Last updated: 12 September 2025

Troubleshooting Guide

This comprehensive troubleshooting guide covers common issues, error messages, and solutions for Quesby projects.

Quick Start - Top 10 Common Issues

Most frequent problems and quick fixes:

Build fails → Check Node.js version (18+), run pnpm install
CSS not loading → Run pnpm run css:build or pnpm run serve
Content not showing → Check QUESBY_CONTENT_PATH environment variable
Theme not applied → Verify theme in site.json
Images not loading → Check paths start with /assets/
CMS not working → Verify admin/config.yml and GitHub Pages settings
Site not updating → Clear cache, check file permissions
Port already in use → Use --port 8081 or kill existing process
SCSS errors → Check syntax, run pnpm run css:build
Template errors → Check Nunjucks syntax, verify data structure

Need more details? See the Complete Troubleshooting Guide below.

Quick Diagnostic Checklist

Before diving into specific issues, run through this quick checklist:

# 1. Check Node.js version
node --version  # Should be 18 or higher

# 2. Verify dependencies
pnpm list --depth=0  # or npm list --depth=0

# 3. Check environment variables
echo $QUESBY_CONTENT_PATH

# 4. Validate configuration
cat src/_data/site.json

# 5. Test build process
pnpm run build  # or npm run build

Debugging Tools

Eleventy Debug Mode

Enable Debug Logging

# Enable detailed Eleventy logging
DEBUG=Eleventy* pnpm run serve  # or npm run serve

# Enable specific debug categories
DEBUG=Eleventy:Template* pnpm run serve

Verbose Output

# Show detailed build information
pnpm run build --verbose  # or npm run build --verbose

Browser Developer Tools

Network Tab

Check for 404 errors on assets
Verify CSS/JS files are loading
Check response headers

Console Tab

Look for JavaScript errors
Check for missing dependencies
Verify data structure

External Tools

Eleventy Debug: npx @11ty/eleventy --debug
SCSS Linter: npx stylelint "src/**/*.scss"
HTML Validator: Use W3C Markup Validator
Lighthouse: Performance and SEO analysis

Complete Troubleshooting Guide

Installation Issues

Node.js Version Problems

Error: "Node.js version not supported"

Symptoms:

Build fails with version error
Dependencies won't install
Runtime errors

Solutions:

# Check current version
node --version

# Update Node.js (using nvm)
nvm install 18
nvm use 18

# Or download from nodejs.org
# https://nodejs.org/en/download/

Minimum Requirements:

Node.js: 18.0.0 or higher
npm: 8.0.0 or higher

Dependency Installation Issues

Error: "npm install fails"

Symptoms:

Package installation errors
Permission denied errors
Network timeout errors

Solutions:

# Clear npm cache
npm cache clean --force

# Delete node_modules and package-lock.json
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json

# Reinstall with verbose output
npm install --verbose

# Alternative: Use yarn
npm install -g yarn
yarn install

Error: "Permission denied"

Solutions:

# Fix npm permissions (Linux/macOS)
sudo chown -R $(whoami) ~/.npm

# Or use nvm to avoid permission issues
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash
nvm install 18
nvm use 18

Build Issues

Eleventy Build Failures

Error: "Content path not found"

Symptoms:

❌ Content path not found:
/path/to/content

Check your contentPath in site.json or the .env variable QUESBY_CONTENT_PATH

> **Note**: For detailed content configuration, see the [Content Management Guide](./content-management.md#content-basics).

Solutions:

# 1. Check environment variable
echo $QUESBY_CONTENT_PATH

# 2. Verify .env file
cat .env

# 3. Check site.json
cat src/_data/site.json | grep contentPath

# 4. Create content directory if missing
mkdir -p content
mkdir -p src/content

# 5. Set correct path
export QUESBY_CONTENT_PATH=./content

Error: "Template not found"

Symptoms:

Template rendering errors
Missing layout files
404 errors for pages

Solutions:

# 1. Check template structure
ls -la src/_includes/layouts/
ls -la src/_includes/partials/

# 2. Verify template references
grep -r "layout:" src/content/

# 3. Check for typos in template names
# Should be: layout: layouts/base.njk
# Not: layout: layout/base.njk

Error: "Collection not found"

Symptoms:

Collections are empty
Content not appearing in templates
Build warnings about collections

Solutions:

# 1. Check content structure
ls -la src/content/posts/
ls -la src/content/pages/
ls -la src/content/projects/

# 2. Verify file naming
# Posts should be: src/content/posts/[ulid]/index.md
# Pages should be: src/content/pages/[ulid]/index.md

# 3. Check frontmatter
head -20 src/content/posts/*/index.md

SCSS Compilation Issues

Error: "SCSS compilation failed"

Symptoms:

CSS not updating
SCSS syntax errors
Missing CSS files

Solutions:

# 1. Check SCSS syntax
sass --check src/sass/core.scss

# 2. Validate theme files
sass --check src/themes/quesby-core/skin.scss

# 3. Check for missing imports
grep -r "@import" src/sass/
grep -r "@import" src/themes/

# 4. Rebuild CSS
pnpm run css:build  # or npm run build:css

# 5. Check for circular imports
# Look for files importing each other

Error: "Theme not found"

Symptoms:

Theme styles not loading
Default styles appearing
Build warnings about theme

Solutions:

# 1. Check theme configuration
cat src/_data/site.json | grep theme

# 2. Verify theme directory exists
ls -la src/themes/

# 3. Check theme structure
ls -la src/themes/quesby-core/

# 4. Ensure skin.scss exists
ls -la src/themes/quesby-core/skin.scss

# 5. Set theme via environment variable
export THEME=your-theme-name

Markdown Processing Issues

Error: "Markdown processing failed"

Symptoms:

Content not rendering
Markdown syntax errors
Expressive Code not working

Solutions:

# 1. Check markdown syntax
# Look for unclosed code blocks, lists, etc.

# 2. Validate frontmatter YAML
# Check for proper indentation and quotes

# 3. Test with simple markdown
echo "# Test" > test.md
# Process and check output

# 4. Check for special characters
# Some characters might need escaping

Error: "Expressive Code CSS not found"

Symptoms:

Code blocks not styled
Syntax highlighting missing
CSS file not found

Solutions:

# 1. Generate Expressive Code CSS
pnpm run gen:ec-css  # or npm run gen:ec-css

# 2. Check if file was created
ls -la src/assets/css/expressive-code.css

# 3. Verify CSS is included in templates
grep -r "expressive-code.css" src/_includes/

# 4. Check build process
pnpm run css:build  # or npm run build:css

Development Server Issues

Port Conflicts

Error: "Port 8080 already in use"

Symptoms:

Server won't start
Port conflict messages
Connection refused errors

Solutions:

# 1. Find process using port
lsof -i :8080  # macOS/Linux
netstat -ano | findstr :8080  # Windows

# 2. Kill the process
kill -9 <PID>  # macOS/Linux
taskkill /PID <PID> /F  # Windows

# 3. Use different port
npm run serve -- --port=8081

# 4. Let Eleventy find available port
npm run serve  # Will auto-find available port

Hot Reload Issues

Error: "Changes not reflecting"

Symptoms:

File changes not updating
Browser not refreshing
Stale content displayed

Solutions:

# 1. Restart development server
# Stop with Ctrl+C, then restart
npm run serve

# 2. Clear browser cache
# Hard refresh: Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+R (macOS)

# 3. Check file watching
# Ensure files are being watched by Eleventy

# 4. Verify file permissions
# Files should be readable by the process

CSS Watching Issues

Error: "CSS not updating"

Symptoms:

SCSS changes not compiling
Styles not updating
CSS watcher not working

Solutions:

# 1. Restart CSS watcher
npm run watch:css

# 2. Check SCSS syntax
sass --check src/sass/core.scss

# 3. Verify theme configuration
cat src/_data/site.json | grep theme

# 4. Check for file system issues
# Some file systems don't support watching properly

# 5. Use alternative approach
pnpm run css:build  # or npm run build:css  # Manual compilation

Content Management Issues

Decap CMS Problems

Error: "CMS not loading"

Symptoms:

Admin panel not accessible
Authentication errors
Backend connection issues

Solutions:

# 1. Check config.yml syntax
# Validate YAML syntax in src/admin/config.yml

# 2. Verify backend configuration
# Check git-gateway, test-repo, or proxy settings

# 3. Check authentication setup
# Ensure OAuth providers are configured

# 4. Verify network connectivity
# Check firewall and proxy settings

# 5. Test with local backend
# Set local_backend: true in config.yml

Error: "Content not saving"

Symptoms:

Changes not persisting
Save button not working
Git commit failures

Solutions:

# 1. Check Git configuration
git config --list

# 2. Verify repository permissions
# Ensure write access to repository

# 3. Check branch configuration
# Verify correct branch in config.yml

# 4. Test Git operations manually
git status
git add .
git commit -m "Test commit"

Content Structure Issues

Error: "Content not appearing"

Symptoms:

New content not showing
404 errors for content
Draft content appearing

Solutions:

# 1. Check draft status
grep -r "draft: true" src/content/

# 2. Verify file structure
# Content should be in: src/content/[type]/[ulid]/index.md

# 3. Check frontmatter
# Ensure required fields are present

# 4. Validate YAML syntax
# Check for proper indentation and quotes

# 5. Rebuild site
npm run build

Error: "ULID generation failed"

Symptoms:

Content creation fails
Invalid directory names
Duplicate content IDs

Solutions:

# 1. Generate ULID manually
node -e "console.log(require('ulid').ulid())"

# 2. Check ULID format (26 characters)
# Example: 01J4QW0Z9K6QH8E6Z2GQW7C1ZR

# 3. Verify directory structure
# Create: src/content/posts/[ulid]/index.md

Note: For detailed ULID system information, see the Content Management Guide.

Template Issues

Nunjucks Template Errors

Error: "Template syntax error"

Symptoms:

Template rendering fails
Syntax error messages
Missing template variables

Solutions:

# 1. Check Nunjucks syntax
# Look for unclosed blocks, incorrect filters, etc.

# 2. Validate template includes
# Ensure include paths are correct

# 3. Check variable references
# Verify all variables are defined

# 4. Test with simple template
# Create minimal template to isolate issues

Error: "Include not found"

Symptoms:

Template includes failing
Missing partial errors
404 errors for includes

Solutions: {% raw %}

# 1. Check include paths
# Should be relative to src/_includes/

# 2. Verify file existence
ls -la src/_includes/partials/
ls -la src/_includes/layouts/

# 3. Check file extensions
# Should be .njk for Nunjucks templates

# 4. Validate include syntax
# {% include "partials/header.njk" %}

Layout Issues

Error: "Layout not found"

Symptoms:

Pages not rendering
Layout errors
Missing base template

Solutions:

# 1. Check layout configuration
grep -r "layout:" src/content/

# 2. Verify layout files exist
ls -la src/_includes/layouts/

# 3. Check layout inheritance
# Ensure extends syntax is correct

# 4. Validate block structure
# Check for proper {% block %} usage

{% endraw %}

Performance Issues

Slow Build Times

Problem: "Build taking too long"

Symptoms:

Build process is slow
Development server lag
High CPU usage

Solutions:

# 1. Check content size
du -sh src/content/

# 2. Optimize images
# Compress images before adding to content

# 3. Reduce SCSS complexity
# Simplify SCSS imports and nesting

# 4. Use incremental builds
# Only rebuild changed files

# 5. Check for infinite loops
# Look for circular dependencies

Memory Issues

Error: "Out of memory"

Symptoms:

Build process crashes
High memory usage
System slowdown

Solutions:

# 1. Increase Node.js memory limit
node --max-old-space-size=4096 npm run build

# 2. Check for memory leaks
# Look for large objects in code

# 3. Optimize content processing
# Reduce content size or complexity

# 4. Use streaming for large files
# Process files in chunks

Deployment Issues

Build Failures in Production

Error: "Production build fails"

Symptoms:

Build succeeds locally but fails in production
Different behavior in production
Missing dependencies

Solutions:

# 1. Check Node.js version
node --version

# 2. Verify environment variables
echo $NODE_ENV
echo $QUESBY_CONTENT_PATH

# 3. Check production dependencies
npm ci --production

# 4. Validate build process
npm run build

# 5. Check for platform-specific issues
# Some packages behave differently on different platforms

Content Not Updating

Error: "Content not syncing"

Symptoms:

Changes not appearing in production
Stale content displayed
Cache issues

Solutions:

# 1. Check content path configuration
echo $QUESBY_CONTENT_PATH

# 2. Verify content files exist
ls -la src/content/

# 3. Check for draft content
grep -r "draft: true" src/content/

# 4. Clear build cache
rm -rf _site/
npm run build

# 5. Check CDN cache
# Clear CDN cache if using one

Prevention Strategies

Browser Developer Tools

Console Debugging

// Check for JavaScript errors
console.log('Debug info:', data);

// Check for CSS issues
// Look for 404 errors in Network tab

// Check for template rendering
// Inspect HTML output for missing content

Network Tab Analysis

# Check for missing assets
# Look for 404 errors in Network tab

# Verify CSS and JS loading
# Check if all assets are loading correctly

# Check for CORS issues
# Look for cross-origin errors

Content Validation

Frontmatter Validation

# Check for YAML syntax errors
grep -r "---" src/content/ | head -20

# Validate required fields
grep -r "title:" src/content/
grep -r "date:" src/content/

# Check for missing fields
find src/content -name "*.md" -exec grep -L "title:" {} \;

Content Structure Validation

# Check directory structure
find src/content -type d -name "*" | sort

# Verify file naming
find src/content -name "*.md" | head -10

# Check for duplicate content
find src/content -name "index.md" | wc -l

Common Error Messages

Build Error Messages

"Content path not found"

❌ Content path not found:
/path/to/content

Check your contentPath in site.json or the .env variable QUESBY_CONTENT_PATH

> **Note**: For detailed content configuration, see the [Content Management Guide](./content-management.md#content-basics).

Solution: Set correct QUESBY_CONTENT_PATH environment variable.

"Template not found"

Template render error: Template not found

Solution: Check template file exists and path is correct.

"Collection not found"

Collection not found: posts

Solution: Verify content structure and file naming.

Runtime Error Messages

"Cannot read property of undefined"

TypeError: Cannot read property 'title' of undefined

Solution: Check if variable exists before accessing properties.

"Module not found"

Error: Cannot find module 'module-name'

Solution: Install missing dependency with npm install.

Prevention Strategies

Best Practices

Content Management

Always validate frontmatter before committing
Use consistent naming conventions
Keep content organized in proper directories
Test content changes locally before deploying

Development Workflow

Use version control for all changes
Test builds regularly during development
Keep dependencies updated
Document custom configurations

Performance Optimization

Optimize images before adding to content
Minimize SCSS complexity
Use efficient template structures
Monitor build times and memory usage

Monitoring

Build Monitoring

# Monitor build times
time npm run build

# Check memory usage
npm run build -- --verbose

# Monitor file changes
npm run serve -- --watch

Content Monitoring

# Check for broken links
# Use tools like linkchecker

# Validate HTML output
# Use HTML validators

# Check for accessibility issues
# Use accessibility testing tools

Getting Help

Community Resources

Documentation

Support Channels

GitHub Issues: For bug reports and feature requests
GitHub Discussions: For questions and community support
Stack Overflow: For technical issues (tag: quesby-boilerplate)

Reporting Issues

Bug Reports

When reporting issues, include:

Node.js version

{% include "partials/documentation-nav-footer.njk" %}

Operating system
Error messages
Steps to reproduce
Expected vs actual behavior

Feature Requests

For feature requests, include:

Use case description
Proposed solution
Benefits of the feature
Implementation considerations

This comprehensive troubleshooting guide should help you resolve most issues encountered while working with Quesby. If you continue to experience problems, please refer to the community resources or create a detailed issue report.