Tern troubleshooting

Fix common problems with Elide in Tern: installer errors, missing Tern views, plain output where a native view was expected, and inactive links.

Experimental

Updated November 9, 2026

Experimental

This feature is experimental: its commands, options and output may change between releases. Report a problem

Read offlineelide help tern-troubleshooting

Each section names a symptom, then the fix. For the install itself, see Installation.

The installer stops

Message	Fix
`This preview requires macOS on Apple Silicon.`	The preview runs only on Apple Silicon Macs.
`Install Tern and enable its command-line tool before running this installer.`	Put the `tern` command on `PATH`, then rerun `sh ./install.sh`.
`Incomplete release: missing executable dist/elide-tern-…`	Unpack the archive again; check it with `shasum -a 256 -c SHA256SUMS` first.
`Incomplete release: runtime, SDK, or plugin is missing.`	Same as above.

A view does not open

Message	Fix
The configured runtime has no `elide tern`; update it or set a launcher in plugin/config.json.	`runtime` in `plugin/config.json` names an Elide without Tern views. Point it at the release’s `../runtime/bin/elide`, or delete the file and rerun `install.sh`.
`Configure plugin/config.json before launching a runtime.`	`plugin/config.json` is missing or unreadable; rerun `install.sh`.
`Set the embedded SDK directory in plugin/config.json.`	Open REPL needs `sdk`; the installer sets it to `../sdk`.
`Configure a runtime launcher on this host before opening a remote session.`	Views run on local hosts only. Open the project in a local pane.
`Open a local project directory first.`	Focus a pane whose directory is inside an `elide.pkl` project.
`No elide.pkl found in this directory or its parents.`	Same as above.

When Tern’s plugin data path is long enough to exceed the Unix socket path limit, set state in plugin/config.json to a short private directory.

A command prints plain text in Tern

Cause	Fix
The `elide` on `PATH` has no Tern views	Check `elide tern --help`; it must list `debug`, `project` and `repl`. Install Elide 1.6.3 or newer.
Input is not a terminal, or `TERM=dumb`	Expected: the command prints plain text.
`--reporter`, `--project`, or a test path that does not exist	Expected: these runs keep the plain output.
Output redirected or piped	Expected.
`elide build` outside an `elide.pkl` project, or with `--inspect`, `--help` or `--progress`	Expected.
`elide serve --no-tui`	Expected.

The full list is under Terminal surfaces. A warning from elide test naming ELIDE_TERN_SURFACE means the variable holds something other than inline, screen or auto; an error naming --surface means the flag does.

`elide tern` exits with status 2

elide tern repl|project|debug hosts views the plugin launches. Outside Tern, project and debug stop with This surface requires Tern and exit 2; repl falls back to the terminal REPL. Use the plugin’s palette commands instead of running it yourself.

A link does nothing

elide:// links open only through the plugin. A dropped link shows a notification naming the reason:

Notification	Cause
`Ignored a malformed elide:// link.`	Bad encoding, a repeated key, a fragment, or a path outside its root.
`Ignored an elide:// link whose root has no elide.pkl.`	`root` is not a project directory.
`Ignored an elide:// link outside a detected project.`	No `root`, and the file is in no project this window has detected.
`The linked file does not exist.`	The file was moved or deleted.
`elide:// links open on local hosts only.`	The link was clicked in a remote pane.

Paths are compared as written: a link to /tmp/x does not match a project at /private/tmp/x.

The source editor

Symptom	Cause
No highlighting	The file has more than 600 lines.
A notice instead of the text	The file is over 512 KiB, unreadable or not UTF-8.
`Elide source shows JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Kotlin and Java files.`	Other file types open in Tern’s editor.
No Debug overlay	The file is not JavaScript, TypeScript or Python.
No Diagnostics overlay	The project has no build report yet; run `elide build` in a Tern terminal.
All coverage tints muted, `Coverage measured an older version`	The file changed since the coverage run; run coverage again.

Debugging

Message	Fix
`Save this file before debugging.`	The debugger runs the file on disk. Save, then launch.
`Debugging takes JavaScript, TypeScript or Python sources.`	Pick a supported file, or use the target picker.
Controls disabled with `Take control to drive the target`	Another view controls the target; choose Take control.