Troubleshooting

In short: Find your symptom below and follow the steps. Most problems have a clear cause: a blocked pop-up, an unsupported file, missing reference data, a spent weekly budget or a screen that's too small. If you see an exact message, search for it on Error messages. If nothing here helps, contact Support.

I can't sign in

1. Check which method you used to create your account. If you see "An account already exists with this email using a different sign-in method.", sign in with that method, for example Google.
2. If you see "Incorrect email or password.", check for typos, then click Forgot password? to reset your password.
3. If you see "Too many attempts. Please wait a moment and try again.", wait a few minutes before trying again.
4. If you see "Could not reach the server. Check your connection and try again.", check your internet connection.
5. If you see "This account has been disabled." or nothing else works, file a ticket at support.scinodes.com with the category Can't sign in. You don't need to be signed in.

In SciVerse, Academy and Support you can't reset a password. Do it at app.scinodes.com. See Sign in and manage your password.

The Google or Microsoft sign-in window doesn't open

Google and Microsoft sign-in open a pop-up window. If your browser blocks it, you see "Your browser blocked the sign-in window. Allow pop-ups and try again."

1. Look for a blocked pop-up icon in your browser's address bar.
2. Allow pop-ups for the SciNodes site you're on, for example app.scinodes.com.
3. Click Google or Microsoft again.
4. Finish signing in inside the pop-up. Closing it early shows "The sign-in window was closed before finishing."

My upload failed or files were skipped

Each file shows a status as it uploads. Check the status and message:

Status or message	Fix
"Legacy .xls isn't supported — save it as .xlsx or CSV."	Open the file in your spreadsheet app and save it as .xlsx or CSV.
"This format is not processed — PDFs and reference exports (RIS, BibTeX, .nbib, .enw, .ciw, CSV, TSV, .xlsx) are."	Export from your reference manager as RIS or BibTeX.
"N files in that folder skipped — not a format we read."	Those files weren't PDFs or reference exports. The rest were uploaded.
"The PDF is password-protected — remove the password and try again."	Remove the password in a PDF tool and upload again.
"The PDF took too long to read." / "The PDF could not be read."	Try a different copy of the PDF, or add the publication by DOI with Manual Entry.
Duplicate / Already in the corpus	Nothing to fix. SciNodes didn't add a second copy.
"Saved without catalog metadata — weekly complex compute budget spent."	The file was saved, but without catalog details. See the budget section below.

ZIP files can hold up to 500 files, 100 MB per file and 500 MB in total. See Uploading files and File formats and limits.

My map is empty or has no links

An empty map is a fact about your corpus, not an error. SciNodes explains the likely reason on the map.

1. Citation, co-citation and bibliographic coupling maps need reference lists. If SciNodes offers Fetch reference data, click it. It runs once per project and takes a few minutes.
2. Your corpus slice may be too narrow. Widen the year range or remove filters, then build a new map.
3. Thresholds may be too high. In Expert Mode, lower the minimum citations or publications.
4. If you see "Nothing to map", the corpus or slice has nothing this map type can use. Add publications or choose another map type.
5. If you see "Map build failed", click Retry.
6. If you get a Map not stored notification, the map is on screen but wasn't saved to the server. Plot it again to keep it.

See Empty maps and reference data and Building a map.

"PDF unavailable"

You see this notification when Fetch PDF couldn't find a copy: "We couldn't retrieve the PDF for "title". You can upload your own copy."

1. Get the PDF from your library or the publisher.
2. Open the publication's ⋯ menu and choose Upload PDF.
3. PDFs can be up to 64 MB.

Fetching runs in the background, and leaving the page doesn't stop it. See Fetching and uploading PDFs.

"Weekly complex compute budget spent."

All AI features share one weekly credit budget, and it's used up. The message says when it resumes, always Sunday at 00:00 UTC.

• Until then, AI features such as the research assistant, new term definitions and suggestions are paused.
• Uploads still work but skip catalog lookups. Searches use your own words instead of AI planning.
• Maps you've built, the library, PDFs, notes and cached definitions keep working.
• In SciVerse you see "Your weekly search budget is spent". You can still browse.

To make your budget last longer next week, use Vega or Nova for simple questions and start new chats instead of very long ones. See Credits and usage.

SciNodes is blocked on my screen

The SciNodes app needs a window at least 768 × 500 pixels. On smaller screens you see "SciNodes will soon be available on mobile."

• On a laptop or desktop, make your browser window larger.
• On a tablet or phone, click Use fullscreen if it appears, and turn the device to landscape. If you see "Rotate to landscape", turn the device sideways.
• Sign-in pages, SciVerse, Academy and Support aren't affected.

See System requirements.

The sync chip says "Unsynced changes"

The sync chip in the header shows whether your changes have reached the server: "Syncing", "Unsynced changes" or "Changes synced".

1. Click the chip to sync now.
2. Check your internet connection.
3. Wait for "Changes synced" before closing the tab.

See Interface tour.

My project is stuck building

Large projects build in the background. A progress card in the sidebar shows "Building" and a percentage.

1. Keep working. Click Open on the card when it's done, or wait for the Project ready notification.
2. If you try to leave, SciNodes asks "Your project is still being built". Choose Build in background to keep it going, Keep waiting to stay, or Stop and discard to cancel. A stopped project goes to the Bin.
3. If you get Project could not be built, the notification says why. Try creating the project again.
4. If you get Project created without publications, open the project's Library and add publications with Add Publications.

See Creating projects.

The assistant doesn't reply

• "Could not reach the assistant. Your message was not sent." Check your connection and send the message again.
• "The assistant could not reply (code). Your message was not sent." Wait a moment and send it again.
• The first question about a publication can take up to about 20 seconds while the assistant reads its PDF. Answers arrive whole, not word by word.

See Chats.

A map is slow or the browser tab crashes

Large maps need more memory and a graphics card with WebGL2.

1. Open the user menu and click Device Check, then Run test.
2. Check What this device can open.
3. Close other tabs and programs.
4. Reduce the nodes and edges shown under Thresholds in the configuration panel, or build the map from a smaller corpus slice.

See System requirements.

Other problems

Symptom	What to do
"This is taking too long — try again in a moment."	Wait a few seconds and try again.
SciVerse shows only 8 results	Sign in to SciVerse to see every result. See Guest vs signed in.
A draft map disappeared	When you reach 32 drafts in a project, the oldest is deleted. Save maps you want to keep. See Drafts and saving.
A deleted project is missing	Open the Bin in the sidebar and click Restore. See Recycle bin.
You can't edit a project	It may be a legacy project ("Legacy — restore to edit") or you may be a Viewer. See Legacy projects.
You can't open a Support ticket ("We can't open this ticket here")	Open it from the browser tab you filed it in, or sign in with the account you used.

Still stuck?

Contact Support. Include the exact message, what you were doing and a screenshot.

Related

• Error messages
• FAQ
• Contact Support
• System requirements