Common problems & fixes

What the message means, and the smallest change that resolves it.

Template validation

Message	Fix
Unknown fibe.gg/ label	You typed something Fibe doesn't recognize. Remove it or fix the spelling. Labels not under the fibe.gg/ prefix pass through untouched.
Service has a build directive but no fibe.gg/repo_url	Add the repo URL, or remove the Compose build: block.
source_mount without a repo_url	Same fix; live mount needs to know where the source is.
Zero-downtime services must have fibe.gg/port set	Rolling updates are for routed services; add fibe.gg/port.
Zero-downtime services cannot have ports: or container_name	Replicas can't share a pinned name or publish the same host port. Drop them.
Invalid repo URL	Use https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>, a full ssh:// URL, or a URL on a configured Gitea host. The short git@host:path form and arbitrary GitHub-like HTTPS hosts aren't accepted.
Invalid exposure visibility	Only the lowercase strings internal and external work. External:3000 (uppercase E) is wrong.
Invalid exposure port	Must be a real port between 1 and 65535.
Invalid subdomain	Lowercase letters, digits, hyphens; no leading or trailing hyphen; or the special @ for the root domain.
Invalid path rule	Only path matchers (Path, PathPrefix, PathRegexp) are allowed. Host, header, method, query, and client-IP matchers belong to Fibe and aren't authoring-side.
Invalid healthcheck duration	Use values like 30s, 500ms, or 1m; hours and days aren't accepted.
Boolean label not recognized	Quote it as "true" or "false"; don't use yes, no, on, off, 1, or 0.

Variables

Message	Fix
Variable referenced but not declared	You wrote $$var__NAME somewhere but never declared NAME under variables:.
Variable declared but never used	Either reference it inline somewhere, give it a path:/paths: binding, or remove the declaration.
Variable missing a name	Every variable needs a non-empty name: for the launcher UI.
Validation pattern not wrapped in slashes	Write the regex inside slashes, like "/^[a-z]+$/".
Validation pattern doesn't parse	Fix the expression itself; the pattern is invalid regex.
Required variable is missing	Supply a value at launch, add a default, or set random: true.
Value fails the validation pattern	Fix the value, loosen the pattern, or remove it.

Triggers & schedules

Message	Fix
Trigger doesn't fire	Check that the trigger is enabled, the Prop has a working git webhook, and the event type matches what you're actually doing (pull request vs. push to that branch).
Trigger stopped firing after a Marquee problem	When the target Marquee leaves the active state, Fibe disables the trigger so events don't pile up against a dead target. Bring the Marquee back, then re-enable the trigger yourself — it doesn't re-enable on its own.
Scheduled job doesn't fire	Check enabled status, verify the cron expression with a quick external tool, and confirm the target Marquee is up.
Resource ID not found	The Prop or Marquee referenced in trigger/schedule settings doesn't exist or isn't owned by you anymore. Re-pick a current one.

Runtime & lifecycle

Message	Fix
Compose ${VAR} left in the output	Fibe doesn't fill these from the launcher. Convert to $$var__VAR and declare it. Exception: in Trick runs, ${VAR} is filled from your Job ENV entries and the built-in FIBE_* run variables — if that's what you meant, define the Job ENV entry instead of converting.
Trick runs forever	Your watched service started a dev server, an idle loop, or a long-poll. Replace it with a command that exits when the work is done.
Job timed out waiting for watched services to complete	The run hit the 4-hour ceiling without the watched service exiting. Fibe checks watched services every 10 seconds by default, up to 1,440 checks; operators can change those defaults. On timeout, the job errors and its containers are torn down. Same root cause as a run that never exits: make the watched command finish when the work is done, or split the work into shorter runs.
Build timed out: stuck in building state for over 45 minutes	Builds have a 45-minute ceiling. Usually a slow base-image pull or a heavy build on a slow network — switch to a smaller base image, trim the build context, then relaunch.
Long-running app reset to one replica and never restarting	You accidentally set job_mode: true on something that should stay up. Remove it.
502 from the public URL but works inside the container	Your app is binding to localhost. Switch to 0.0.0.0. See the table below.
Vite says "Invalid Host header"	Vite 6+ rejects unknown hosts. Set server.allowedHosts: true in your Vite config.
Healthcheck returns 200 too early	The new replica is being marked ready before the app actually is. Tighten the check so it reflects real readiness.
Image upgrade broke the volume	A floating tag like :latest rolled across a major version and the on-disk format changed. Pin the image to a specific minor version.

Subtle behaviors worth knowing

• Mark a template as a Trick and Fibe forces every service to one replica and no automatic restart — even ones you didn't list as the watched service.
• Hostnames in the template are stripped at compile time; service-to-service traffic uses Compose's built-in DNS by service name.
• When the same variable is both inlined and path-bound, the path write is the final word.
• The fibe.gg/* labels are read before the container starts. You can't configure them with environment values that only exist inside the running container.

Where the app should bind

Framework	Correct bind
Rails	bin/rails server -b 0.0.0.0
Node / Express	app.listen(PORT, '0.0.0.0')
Next.js	next dev -H 0.0.0.0
Vite	vite --host 0.0.0.0
Django dev server	python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000
FastAPI / uvicorn	uvicorn app:main --host 0.0.0.0
Flask dev	flask run --host 0.0.0.0

Related

• Reference: common-errors-and-fixes — the skill version of this same content.
• Authoring → Service labels — label rules and conflicts.