> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://squad.so/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Fix setup problems
> Find the message you see at checkout, sign-in, or setup, and fix the problem that causes it.
Find the message that you see on the screen, then follow the fix. The sections follow the order of setup.
## How setup works
Setup has three parts. Most problems happen in one of them.
1. You pay at checkout. The email that you type at checkout gets access to Squad.
2. You create an account with the same email, and you confirm the email with an 8-digit code.
3. On the setup page, you choose your AI provider and select **Launch my squad**. The screen "Building your squad" appears. It says "This takes about 2 minutes".
For the full path, see [Get started](/docs/get-started).
## Messages at checkout
The first three messages show below the email field on the checkout page. "Already subscribed" replaces the checkout form.
| Message | Cause | Fix |
| ----------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| "Please enter a valid email address" | The email has no @. | Type the full email address. |
| "Payment system not loaded. Please refresh the page." | The payment window did not load in time. | Reload the page and try again. |
| "Something went wrong. Please try again." | The checkout did not start. | Select **Get your squad** again. |
| "Already subscribed" and "You already have a subscription." | The email already has an active subscription. Squad stops the checkout, so you do not pay twice. | Select **Log in →**, or **Go to dashboard →** if you are signed in. If you have no account yet, select **Create one**. |
## Messages when you sign up or sign in
| Message | Cause | Fix |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| "No account found with this email. Please sign up first." | No account uses this email. | Check the email, or select **Sign up**. |
| "Incorrect password. Please try again." | The password is wrong. | Type it again, or select **Forgot password?**. |
| "Password must be at least 8 characters." | The password is too short. | Use 8 or more characters. |
| "Too many failed attempts. Please try again later." | Squad paused sign-in after many wrong passwords. | Wait, then try again, or reset your password with **Forgot password?**. |
| "Invalid code or code expired. Please try again." | The 8-digit code is wrong or older than 15 minutes. | Check the newest code in your email. To get a new code, select **← Back to sign up** and submit the form again. |
| "Something went wrong. Please try again." | Sign-in failed for another reason. | Try again. If it keeps happening, email support. |
The **Create account** button stays gray until you select the box that accepts the Terms of Service.
### Messages when you reset your password
| Message | Cause | Fix |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| "No account exists with this email. Please sign up first." | No account uses this email. | Try the other email addresses that you use, for example your work email. |
| "This account signs in with Google. Use the Sign in with Google button on the login page - there is no password to reset." | The account has no password. | The sign-in page has no Google button today. Email [support@squad.so](mailto:support@squad.so) from this address. |
| "Invalid code or code expired. Please try again." | The reset code is wrong or expired. | Check the newest code in your email, or start the reset again. |
| "Password must be at least 8 characters." | The new password is too short. | Use 8 or more characters. |
## "We can't find your subscription"
Symptom: after you sign in, the screen says "We can't find your subscription" and "This account doesn't have an active subscription yet."
Cause: you signed in with an email that is different from the email that you used at checkout. Access belongs to the checkout email.
Fix:
1. Select **Log out**.
2. Sign in, or create an account, with the email that you used at checkout.
If you do not have a subscription yet, select **Get your squad →** on the same screen.
If you are sure that the email is correct, email [support@squad.so](mailto:support@squad.so). Give the checkout email and the account email.
## "Payment received" does not go away
Symptom: the screen says "Payment received" and "Setting up your account" and does not continue.
Cause: Squad is waiting for the payment confirmation. This usually takes a few seconds.
Fix: wait one minute and keep the page open. If the page does not continue, email [support@squad.so](mailto:support@squad.so). The screen also says: "Stuck on this screen, or paid with a different email than the one you signed in with? Write to [support@squad.so](mailto:support@squad.so) and we will get you set up."
## Messages on the setup page
These messages show in a red box above **Launch my squad**. Nothing is built yet, so you can fix the problem and launch again.
| Message | Cause | Fix |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Launch my squad** is gray | The box that accepts the Terms of Service and the Refund Policy is not selected. | Select the box. |
| **Launch my squad** does not show | You chose Claude, and the token field is empty. | Paste the token. The box and the button then appear. |
| "Please enter your Anthropic API key" | You chose Claude and left the token field empty. | Paste your token. |
| "Invalid setup token format. It should start with sk-ant-oat... Run "claude setup-token" to get one." | The Claude token is not a setup token. | Run the command that the form shows, then paste the new token. See [Connect your AI subscription](/docs/connect-your-ai). |
| "Invalid Anthropic token format" | The Claude token does not start with `sk-ant-`. | Copy the token again, in full. |
| "Please paste your Z.AI API key" | You chose Z.ai and left the key field empty. | Paste your Z.AI API key. |
| "Could not find your account email. Please refresh and try again." | The page lost your sign-in details. | Reload the page. |
| "No access found for this email. Please contact support." | Squad does not find your email on the list of paid accounts. | Check that you signed in with your checkout email. If you did, email [support@squad.so](mailto:support@squad.so). |
| "Your subscription isn't active. Please resubscribe before setting up your workspace." | Your subscription is canceled, paused, or past due. | Fix your subscription first. See [Manage your subscription, credits, and workspace data](/docs/billing). |
| "You can only set up a workspace for your own signed-in account." | The page and your sign-in do not match, for example after you signed in with another account in another tab. | Select **Log out**, sign in again, and launch again. |
| "Cerebras signups are no longer offered. Reload the page and choose another provider." | The page is old and still offers a provider that Squad removed. | Reload the page and choose another provider. |
| "Workspace is being migrated — try again once the migration completes" | Squad is moving your workspace to new infrastructure. | Wait a few minutes, then reload the page. |
The top bar of the setup page has **Manage subscription** (**Billing** on a small screen). It opens the billing portal, so you can manage or cancel your subscription before your workspace exists. If it fails, the message is "Could not open billing. Please contact support." Email [support@squad.so](mailto:support@squad.so).
## The build shows "Something went wrong"
When a build fails, the building screen shows "Something went wrong" and a message. The setup form then comes back, so that you can select **Launch my squad** again. Find your message below.
### "Setup hit an error while configuring your workspace."
The full message is: "Setup hit an error while configuring your workspace. If you pasted an AI token or key, double-check it and launch again. Still stuck? Email [support@squad.so](mailto:support@squad.so) and we'll fix it fast."
Cause: a setup step failed. A wrong AI token or key is a common cause.
Fix:
1. Copy the token or key again from your AI provider.
2. Paste it in the setup form.
3. Select **Launch my squad**.
For the correct token format for each provider, see [Connect your AI subscription](/docs/connect-your-ai).
### "Your workspace runtime didn't finish coming online."
The full message is: "Your workspace runtime didn't finish coming online. Nothing is lost — try again in a moment. If it keeps happening, we've been notified and are on it."
Fix: wait a moment, then select **Launch my squad** again.
### "We're seeing a lot of inbound demand right now and are temporarily out of capacity."
The full message is: "We're seeing a lot of inbound demand right now and are temporarily out of capacity. Nothing is lost: please try again in 5 to 10 minutes, or email [support@squad.so](mailto:support@squad.so) and we'll get you set up right away."
Cause: the workspace computer did not start in time, even after automatic retries.
Fix: wait 5 to 10 minutes, then select **Launch my squad** again. If it fails again, email [support@squad.so](mailto:support@squad.so).
### "This Telegram bot token is already connected to a workspace"
The full message is: "This Telegram bot token is already connected to a workspace — usually left over from an earlier setup attempt that didn't finish."
Cause: an earlier setup attempt did not finish and still holds the bot token.
Fix:
1. Select **Reset workspace and try again** below the message.
2. In the dialog "Reset workspace?", select **Reset**.
3. Select **Launch my squad** again.
### "Provisioning failed. Please retry." or another message
"Provisioning failed. Please retry." is the general message when Squad has no details. Other failures show their own short text. Select **Launch my squad** again. If it fails again, email [support@squad.so](mailto:support@squad.so) with the exact text.
## The build takes a long time
Symptom: the "Building your squad" screen stays open for much more than 2 minutes.
Cause: some builds are slow. When a build step is too slow, Squad starts the build again automatically on the same workspace computer, 45 seconds later. It makes up to 3 attempts in total before it shows an error. The screen does not tell you that a new attempt is running.
Fix:
1. Keep the page open. You can also reload the page. The building screen comes back while the build runs.
2. Do not reset while the build runs. If you select **Reset & start fresh** or **Launch my squad** during a build, the building screen appears again instead of a message.
3. If the screen shows an error, follow the fix for that message on this page.
## Start again with Reset & start fresh
Use this when an earlier setup attempt failed and a new attempt also fails.
A reset deletes everything in your workspace. Use it only during setup, or after you export your data.
On the setup page, find "Had a previous attempt?" below the form.
Select **Reset & start fresh**.
In the dialog "Reset workspace?", select **Reset**.
Choose your AI provider again and select **Launch my squad**.
Squad refuses the reset in these cases:
| What you see | Cause | What to do |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| The building screen appears | A build or another reset is still running | Wait for it to finish. When a build fails, the reset works again. |
| "Your workspace is being upgraded right now — try again in a few minutes." | Squad is moving your workspace | Wait a few minutes |
| "This workspace is suspended. Contact support." | Squad suspended the workspace | Email [support@squad.so](mailto:support@squad.so) |
| "Reset failed. Please try again." or another message | The reset did not finish | Select **Reset & start fresh** again. If it fails again, email support. |
## The AI connect step does not finish
For some providers, you connect your AI account after the build, on the screen "Connect your AI provider". The heading under it says "One more step before your agents can work".
| Provider | What you see | If it fails |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| ChatGPT | **Connect your ChatGPT account**, with a link and a code to enter | The code is valid for 5 minutes. After that, the card goes away. Before you start, turn on device authorization in your ChatGPT security settings. |
| MiniMax | **Authorize on MiniMax →** | The sign-in waits 5 minutes. After that, the card goes away. |
| Other providers | **Connect** followed by the provider name, which opens the same window as on **AI Tokens** | Close the window and try again, or connect later. |
If the step fails, or you select **Skip for now — connect later in Settings → AI Tokens** or **Skip to Dashboard →**, your squad is built but cannot work yet.
Fix: open **Settings** > **AI Tokens** and connect your account there. See [Connect your AI subscription](/docs/connect-your-ai).
## Check that it works
Setup is done when the dashboard opens with the window "Your squad is ready". If you connect your AI account after the build, the connect screen first says "Your squad is ready", and you select **Open your dashboard →**.
## Still stuck
Email [support@squad.so](mailto:support@squad.so). Give your account email, the exact message on the screen, and the time that it appeared. See [Get help](/docs/getting-help).