the computer is asleep. When you open Pencel again, it runs a missed daily or weekly schedule once to catch up.
  2. Is the room paused? See the section above.
  3. Is the routine switched on? Open the room's settings ▸ Schedule. Under Routines, make sure the switch is on. A banner saying every schedule is off has an Open Rhythm button that takes you there. The RFP room's daily scan is off until you turn it on in the room.
  4. Are background checks on? In Schedule, check Work in the background and how often it runs. Click Check now to run one immediately.
  5. Is the room or the app out of budget or credits? See above.

Studio ▸ Jobs also flags work that Missed its schedule or whose Last run failed. See Check on scheduled work.

Home is empty ​

"Your feed fills as rooms work" is normal before any Room has done work. Click Add a room to set one up, or see the Quickstart.

If you expected cards:

  • Make sure the filter is on All, not Needs action or a topic.
  • Rooms that find nothing new stay quiet on purpose. Open the room to see its latest activity.
  • To bring back the setup cards, go to Settings ▸ General and click Restart getting started.

Something couldn't finish ​

When work fails, Home shows a card such as "Weekly report couldn't finish".

  1. Click See why. It opens the run in Studio ▸ Jobs with what happened.
  2. If the problem is access to an account, click Fix source access on the card, or reconnect it in Settings ▸ Connections.
  3. Click Retry on the job's last run. To retry a single step, click its Retry and optionally describe what to do differently.

A card saying work "finished without producing anything" usually means some setup is missing. See why shows what.

QuickBooks won't connect ​

QuickBooks Accountant is in beta, and connecting QuickBooks Online may not work for every account yet.

  • Try again from Settings ▸ Connections.
  • If an expense import shows an unknown result, click Check status before trying the import again, so it isn't posted twice.
  • If it still fails, email support@pencel.ai.

See QuickBooks Accountant (Beta).

Updates ​

  • An update is ready: click Restart & Install in the bar at the top of the window, or Install & Restart in Settings ▸ Account.
  • "Update check failed": check your internet connection and try Check for Updates again later.
  • An update never installs: download the latest version from pencel.ai/download and install it over the old one. Your workspace and documents are kept.
  • Pencel is slow to open the first time on a Mac: macOS checks the app for about a minute on first launch. Later launches are quick.

Still stuck? ​

Click the Send Feedback icon at the top of the Pencel window, or email support@pencel.ai. Tell us what you were doing and copy any message you saw.