Troubleshooting

Activation fails on first start

The probe activates once, on first start, using the single-use code. Common exact errors and what they mean:

Error in the probe logs	Cause / fix
not activated and no activation code provided (set ACTIVATION_CODE)	The container started with no code and no saved credentials. Use the dashboard’s Docker command, which sets ACTIVATION_CODE.
activation failed: HTTP <code>	The code was wrong, already used, or expired. Mint a New activation command from the probes list.
activation request: <err>	The probe can’t reach the engine. Check outbound internet from the host.
activation response missing required fields	The engine returned incomplete credentials — retry with a fresh code; contact support if it persists.
create data dir / write shared-secret / persist activation state	The data directory isn’t writable. Ensure the /var/lib/probe-mcp volume is mounted and writable.

Caution

The activation code is single-use. If you recreate the container without persisting the /var/lib/probe-mcp volume, its saved credentials are gone and re-activation fails. Always keep the volume; if it’s lost, re-activate with a new code.

The probe never shows Online

• Confirm the container is running (docker ps) and check its logs (docker logs probe-mcp).
• The tunnel is outbound — confirm the host has outbound internet.
• A probe stuck pending in the dashboard usually never finished activation — mint a new activation command and redeploy.

No telemetry is arriving

• Wrong target — devices must send to the probe’s LAN IP (shown on the probes list), not to a controller.
• Collector off — syslog and SNMP traps are on by default, but sFlow and NetFlow are not. Enable flow_collector in the config before pointing exporters at 6343/2055.
• Wrong port — syslog is 514 (UDP and TCP), SNMP traps 162/UDP, sFlow 6343/UDP, NetFlow 2055/UDP. See Pointing your network at the probe.
• SNMP polling — the probe polls devices outbound on 161; the device must allow SNMP from the probe’s IP and the community/version must match.

The connector won’t authorize in Claude

• Redirect loop — a cookie problem on the Google hop. Use a normal (non- private) window and allow cookies for probe-mcp.lanpulse.com, then re-add the connector.
• “Not authenticated” on every call — the token was revoked or the connector was added before sign-in finished. Remove and re-add it. See Connecting to Claude.

code_mode times out or says a probe is offline

• { error: 'timeout' } — the run hit its 30-second budget. Ask for a narrower scope (one device, a shorter window) rather than everything at once.
• probe_offline — you asked for on-demand live data (SNMP, live syslog, topology, pcap, SSH) but the probe isn’t reachable. Stored rollups still work; the live queries need the probe Online. Bring the probe back up and retry.

Still stuck?

Contact support with your probe’s site name and the exact error text from docker logs probe-mcp.