Help · 18
Troubleshooting common problems
Most problems in Nova come with a message that says what is wrong. Find the message below to see what it means and what to do.
I can't edit a session
"This session will start in…"
The session has a start date in the future. You can open and read it, but nobody can make changes until it starts. To work on it now, a session leader can change the start date.
"This session has ended!"
The session's end date has passed, or someone marked it complete. You can still read it. A session leader can move the end date, or open the session again with Re-Activate Session.
"Sessions are read-only"
Your workspace is on Nova Free and has more sessions than the free plan allows. All sessions become read-only. Delete sessions you no longer need, or upgrade to Nova Pro. See Plans, billing and AI credits.
A step won't open
Some steps wait for earlier ones. A step can unlock only after certain answers in an earlier step, or only after the step before it is complete. Collaborators also do not see steps set to Leader only step. See Connect sessions into a workflow.
I see "Access Denied"
The page belongs to a workspace or session your account cannot open. This often happens when you have two accounts, for example a work Google account and a personal email.
- Check the Logged in as address. Select Log out and sign in with the account that was invited. Nova brings you back to the same page.
- If you have the right account, ask the session leader to invite you again.
I didn't get an email from Nova
- Check your spam and trash folders.
- For a confirmation email, select Resend email link. See Your account and profile.
- For a password reset, request a new link from Reset your Password on the login page.
- For notifications, check that your email address is confirmed and that the email type is on under Preferences → Notifications.
- For a team invite, ask the person who invited you to use Copy invite link and send you the link directly.
"This invite was sent to a different email address"
Team invites work only for the address they were sent to. Sign in with that address, or ask for a new invite to the address you use.
"You are a collaborator in this workspace"
You joined someone else's workspace as an external collaborator. You can take part in the sessions you were invited to, but you cannot create sessions there. Select Go to your workspace to work in your own. See Work with external collaborators.
My AI coworker isn't working
Open the AI coworkers on this session panel. It says why Nova AI is waiting.
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| Waiting for AI to be started in this project | Open the project's AI panel and select Start AI coworkers in this project. |
| Waiting for manual start | Select Start. |
| Waiting for the start date | Wait for the session to start, or change its start date. |
| Waiting for the previous session to complete | Complete the session before it. |
| Waiting on a human-only step | A person must finish that step first. |
| Past the end date | Move the session's end date. |
| Paused — AI usage limit reached | Your workspace is out of AI credits. See below. |
| Something went wrong — needs attention | Select Retry. If it fails again, skip the step and do it yourself. |
Nova AI can also stop to ask a question. It shows that it needs more information to complete this step, or that it is waiting on a file it cannot find. Answer and select Send answers, or let it continue with Have AI proceed anyway. See AI coworkers.
"You're out of AI credits"
Your workspace used all of its AI credits for this week. Credits refill at the weekly reset. To get more now, add Nova AI Boost. If you see Your plan has no AI credits, your workspace is on Nova Free, which has no AI credits. See Plans, billing and AI credits.
"AI features have been disabled for this workspace by the owner"
The workspace owner turned AI off. Only the owner can turn it back on, in their profile settings.
I added something, but it's not in the list
If Nova shows Added. Your filters are hiding it., the item was saved. The filters at the top of the list hide it. Clear the filters to see it.
Nova shows "New version of Nova released, please reload"
We released an update. Select the message in the left menu to reload. Your work is saved.
Dictation doesn't work
- Microphone access is blocked: allow the microphone for Nova in your browser's site settings, then try again.
- No microphone button: your browser does not support dictation. Use a recent version of Chrome, Edge or Safari.
- Dictation stopped: start it again. Check that no other app is using the microphone.
"This is too long to save"
Notes have a length limit. Shorten the note, or attach the long text as a file. See Files and AI deliverables.
A board is slow
Open your profile, go to Preferences and check Board graphics mode. Canvas (default) works on all devices. WebGL (high performance) is faster on modern computers. Try the other mode and reload.
Still stuck?
Email contact@novatools.org. Tell us the message you see and the page you are on. A screenshot helps.