When setup won't finish
Find the message you see during setup, and learn its cause and the fix. It covers signing up, verifying your email, paying, building your workspace, connecting your AI account and apps, and launching your squad.
Sign up and log in
You seeInvalid email or password
The email or the password is wrong. You also see this when you signed up with Google and log in with a password.
Check the email and type the password again. If you signed up with Google, select Continue with Google. If you forgot your password, select Forgot? next to Password.
You seeEmail not verified
You logged in before you clicked the link in your verification email.
Each time you log in before you verify your email, SquadRoom sends a new link. Open the newest "Verify your SquadRoom email", select Verify email, and log in again.
The verification email does not arrive
The email is in spam, it is late, or the address already has an account. Signing up again with that address sends no email.
- Check your spam folder.
- Select Resend email next to "Didn't get it?". It changes to "Resent ✓".
- If the address already has an account, log in, or select Forgot? on the log-in page to set a new password.
The link works for 60 minutes.
You seeEnter your email on the sign-up page to request another verification link.
You selected Resend email on a verification page that doesn't know your email.
Log in with your email and password. You see "Email not verified", and SquadRoom sends a new link.
You seeCould not reach the login service. Check your connection and try again.
Your browser couldn't reach SquadRoom.
Check your internet connection, then select Log in again.
You seeGoogle login failed
The Google sign-in didn't finish.
Select Continue with Google again. If it keeps failing, write to [email protected].
Reset your password
No reset email arrives
No account uses that email, the email has a spelling mistake, or the reset email is in spam.
Check the spelling, and look in spam for "Reset your SquadRoom password". If you signed up with Google, select Continue with Google instead.
You seeThis reset link is invalid or has expired. Request a new one.
The link is older than 30 minutes, or it was already used.
Select Forgot? on the log-in page, then Send reset link. Use the newest email.
You seePasswords do not match.
New password and Confirm password are different.
Type the same password, 8 characters or more, in both.
You seeUnable to send a reset link. Try again.
The request didn't go through.
Select Send reset link again.
Pay for your plan
Checkout does not open
SquadRoom couldn't start checkout. An error such as "Couldn't start checkout. Please try again." shows under Continue to checkout · $49/month.
Select the button again. If the error comes back, write to [email protected].
You paid, but the checkout screen shows again
The payment provider hasn't confirmed your payment yet.
Keep the page open, and don't pay again. Setup moves on by itself once the payment is confirmed, and you see "Payment received." If it doesn't move on, write to [email protected].
The checkout screen shows the wrong email
You signed in with another account. The line under the title says which one.
Click Log out at the bottom of the page, then log in with the account you want to pay with.
Build your workspace (STEP 1 OF 6)
You seeStill starting. Some first boots take a little longer.
Your workspace is still starting. This line shows after 25 seconds.
Wait, and keep the tab open. It usually takes under a minute.
You seeSetup needs another try.
Your workspace didn't come online. Your account and payment are safe.
Select Try again. If the message under it says trying again won't change that, write to [email protected].
Trying again doesn't charge you again or make a second workspace.
You seeYour workspace is ready, but we couldn't continue. Please try again.
The workspace is ready, but SquadRoom couldn't save that you moved on.
Select Enter workspace again.
Connect your AI account (STEP 3 OF 6)
You see these on "Connect your AI providers". For messages in Settings > Model Providers, see Connect the AI account your squad runs on.
Continue stays greyed out
No provider is connected, or none is selected under Active Provider. A connected provider shows Configured.
Select a provider under Select Providers to Configure and connect it. If you connected more than one, pick one under Active Provider. Then select Continue.
The ChatGPT sign-in stays on "Waiting for browser authorization..."
ChatGPT hasn't approved the sign-in. Either device code sign-in is off in your ChatGPT account, or the code wasn't entered. Device code sign-in lets you connect with a code instead of your password.
- In ChatGPT, turn on Device code authorization for Codex. The ChatGPT Security Settings link in the provider window opens that page.
- Close the window and select Connect again for a new code.
- Enter the new code on ChatGPT's approval page.
You seeRate limited by OpenAI. Please wait a moment before generating a new code.
You asked for too many sign-in codes in a short time.
Wait a moment, then select Connect again.
You seeDevice authentication failed.
The ChatGPT sign-in failed after you approved it.
Select Connect again and approve the new code.
You seeThat is the browser code. Paste it into your terminal at the 'Paste code here' prompt, press Enter, then copy the token starting with 'sk-ant-oat01-'.
You pasted the code from the browser sign-in page, not the token. The token is the secret code that connects your Claude subscription. In Settings the message starts "This is a browser authorization code."
Paste that code into your terminal (the app where you ran claude setup-token) where it asks for the code. Press Enter, and paste the token the terminal prints into SquadRoom.
You seeThe token starts with 'sk-ant-oat01-'. Run 'claude setup-token' in your terminal to get one.
What you pasted isn't a Claude setup token. You also see this when you paste an Anthropic API key on the Claude subscription tab. An API key is a different kind of secret code from Anthropic. In Settings the message starts "The setup token must start with 'sk-ant-oat01-'."
Run claude setup-token and paste the token that starts with sk-ant-oat01-. For an API key, use the API Key tab.
You seeCould not connect your Claude subscription.
SquadRoom couldn't save the token. In Settings the message is "Failed to connect Claude subscription."
Run claude setup-token again and paste the new token.
You seeThis doesn't look like a valid [provider] key.
The key isn't in your provider's format, such as sk- at the start of an OpenAI key. Verify checks only the format, not whether the key works. The format for each provider is in Connect the AI account your squad runs on.
Copy the whole key again from your provider, with no spaces.
You seeEndpoint URL required for Azure." or "Deployed Models list required for Azure.
Azure OpenAI needs the key, Azure Endpoint URL, and Deployed Models.
Fill in your endpoint URL, the web address of your Azure OpenAI service, such as https://your-resource.openai.azure.com/. Then list your deployment names, the names you gave your models in Azure, separated by commas.
You seeCould not save your providers. Try again.
SquadRoom couldn't save your providers or apply them to your workspace.
Select Continue again. If it happens again, select the provider, select Disconnect, and connect it again.
Connect your apps (STEP 4 OF 6)
This step is optional.
| Message | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| "Allow pop-ups to connect [app], then try again." | Your browser blocked the window that connects the app. | Allow pop-ups for squadroom.app, then select the app again. |
| "Couldn’t start the [app] connection. Please try again." | The connection didn't start. | Select the app again. |
| "[app] is already connected. Refresh to update this screen." | You connected the app in another tab, or before you reloaded the page. | Reload the page. |
| "[app] can’t be connected yet: it needs its own developer app, which this deployment doesn’t have. Skip it for now." | SquadRoom can't connect this app yet. | Skip it and continue. |
| "Couldn’t refresh connections. Please try again." | SquadRoom couldn't read your connected apps. | Try again in a moment. |
Describe your company (STEP 5 OF 6)
Continue stays greyed out until both fields are filled. Company or product name needs a name, and What it does and who it is for needs at least 20 characters.
| Message | Fix |
|---|---|
| "Give the website as one address, such as acme.com." | Type one web address with no spaces in Website, or leave it empty. |
| "Could not save the company. Try again." | Select Continue again. |
| "Setup has started; tell your lead about the company in the setup chat." | Setup already moved on. Tell your lead about the company in Chat. |
Launch your squad (STEP 6 OF 6)
When this step fails, the title reads "Setup needs a retry", and a panel shows "Setup didn't finish" with a reason.
A message from your AI provider
In these messages, [provider] is Codex (for a ChatGPT sign-in or an OpenAI key), Claude, Azure OpenAI, Gemini, or OpenRouter.
| Reason | Fix |
|---|---|
| "[provider] didn't accept your API key. Double-check it and try again." | Replace the key. |
| "[provider] didn't accept your subscription. Reconnect it and try again." | Connect the account again. |
| "[provider] is missing your API key. Add one and try again." | Add the key. |
| "[provider] is missing your subscription. Sign in to reconnect it." | Sign in again. |
| "Your [provider] account is out of credits. Add more, then retry." | Add credit or a plan at your provider. |
| "[provider] is asking us to slow down. Wait a moment, then retry." | Wait a minute, then select Retry setup. |
| "That model isn't available from [provider] right now. Pick a different one and retry." | Pick another Default Model. |
| "[provider] is unreachable right now. Try again shortly." | Wait, then select Retry setup. |
| "We couldn't reach [provider] just now. Check its status, then try again." | Check the provider's status page, then select Retry setup. |
To change a key, a sign-in, or the model, select Back until you reach STEP 3 OF 6, make the change, and continue. Setup runs again by itself when you come back.
Other reasons under "Setup didn't finish"
| Reason | Fix |
|---|---|
| "We couldn't bring your workspace online. Please try again. If it keeps happening, contact support." | Select Retry setup. |
| "We couldn't finish [lead]'s workspace. You can safely retry, or reach out to us at [email protected]." | Select Retry setup. |
| "We couldn't bring your workspace online, and trying again won't change that. Contact [email protected] and we'll get it fixed." | Write to [email protected]. |
| "We couldn't finish [lead]'s workspace, and trying again won't change that. Reach out to us at [email protected]." | Write to [email protected]. |
When trying again can't help, the title reads "Setup needs us" and there is no Retry setup button.
You seeWe couldn't open the setup conversation. Your workspace is safe, and retrying won't create a squad or a Task.
Build my squad couldn't open the conversation with your lead.
Select Build my squad again.
Your first conversation in Chat
You seeThe setup conversation did not start.
Your lead's first message didn't run.
Select Retry next to the message.
You seeSetup needs attention
Your lead couldn't build the squad you agreed on. A reason shows under the title.
Select Retry setup under the message.
After setup
If the dashboard opens on a full-page screen, see Your workspace is offline or being repaired. Such screens include "Setup needs another try", "Setup needs us", and "Workspace is offline".
Still stuck
Write to [email protected] with the message you see and the step you are on.
Related pages
- The setup steps: Set up SquadRoom and get your first report.
- Connecting ChatGPT, a Claude subscription, or an API key: Connect the AI account your squad runs on.
- Connecting apps: Connect apps through Integrations.
- Problems after setup: Get a stuck task moving again.