Installation Troubleshooting¶
Common installation issues and their solutions. Most problems can be resolved quickly with these troubleshooting steps.
🔍 Quick Diagnostics¶
Check System Status¶
# Test basic functionality
neuron-automation --test
# Check version and installation
neuron-automation --version
# Validate configuration
neuron-automation --check-config
🐧 Linux Issues¶
Permission Denied Errors¶
# Fix file permissions
chmod +x ~/.config/neuron-automation/neuron_automation.py
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/neuron-automation
# Fix ownership
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER ~/.config/neuron-automation/
Systemd Service Issues¶
# Check service status
systemctl --user status neuron-automation.timer
# Reload systemd configuration
systemctl --user daemon-reload
# Enable and start service
systemctl --user enable neuron-automation.timer
systemctl --user start neuron-automation.timer
# View service logs
journalctl --user -u neuron-automation.service -f
Chrome Installation Issues¶
# Install Chrome on Ubuntu/Debian
wget -q -O - https://dl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add -
sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main"
sudo apt update && sudo apt install google-chrome-stable
# Verify installation
google-chrome --version
🍎 macOS Issues¶
Homebrew Installation¶
# Install Homebrew if missing
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
# Install Chrome via Homebrew
brew install --cask google-chrome
# Verify installation
/Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome --version
Launch Agent Issues¶
# Check launch agent status
launchctl list | grep neuron-automation
# Unload and reload launch agent
launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.neuron-automation.plist
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.neuron-automation.plist
# Check plist file syntax
plutil -lint ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.neuron-automation.plist
Permission Issues¶
# Fix script permissions
chmod +x ~/.config/neuron-automation/neuron_automation.py
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/neuron-automation
# Fix launch agent permissions
chmod 644 ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.neuron-automation.plist
🪟 Windows Issues¶
PowerShell Execution Policy¶
# Check current policy
Get-ExecutionPolicy
# Set execution policy (run as Administrator)
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
Task Scheduler Issues¶
# Check scheduled tasks
Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName "*neuron*"
# Get detailed task information
Get-ScheduledTask -TaskName "NeuronAutomation" | Get-ScheduledTaskInfo
# Manually run task for testing
Start-ScheduledTask -TaskName "NeuronAutomation"
Chrome Installation¶
# Install Chrome via Chocolatey (if available)
choco install googlechrome
# Or download manually
# Visit: https://www.google.com/chrome/
🐍 Python Issues¶
Python Version Problems¶
# Check Python version (need 3.6+)
python --version
python3 --version
# Install Python 3 on Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt update && sudo apt install python3 python3-pip
# Install Python 3 on macOS via Homebrew
brew install python3
# Windows: Download from python.org
Virtual Environment Issues¶
# Recreate virtual environment
rm -rf ~/.config/neuron-automation/venv
python3 -m venv ~/.config/neuron-automation/venv
# Activate and reinstall dependencies
source ~/.config/neuron-automation/venv/bin/activate
pip install -r ~/.config/neuron-automation/requirements.txt
Package Installation Failures¶
# Upgrade pip first
pip install --upgrade pip
# Install with verbose output
pip install -v selenium webdriver-manager requests beautifulsoup4
# Clear pip cache if needed
pip cache purge
🌐 Network Issues¶
Connection Problems¶
# Test internet connectivity
ping -c 4 www.theneurondaily.com
# Test SSL/HTTPS
curl -I https://www.theneurondaily.com/
# Check DNS resolution
nslookup www.theneurondaily.com
Proxy/Firewall Issues¶
# Test with proxy settings
export https_proxy=http://your-proxy:port
neuron-automation --test
# Configure Chrome for proxy
# Add to config.py:
CHROME_OPTIONS = [
"--proxy-server=http://your-proxy:port"
]
🔧 Common Error Messages¶
"selenium.common.exceptions.WebDriverException"¶
Solution: Update Chrome and webdriver-manager
# Update Chrome to latest version
# Then update webdriver-manager
pip install --upgrade webdriver-manager
# Clear webdriver cache
rm -rf ~/.wdm/
"ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'selenium'"¶
Solution: Reinstall Python packages
"Permission denied: '/usr/local/bin/neuron-automation'"¶
Solution: Fix executable permissions
"Database is locked"¶
Solution: Stop automation service first
# Linux/macOS
systemctl --user stop neuron-automation.timer
# Run operation
neuron-automation --your-command
# Restart service
systemctl --user start neuron-automation.timer
🛠️ Advanced Troubleshooting¶
Enable Debug Logging¶
Manual Testing¶
# Test each component individually
cd ~/.config/neuron-automation
source venv/bin/activate
# Test browser
python3 -c "from selenium import webdriver; driver = webdriver.Chrome(); driver.get('https://google.com'); driver.quit()"
# Test network access
python3 -c "import requests; print(requests.get('https://www.theneurondaily.com/').status_code)"
# Test configuration
python3 -c "import config; print('Config loaded successfully')"
Reset Everything¶
# Complete reset (nuclear option)
systemctl --user stop neuron-automation.timer
rm -rf ~/.config/neuron-automation
sudo rm /usr/local/bin/neuron-automation
sudo rm /usr/local/bin/blacklist-rewind
# Reinstall
pip install neuron-automation
neuron-automation --setup
📞 Getting More Help¶
Log File Locations¶
- Linux/macOS:
~/.config/neuron-automation/logs/neuron_automation.log
- Windows:
%USERPROFILE%\.config\neuron-automation\logs\neuron_automation.log
Collect System Information¶
Create Bug Report¶
When reporting issues, include:
- Operating System and version
- Python version:
python --version
- Chrome version:
google-chrome --version
- Error messages (full text)
- Log files (recent entries)
- Steps to reproduce the issue
Community Support¶
- GitHub Issues: Report bugs and get help
- GitHub Discussions: Ask questions
Still having issues? Don't hesitate to create an issue with your system information and error details. The community is here to help!
Neuron Daily Newsletter Automation¶
Why This Exists: Reading the Neuron Daily newsletter is a great way to start the day, but manually clicking through all the article links takes time. This automation opens everything at once, so you can spend your morning reading instead of clicking. Built collaboratively with Claude AI to solve a real daily workflow need.
If this saves you time too, give it a ⭐ and let us know how it works for you!
Cross-platform automation system that automatically opens the latest Neuron Daily newsletter with all article links in separate tabs every weekday morning.
Supported Platforms: Linux, macOS, Windows