Troubleshooting

The scan engine starts in the background and takes 5–15 seconds after the main window opens.

1. Wait 30 seconds — the status dot turns green when the engine is ready
2. If still offline after 60s: Settings → Diagnostics → Restart Scan Engine
3. Check Settings → Diagnostics → Engine Log for startup errors
4. Ensure antivirus is not blocking the scan engine process (add the install folder to AV exclusions)
5. If Python is missing: reinstall PhantomYerra — it bundles its own Python runtime

The splash screen waits for the license check and scan engine to come online. If it hangs:

1. Check your internet connection — license validation requires HTTPS access
2. Verify no firewall blocks outbound HTTPS to the license server
3. Force-quit the app and relaunch — startup state resets automatically
4. If the issue persists, check Settings → Diagnostics → Engine Log after a fresh launch

Common causes on Windows:

• Missing Visual C++ Redistributables — install the latest from Microsoft
• Antivirus quarantining a bundled binary — check AV quarantine log and add exclusion
• Corrupted installation — uninstall, reboot, reinstall from the latest installer
• Conflict with existing Python installation — PhantomYerra uses its own bundled Python; they should not conflict, but PYTHONPATH env vars can cause issues. Clear them.

License validation requires an active internet connection to the license server.

1. Verify your network can reach external HTTPS endpoints (try opening a browser)
2. Check no proxy or firewall is blocking outbound HTTPS
3. Confirm your license key is entered correctly — no extra spaces
4. Check license expiry: log in to the license portal to view your seat status
5. If your company admin deactivated your seat, contact them to reactivate

Module availability is controlled by your license tier. The platform polls for module updates every 5 minutes.

1. Wait 5 minutes — if your admin just added a module, it will appear automatically
2. Go to Settings → License — check the listed active modules match what you expect
3. Contact your license admin if a module you purchased is not listed

If a scan completes with zero findings:

• Confirm the target is reachable from your machine: try curl https://target.com in the CLI Terminal
• For authenticated scans: verify credentials in the wizard — use Test Auth before launching
• In Automated AI mode: verify your AI key is active (Settings → AI Configuration → Key Status)
• The target may genuinely be clean — try Semi-Automated mode with manual tool selection to verify coverage
• Check scan scope — if scope is too narrow, many attack categories are auto-excluded

If a scan stops producing output and appears stuck:

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P to pause the scan — progress is saved
2. Check network connectivity to the target
3. View the live scan log (Ctrl+L) for the last tool that ran
4. If a specific tool is hung: Settings → Diagnostics → Engine Log will show the process state
5. Resume the scan (Ctrl+Shift+R) — paused scans resume from the last checkpoint

CVE exploit development can take 2–5 minutes per CVE depending on complexity. This is normal.

• Use Ctrl+Shift+P to pause — progress is saved, resume any time
• Check that the target version is still reachable
• Narrow the campaign scope: validate 5–10 CVEs at a time rather than the full list
• Verify your AI key has remaining credits — expired keys stall exploit development

• Verify AI key: Settings → AI Configuration → Key Status — must show "Valid"
• Check AI credit balance — if exhausted, the key needs to be updated
• Confirm target is reachable and responds to HTTP
• Ensure your license includes the AI module for the selected surface
• Check the AI log: Settings → Diagnostics → AI Log for error messages

1. Go to Settings → AI Configuration
2. Click Update API Key and re-enter your key
3. Log in to your AI provider portal to verify the key is still active and has credits
4. If using a license-provided key: contact your license admin — the key may have been rotated

1. Ensure at least one finding has Confirmed status — reports with no confirmed findings produce minimal output by design
2. Check available disk space — large reports with many screenshots require significant space
3. If PDF fails: try DOCX format first to isolate whether the issue is format-specific
4. Check Settings → Diagnostics → Engine Log for report generation errors