A short list of the things most likely to trip you up, and how to clear them. This page grows as the app ships and real reports come in.
A cell will not spawn a session
Helmsman needs the selected agent CLI installed and available on your path. Run claude or
codex in a normal terminal and finish its sign-in. Codex requires version 0.153.4 or later.
Restart Helmsman after changing your environment. A Codex-only installation does not need Claude.
If a native trust screen appears, review it in the cell. Helmsman does not bypass Codex hook trust. Finish native setup before pasting the first task. See Agent support.
A session looks stuck
Focus the cell and read the prompt. A session that appears idle is often just waiting for an answer. Type your response in the focused cell the same way you would in your terminal. If it is genuinely hung, close the cell and spawn a fresh session.
I cannot open more cells
Twelve sessions fit on a deck, one per cell. If every cell is full, close one to free a slot, or move to the next deck. The deck size is by design, not an error.
If Helmsman refuses the spawn outright and says the grid is at its cap, that is the other constraint: sixty sessions in all, across every deck and project together. Close a session to free a slot.
Wrong project or directory
Each session starts in the project you chose for that cell. If an agent is working in the wrong place, close the cell and spawn a new session pointed at the right project folder.
Still stuck
Email hello@helmsman.sh with what you did and what happened. Once the app ships, the changelog will track fixes for known issues.