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Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions for Flowbaby.

Extension Not Activating​

Check the Output Channel:

  1. Go to View → Output
  2. Select "Flowbaby Memory" from the dropdown
  3. Look for initialization errors

Enable Debug Logging: If you need more detailed information, enable Flowbaby.debugLogging in settings and use "Flowbaby: Show Debug Logs" command.

Common Issues:

1. "LLM_API_KEY not found"​

Solution: Use the "Flowbaby: Set API Key" command

Then reload VS Code: Ctrl+Shift+P → "Reload Window"

2. "Python not found" or "cognee module not found"​

Solution:

  • Run "Flowbaby: Initialize Workspace" to set up the environment automatically
  • If using a custom Python environment, set Flowbaby.pythonPath to your Python path

3. "No workspace folder open"​

Solution: The extension requires a workspace (not single-file mode). Open a folder:

  • File → Open Folder
  • Or use the command: code /path/to/your/project

4. Slow Performance​

Solutions:

  • Check that Flowbaby.logLevel is not set to "debug" (this slows down operations)
  • Reduce maxContextResults to 1-2 for faster retrieval
  • Reduce maxContextTokens to 1000 for lighter processing

5. Capture or Retrieval Not Working​

Capture Issues:

  1. Verify keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+Alt+F / Cmd+Alt+F) is not conflicting with other extensions
  2. Check Command Palette for "Flowbaby: Capture to Memory" as alternative
  3. Ensure you see confirmation message after capture ("✅ Captured to memory")
  4. Check Output Channel logs for ingestion errors

Retrieval Issues:

  1. Verify Flowbaby.enabled is true in settings
  2. Type @flowbaby in chat to invoke the participant explicitly
  3. Check Output Channel logs for retrieval attempts and timing
  4. Remember: The first conversation in a new workspace has no context (memory starts empty)
  5. Each workspace has separate memory-switching workspaces means different context
  6. If retrieval fails, you'll see "⚠️ Memory retrieval unavailable" but participant continues without context

Note: Auto-detection works for standard .venv setups on Linux, macOS, and Windows. For remote contexts (Remote-SSH, WSL, Dev Containers), conda, or pyenv, use explicit Flowbaby.pythonPath configuration.

Clearing Memory​

To reset your workspace memory (e.g., to start fresh or clear sensitive data):

Use Flowbaby: Clear Workspace Memory command from the command pallette. This moves your current data to .flowbaby/.trash until you decide to delete it permanently.

The extension will reinitialize on next activation, creating a fresh knowledge graph.

Privacy and Data Storage​

  • Local-Only Operation - All data stays on your local machine; no cloud services involved
  • No Telemetry - The extension does not collect analytics or usage data
  • Workspace Isolation - Each workspace has isolated memory in its own directories; no cross-project data leakage
  • API Key Security - Your API key is never logged or transmitted except to your configured LLM provider
  • Data Location - Memory is stored in workspace-local directories: .flowbaby/system/ (system data) and .flowbaby/data/ (knowledge graph data)

To completely remove all extension data from a workspace:

rm -rf .flowbaby/ .flowbaby/system/ .flowbaby/data/  # In workspace root

Known Limitations​

  • Workspace Required - Extension doesn't work in single-file mode
  • Python Dependency - Requires Python 3.8+ on your system; Cognee and dependencies are installed automatically in an isolated environment
  • Platform Support - Primarily tested on macOS and Linux; Windows support may require additional configuration