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Start with doctor:

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Scout Cannot Find A Model

Inspect the active model configuration:
Re-run model setup:
If you use LM Studio or Ollama, make sure the app or local server is running before retrying the run.

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Search-Backed Discovery Fails

Check search status:
Reconnect search-backed discovery:
Known URL runs and article-corpus recovery do not need a search key. Runs with --location and --issues need search only when Scout must find new public sources. Scripts can pass SEARCH_API_KEY instead of saving a search key.

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Credential Storage Fails

Scout uses the operating system credential store for login tokens and stored search keys. Configure macOS Keychain, Windows Credential Manager, or Linux Secret Service, then retry the command. Profile TOML is not a secret store. Do not put API keys, login tokens, or search keys in scout config files. Use scout login, scout search connect, or an environment variable in scripts.

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Structured Resource Rows Look Wrong

For headerless CSV, TSV, pipe-delimited text, or ZIP resources, pass column names in source order:
If the output has names in the wrong field or empty context, inspect the source file’s published data dictionary and rerun with the corrected column list.

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Counts Pass But Data Looks Outdated

Source-backed counts do not prove currentness. Check exact unique people and source coverage first:
Then inspect a random people sample:
If source context points to an old filing, archive, historical roster, or stale page, treat the entry as historical evidence. Re-run discovery against current sources before using the data for outreach, reporting, or public claims.

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Browser Rendering Fails

Scout uses normal HTML fetching first. When a page looks useful but only exposes content after JavaScript runs, Scout may try headless Chromium through Playwright. If the browser fallback is unavailable or too expensive for your computer, turn it off:
If Playwright is installed but Chromium is missing, install the browser binary:
If JavaScript-heavy public pages are important for the run, leave it enabled and keep the browser budget bounded:

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Sync Fails

Check sync readiness for the Atlas environment you are targeting:
If doctor says the saved login cannot create an Atlas upload token, log in again for that environment or use ATLAS_API_KEY in scripts. Check the current saved login:
Log in again:
For workspace sync, confirm the workspace id:

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Local Data Looks Wrong

Find the local database:
List recent runs and pages:
Resetting the database deletes local runs, entries, and pages:
Use reset only when you no longer need the local results.