Troubleshooting

Installation issues

central cannot be opened because it is from an unidentified developer

Right-click (or Ctrl+Click) the central binary.
Select Open from the context menu.
Click Open in the dialog.

Or remove the quarantine attribute:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine ./central

central is damaged and can't be opened

The quarantine attribute wasn't fully removed:

                                xattr -cr ./central
                                chmod +x ./central
                            

Permission denied: Make the binary executable:
chmod +x ./central

SmartScreen blocked the app

Click More info on the SmartScreen dialog.
Click Run anyway.

Or unblock via PowerShell:

Unblock-File -Path .\central.exe

central: command not found

The binary is not on your PATH. Connected agents run into the same thing, because they start the proxy by running central themselves. Add the directory holding the binary, ~/.local/bin, to your PATH:

Append this line to your shell profile (~/.zshrc for zsh, ~/.bashrc for bash), then open a new terminal:

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Run this in PowerShell, then open a new terminal:

                                [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", $env:Path + ";$HOME\.local\bin", "User")
                            

To confirm the binary is found:

central --version

Browser doesn't open: If JetBrains Central CLI doesn't open your browser automatically, copy the URL from the terminal and paste it into your browser manually.
License check failed: Your JetBrains Account doesn't have an active AI subscription.
OAuth callback fails: Make sure port 19515 is available. JetBrains Central CLI uses this port for the OAuth callback server.
lsof -i :19515
netstat -ano | findstr :19515

Proxy issues

Proxy won't start

The proxy port is assigned per machine and stored as proxy_port in ~/.jetbrains-central/config.json; central status reports the one in use. Make sure that port is available — substitute it for <port>:

lsof -i :<port>

netstat -ano | findstr :<port>

If you need that port for something else, set a different one with central config set port <port> or the WIRE_PROXY_PORT environment variable. Then run central repair so that your connected agents use the new port.

If JetBrains Central CLI reports the proxy is running, but it's not responding, the PID file may be stale:

                        # Check if the process is actually running
                        ps aux | grep central

                        # If not, remove the stale PID file
                        rm ~/.jetbrains-central/proxy.pid
                    

Proxy stops unexpectedly

Check the daemon log files for errors:

                        ls ~/.jetbrains-central/logs/
                        cat ~/.jetbrains-central/logs/wire_$(date +%Y-%m-%d).log
                    

Log files are kept for two days and rotated daily. Set log_level to debug in JetBrains Central CLI settings for more details.

You can also open the logs directory from the interactive interface: More... > Settings > Show Logs.

Agent issues

Agent not working after connecting it

Try the following:

Check proxy is running: central status
Open a new terminal and run the agent again.
Verify the config. Check the agent's configuration to ensure the base URL points to the proxy (see Agent shows "configured" but requests fail).
Run central repair. It refreshes your credentials, reconnects your agents, and restarts the proxy.

"Connection refused" errors

Proxy isn't running. Start it with:

central proxy start

"Unauthorized" or "Forbidden" errors

Your token may have expired. JetBrains Central CLI auto-refreshes tokens, but if it fails:

Run central logout
Run central login

Agent shows "configured" but requests fail

Verify the config file has the correct URL:

                                cat ~/.claude/settings.json
                                # Should contain: "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:{port}/wire/{secret}/claude-code/anthropic"
                            

                                cat ~/.codex/config.toml
                                # Should contain: model_provider = "wire" and base_url with /wire/{secret}/codex/openai
                            

                                cat ~/.gemini/.env
                                # Should contain: GOOGLE_VERTEX_BASE_URL=http://127.0.0.1:{port}/wire/{secret}/gemini-cli/vertex
                            

On macOS and Linux:

                                cat ~/.jetbrains-central/agents/copilot/configure-env.sh
                                # Should contain: COPILOT_PROVIDER_BASE_URL with /wire/{secret}/copilot/openai/v1 or /wire/{secret}/copilot/anthropic
                            

On Windows, in PowerShell:

                                [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("COPILOT_PROVIDER_BASE_URL", "User")
                                # Should contain: /wire/{secret}/copilot/openai/v1 or /wire/{secret}/copilot/anthropic
                            

Agent enabled in Central Console is not available

If an administrator enables an additional agent for you in JetBrains Central Console, the agent may not appear in JetBrains Central CLI immediately.

Central CLI periodically checks for updated settings, approximately once an hour. So changes made in Central Console may take some time to become available in JetBrains Central CLI.

To update the settings immediately, run: central agents refresh

Then check the available agents again.

If the agent is still unavailable, contact your JetBrains Central admin.

MCP server from your organization is not available in an agent

If an administrator adds an MCP server for you in JetBrains Central Console, but your agent doesn't use it, try the following:

Run central agents refresh to fetch new servers immediately. JetBrains Central CLI checks for new servers about once an hour.
Run central policies and check the server status. If the server is pending or denied, allow it.
Make sure that you connected the agent or started it with central run. Pi doesn't support MCP servers, and GitHub Copilot doesn't get them yet.
Restart the agent. Some agents, such as Claude Agent and Codex, pick up new servers only after a restart.
Make sure that AI access is provided to you as a member of your organization in JetBrains Central, not through an AI license. Run central status to see how you are currently logged in.

If the server is still unavailable, contact your JetBrains Central admin.

Auth conflict warning on startup

If Claude Agent shows a ⚠Auth conflict warning when it starts, the agent should still work through JetBrains Central CLI as long as apiKeyHelper is configured.

To make the warning disappear, make sure neither ANTHROPIC_API_KEY nor ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN is set in your shell environment or shell startup files.

In the current shell session, you can clear them with:

unset ANTHROPIC_API_KEY ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN

auth picker / "GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT should be set": Gemini CLI requires workspace trust. When you open Gemini CLI in a new folder, it asks whether to trust the workspace. If you decline, Gemini CLI ignores settings.json and .env. Then JetBrains Central CLI configuration is not applied. Trust the folder when prompted, or type /permissions inside Gemini CLI to change trust settings.

Copilot doesn't use the proxy after connecting: JetBrains Central CLI configures GitHub Copilot through environment variables, and terminals that were open before you connected Copilot keep the old environment. Open a new terminal and start Copilot again.
Connecting fails: no Bash or Zsh: On macOS and Linux, JetBrains Central CLI needs Bash or Zsh on your PATH to connect GitHub Copilot. Install one of them, or make sure it is on your PATH, and run central add copilot again.
Connecting fails: ZDOTDIR is not absolute: If the ZDOTDIR environment variable is set, it must be an absolute path, one that starts with /. This applies even if Zsh is not installed. Set ZDOTDIR to an absolute path or unset it, then connect GitHub Copilot again.
Copilot shows "inconsistent config": Part of the configuration that JetBrains Central CLI wrote for GitHub Copilot is missing or was changed — for example, the jetbrains-central-copilot block was removed from a shell startup file, or Bash or Zsh is no longer on your PATH. In this state, JetBrains Central CLI doesn't connect Copilot over the existing configuration, and central repair doesn't fix it. Disconnect Copilot and connect it again:
central remove copilot central add copilot --provider=<openai|anthropic>
Copilot reports an unknown model: JetBrains Central CLI doesn't check the model ID you pass with --model. If the ID is wrong, or the model is not available to you, the error appears inside Copilot when it sends a request. Disconnect Copilot and connect it again with a valid model.

Token issues

Token expired

Tokens expire roughly every 24 hours. JetBrains Central CLI handles this automatically:

The proxy refreshes tokens in the background every 2 hours.
On 401/403, the proxy refreshes immediately and retries.

If auto-refresh fails, run central repair. It refreshes all your credentials and asks you to log in again if needed. If the problem persists, log out and back in with central logout and central login.

Keychain access denied

JetBrains Central CLI stores the encryption key in your system keychain.

Open Keychain Access, search for wire-jbai, and allow access.

Make sure gnome-keyring or kwallet is running. JetBrains Central CLI uses the Secret Service D-Bus API.

Check Credential Manager for the wire-jbai entry.

Report an issue

Report an issue from the interactive interface

Run central.
Go to More... | Report issue.

This opens a browser form pre-filled with your version, operating system, proxy status, connected agents, and the last 50 lines of the daemon log.

When contacting JetBrains support manually, gather the following:

                        central --version    # JetBrains Central CLI version
                        central status       # auth, proxy, and agent status
                        uname -a             # OS information

                        # Log files, zipped so you can attach them
                        zip -rj ~/central-logs.zip ~/.jetbrains-central/logs/
                    

                        central --version    # JetBrains Central CLI version
                        central status       # auth, proxy, and agent status
                        systeminfo           # OS information

                        # Log files, zipped so you can attach them
                        Compress-Archive -Path $HOME\.jetbrains-central\logs\* -DestinationPath $HOME\central-logs.zip -Force
                    

Before filing anything, check the sections above — they cover installation, login, proxy, agent, and token problems.

16 October 2026