Troubleshooting: Connection & Server

Ziva runs a small local server (the “plugin server”) that the in-editor panel talks to. These issues are about that server starting and staying reachable, and about signing in. See the main troubleshooting page for how to find the server logs. The *_sidecar.log has the detailed log; the *_sidecar_piped.log catches crash and startup output when the server won’t even start — check both for anything here.

”Server failed to initialize”

This banner means the local Ziva server didn’t start up successfully.

1. Open the latest *_sidecar_piped.log (and *_sidecar.log) and look at the end of the file for the error.
2. Restart Godot — a one-off startup failure often clears on its own.
3. If it persists, reset Ziva to clear any scrambled saved data, then restart.
4. Check the port / firewall section below.

”Disconnected” banner or a reconnecting overlay

If Ziva shows a disconnected banner or an “Unable to Reconnect — Could not reach the plugin server” overlay, the panel lost its connection to the local server after it had started.

• This is usually temporary — Ziva reconnects automatically. If the overlay stays up, the server process may have crashed: check the end of *_sidecar_piped.log.
• Restart Godot to relaunch the server.
• If it keeps dropping, a firewall or security tool may be killing the local connection — see below.

Blocked ports or firewall

The Ziva server uses a local-only connection on your own computer (it picks a free spot in the 7012–7041 range). It never connects to other machines, so a firewall only needs to allow Godot to talk to itself.

• On first launch, Windows may show a Windows Firewall prompt. Allow access (private networks is sufficient).
• If a corporate firewall, VPN, or security tool blocks this local connection, the server can’t be reached. Add an exception for Godot, or temporarily disable the tool to confirm it’s the cause.
• If lots of other apps are running, restarting your machine frees things up; Ziva picks a free spot automatically.

Can’t log in

Signing in opens your browser so you can approve the editor.

• If no browser opened, copy the login link Ziva shows and open it manually.
• Make sure you complete the authorization before the code expires. If it times out, start the login again.
• Behind a proxy or firewall, the sign-in step can be blocked. Confirm you can reach the Ziva website in a normal browser on the same machine.

Login problems after a reset or update

If you switched accounts or updated and now see sign-in errors, you may have an old, expired sign-in saved. Reset Ziva to clear it (this signs you out and removes stored keys), then sign in again.