The "I'm Stuck" Guide

Most stuck moments are one command from unstuck

Something's not working and you're not sure why. That's normal. About half of new users hit a "now what?" moment in their first week. This page is organized by what you're experiencing, not by how HQ works internally. Scan the headings, find yours, and follow the numbered steps.

Quickest first step: type /hq-checkup in Claude Code or Codex. It checks that HQ is working, fixes what it safely can (updating HQ, starting the app if it's closed, backing up unsaved work, turning safety checks back on), and tells you in plain words about anything left.

One reassurance up front: HQ is very hard to break. Almost every problem on this page is a "you're fine, here's the next step" situation, not a "you lost work" situation.

"I just finished setup and don't know what to do next"#

This is the single most common place to get stuck, and it means setup worked. You're just standing at the starting line.

1. Open a new session (a fresh Claude Code conversation in your HQ folder).
2. Follow Your First Win, which walks you through shipping something real in one sitting.
3. If you'd rather learn by lessons, type /tutorial and pick a topic from the menu.

"I can't find the app / nothing seems to be running"#

HQ is one app. It keeps running in your menu bar (Mac) or system tray (Windows) even after you close its window.

To get unstuck:

1. Look for the HQ icon. On a Mac, it's at the top-right of your screen near the clock. On Windows, it's at the bottom-right. Click the ^ arrow to see hidden icons. Click the icon to bring the window back.
2. If there's no icon, open HQ from Applications (Mac) or the Start menu (Windows). HQ starts at login by default. If it doesn't, turn on Settings → General → Launch at login.
3. To do hands-on work, click Launch at the top-right of the HQ window and pick Claude Code or Codex. Then type a command like /startwork. See Using HQ with Claude Code or Using HQ with Codex.

If HQ still won't open, see Fixing a Failed Install.

"My teammate can't see what I shared"#

Sharing depends on three things being true. Check them in order:

1. You're signed in. Run /hq-whoami. If it shows no identity, run /hq-login and try sharing again.
2. The company is cloud-backed. Solo companies live only on your machine. A team member (usually your Champion) runs /designate-team once to connect a company to the cloud.
3. A sync has actually run. Run /hq-sync and watch it complete. Files only reach teammates after they've been uploaded.

Then re-share with /hq-share <path> (creates a link) or check what your teammate can access with /hq-files. More detail in Sharing Your Work.

"My session died or hit a limit"#

If Claude Code stopped responding with an error like "Prompt is too long," the session ran out of room. Your work is not lost. It's saved on disk.

1. Open a fresh session in your HQ folder.
2. Run /recover-session. It scans the last 7 days for sessions that died without a proper wrap-up, and reconstructs their state so the work is tracked.
3. Pick the session from the list and continue from where it left off.

To avoid this next time, run /checkpoint during long stretches of work and /handoff when you finish. See Sessions and Handoffs.

"HQ seems to have forgotten everything"#

You open a new session and it doesn't remember yesterday's conversation. This is by design, not a bug. Each session starts fresh; your durable memory lives in files, not chat history.

1. Start your session with /startwork. It reads your saved context (recent handoffs, active projects, company knowledge) and picks up where you left off.
2. If you're returning to one specific piece of work, /resumework <thread-id> reloads that exact thread.

Why fresh sessions are actually a feature: Sessions and Handoffs.

"Sync says there are conflicts"#

A conflict means you (or a teammate, or your other machine) edited the same file in two places. Nothing is lost. HQ keeps both versions on disk and asks you to pick.

1. Run /resolve-conflicts.
2. For each conflicted file, choose local (keep your version), cloud (take the other version), or discard.
3. Run /hq-sync afterward to confirm everything is clean.

More on how conflicts happen and how to avoid them: Sync Guide.

"A command I read about doesn't exist"#

You typed a slash command and Claude Code didn't recognize it.

1. Check the spelling. Commands are exact, e.g. /hq-sync not /sync-hq, /startwork not /start-work.
2. Run /tutorial. The lesson menu doubles as a tour of the commands that exist in your HQ.
3. Some commands come from packs or company add-ons your HQ may not have installed. Check Commands, Skills, and Workers for how commands get onto your machine.

"I keep telling it the same thing over and over"#

If you've corrected HQ twice on the same point (a preference, a rule, a fact about your business), stop repeating yourself and make it permanent:

1. Run /learn and describe the rule ("Always write customer emails in British English," "Our staging URL is...").
2. HQ saves it as a policy or knowledge file at the right scope, and every future session respects it automatically.

This is one of the most valuable habits in HQ. See Teaching HQ.

Older errors that are now fixed#

• /conduct wouldn't start Claude on Windows. It does now. Update HQ.
• /handoff errored in a company that only lives on your computer. It doesn't anymore. Update HQ.

Common questions#

If you get stuck#

If nothing above matches, escalate in this order:

1. Report it: run /hq-bug followed by a short description (e.g. /hq-bug sync hangs at 50%). It automatically attaches your session context, so you don't need to write a detailed report.
2. Ask the team: if it's urgent or blocking your whole team, reach out to the Indigo team directly through your usual support channel. See Getting More Help.