LBRY startup troubleshooting

If you are having issues on Linux with the latest version, please see thisworkarounduntil we can get it patched. Run in terminal: sudo sysctl kernel.unprivileged_userns_clone=1

Proper network connectivity, visibility, and access is a necessity for usage of the LBRY Desktop app, as it is a decentralized peer-to-peer protocol that requires clients to see and communicate with each other. Since individual local network configurations, firewalls, and other security settings vary greatly, LBRY may require some basic network/PC troubleshooting in order to function properly. Since LBRY is in beta, there are certain configurations which we don’t support yet, but can offer workarounds (see below) or offer one-on-one troubleshooting.

The first area to check for start-up issues is the LBRY log file. Except in extreme cases, a log file should be generated by the daemon startup process and will usually reveal clues on where to find problems.

If you are having issues syncing or displaying your balance correctly, please see Stuck at blockchain sync.

Connectivity and ports

LBRY operates on a couple of different ports, and if there are conflicts/firewall rules/security settings that prevent them from being utilized, the app/daemon will experience start-up issues. LBRY tries to employ port forwarding through the use of UPnP, which may be disabled on some routers. Either UPnP must be enabled, or you have to manually forward the ports below (3333 TCP and 4444 UDP) in order to fully take advantage of the LBRY network. Only 1 PC on a network can have an open outside port, so if you are running multiple PCs with LBRY, they will need to be configured manually.

  • Port 3333 - LBRY daemon runs and shares data on port 3333 (TCP) by default. Often times, this port can be already in use to due to mining software or other applications/services.

  • Port 4444 - LBRY daemon utilizes port 4444 to stream and download data from the LBRY network.

  • Port 50001 - LBRY wallet connections happen over port 50001. LBRY may fail to start if this port is blocked by a firewall or network rules.

  • Port 5567 - LBRY rehosts content on this port. If it’s blocked, you will only be able to download from the P2P network.

This is my first time running LBRY, and it won’t start

  • If don’t see the LBRY app starting up at all on Windows, run LBRY.exe with CMD (command prompt) to further debug the problem. Navigate to the installation path e.g. C:\Program Files\LBRY for x64 and C:\Program Files (x86)\LBRY for x86, type LBRY.exe and hit enter for the app to launch. This will show any errors the app has starting up. The most common issue is related to incorrect Windows environment variables.

  • Windows users who have trouble starting up the SDK manually, you may need to reinstall Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015

  • Port 3333 already in use. This issue would reveal itself in the log file. You can see how to change this port here. If the port is properly forwarding, you are able to successfully see port 3333 open on this port checker tool.

  • Port 50001 wallet connection fails. This issue would reveal itself in the log file. Typical things to check would be firewall/security settings that may block this connection.

  • On Linux, LBRY may fail to start (home page won’t load or missing authentication token in Help) because of missing authentication capability. Please see GitHub issue or a possible workaround below.

  • On Mac, LBRY may fail to start if your MacOS version is too old - only 10.12.4 (Sierra) and higher supported.

LBRY used to work previously, but now it won’t start

First and foremost, please ensure you are on the latest version of LBRY. Reinstalling the latest version may alleviate some start-up issues. Before installing, either make sure there are no running LBRY/lbrynet processes or simply reboot your computer.

  • Try clearing your blockchain data and headers in the lbryum/lbc_mainnet folder

  • Reset your downloads data by deleting the db_revision and lbrynet.sqlite files in the lbrynet folder

  • On Windows, if you get stuck on the green “Starting daemon” screen, the lbrynet-daemon file may be missing. The workaround is to re-run the latest LBRY installation file and try again.

  • On Windows 7, if you can’t get the app to start, you may need to apply this Windows patch.

  • On older MAC installations, you may run into an issue with the daemon shutting down immediately. Please check your daemon_settings.yml file in the LBRY folder for a download directory. If it’s incorrect, remove it, save, and try again.

  • On older Linux/Mac installs you may see Cannot read property 'match' of undefined. Install the latest version to fix this.

  • Other typical startup troubleshooting would be to ensure that the LBRY app or the lbrynet process is not already running in the background. If the processes cannot be killed, a restart of your computer may be required.

Known startup issues and workarounds

Stuck at blockchain sync or wallet issues

If you are stuck on the blockchain sync step or it shows a block count that doesn’t decrease, you may need to clear your blockchain headers and/or synced data. To do so, Shut LBRY down completely by closing it from the system tray (check for running LBRY/lbrynet-daemon processes), delete the headers and blockchain.db files in the lbryum/lbc_mainnet folder and then start LBRY again.

SDK could not start because port is in use (IPV6 / debian)

If the newly installed or re-installed LBRY has the start up issue with SDK not being able to bind, check the .local/share/lbry/lbrynet folder for daemon_settings.yml file. If the file doesn’t exist, create one and settings inside should be:

api: 127.0.0.1:5279
streaming_server: 127.0.0.1:5280

Alternatively, you can start the sdk with lbrynet start --api=127.0.0.1:5279 --streaming-server=127.0.0.1:5280