Help Centre › Troubleshooting & FAQ
This page covers the problems people meet most often with the Automize bot, and what to do about each. If you are still stuck, send us your log.
1. The download or the installer is blocked
Browsers, Windows and antivirus software are wary of new programs. Only allow the bot if you downloaded it from the Automize website yourself.
Microsoft Edge blocks the download
- Open the downloads list (the download icon on the toolbar).
- Point at the Automize download, open its … menu and choose Keep.
- If Edge warns you again, choose Show more, then Keep anyway.
Windows says "Windows protected your PC"
This is Microsoft Defender SmartScreen. Click More info, then Run anyway.
Your antivirus blocks or removes the bot
Choose the option to allow or restore the file, for example Allow this file in Symantec. On a company machine, ask IT to allow the Automize bot. They may need the addresses in the security checklist.
macOS will not open the app
Open System Settings › Privacy & Security, scroll down and choose Open Anyway next to the message about Automize.
Before installing on an older machine, check the system requirements.
2. The bot will not connect or sign in
Bots connect with their own key, approved with a short code. The steps are in Connect a bot to your workspace.
| The bot says | What to do |
|---|---|
| This bot now signs in with its own key, not a password. Use Connect this bot. | Password sign-in ends on 26 October 2026. Choose Connect this bot and approve the code. An old bot must be updated first. The website's error code for this is BOT_KEY_REQUIRED. |
| The server now needs this bot to have its own sign-in. Connect it below. | The same: connect it with a code. |
| This bot was disconnected. Connect it again. | Someone chose Disconnect on the bot page, or signed out on the bot. Connect it again with a code. |
| This bot's key is no longer accepted. Connect it again. | Connect it again with a code. Connecting gives the machine a new key. |
| The person this bot runs for no longer has access. | That person was locked, removed or left the workspace. A company admin chooses someone else under Runs for on the bot page. The bot carries on by itself within a few minutes. |
| Incorrect email address and/or password. | Only for bots that still use a password. Check the email is exactly the one you use on the website. Better: move the bot to its own key. |
| Access from your current IP address is restricted… | Your workspace only allows certain addresses. Ask an admin to add this machine's address. |
| Our servers and services are currently offline. | Wait a few minutes and try again. If a VPN is on, see section 3. |
3. Network, VPN and proxy errors
The bot needs to reach automize.co.za. The full list of addresses to allow is in the security checklist.
- VPN. When a VPN carries the bot's traffic, the bot says so in its error, for example "… carries traffic to automize.co.za - try excluding automize.co.za or disconnecting." Ask IT to exclude that address from the VPN, or disconnect it and try again.
- Proxy. The bot has no proxy setting of its own. It uses the machine's network settings. If it says "Please ensure your proxy settings are correct and try again", the company proxy refused the connection. Ask IT to let
automize.co.zathrough the proxy.
If IT asks which proxy the machine uses: on Windows, open Settings › Network & internet › Proxy. The address and port are under Manual proxy setup. If Use setup script is on, the proxy is chosen by a script (a .pac file) and IT will know its address.
4. A run fails or does something unexpected
- Stop it. Press Esc, or click Stop on the bot.
- The bot refused to start. Before each run the bot checks the process. It names the step that is wrong, for example a missing value or a browser whose driver does not match. Fix that step on the process map and play again.
- A browser step fails. The browser and its driver have probably drifted apart after a browser update. See Troubleshooting browser drivers.
- It used to work. If the process has saved test cases, open Checks on the bot, pick the process and click Run checks. A failed case shows what changed. Cases stay on the machine.
- Watch it step by step. Use Slow-mo or Pause on error from the arrow next to Play, or debug it from the website. See Running and debugging a process.
- See what happened. History on the bot lists recent runs on this machine. Run history on the website shows every run with its log.
If the bot page on the website shows a red banner such as Environment health degraded or Desktop unavailable, the problem is with the machine rather than the process. See Health banners.
5. Send us your log
The bot keeps a detailed log on the machine. Support can usually answer a problem straight away with it.
- Help › Report a problem opens an email to support with the bot's version, machine and ID already filled in. It first offers to send your log file too: say yes.
- Help › Submit log file sends the log on its own. Typed text, variable values and other client data are scrubbed from the copy before it is sent; the original log stays on the machine.
- Help › Show log in Explorer (Finder on a Mac) opens the folder with the log, if you want to read it yourself.
Someone on the website can also ask a bot for its log: on the bot's page, open More and choose Submit log file.