keybase / keybase/client

Desktop client gets into a state where it cannot sync chat messages any more

Open
#21,727 1 comment 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
Dominant language
Go
Stars
9.2k
Forks
1.3k
PR merge metrics
PR metrics pending

Description

Repro steps:

1. Install Windows desktop client
2. Chat with some people
3. Close my laptop screen, which disconnects WiFi and puts Windows into "sleep" or "hibernation" mode
4. Restart Windows and connect to WiFi again

**Expected:** Chat resyncs properly
**Actual:** Keybase shows "Digging ancient messages" screen, and is permanently stuck, unable to sync any new messages.

## This did NOT fix the problem:

1. Exit the Keybase client
2. Run "KeyBase.exe db nuke"
3. Restart the Keybase client

**Result:** All the chat history is cleared, but syncing is still broken.

## This DOES fix the problem:

1. Exit the Keybase client
2. Run "KeyBase.exe db nuke"
3. Uninstall the KeyBase client
4. Run the installer again to reinstall Keybase
5. Restart the Keybase client

Lately I've been getting into this broken state at least once per week.

**QUESTION:** What does uninstalling do, that `keybase db nuke` does NOT do?

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

Research direction

Start by reproducing the Windows desktop client's failure after WiFi disconnect and sleep or hibernation, then compare `KeyBase.exe db nuke` with uninstalling and reinstalling. Trace which state survives the database reset and verify that the client can resync chat messages afterward without requiring reinstallation.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
go
Domain
desktop
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
25/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.