Troubleshooting

License verification is temporarily unavailable#

Run Syntalume: Show License Status to distinguish a temporary verification problem from an expired or revoked license. Check connectivity and the system clock. Do not delete local state or repeatedly activate the same key to repair a connection problem; an interrupted activation may need portal reconciliation.

A previously verified paid license can keep working for up to 72 hours from its last successful check during temporary failures, never beyond the known license expiry. Reconnect before that deadline. An unverified key cannot use this grace. When grace ends while verification is unavailable, interactive and background features pause but selected appearance is retained. Confirmed revocation is enforced without it.

Closing the first-run notice does not cancel the 30-day editor period. Storage contention or clock problems should be reported as unavailable verification, not as proof that the trial ended. Retry after fixing the clock or storage problem. Do not reset the system clock to extend access.

If license enforcement replaced Syntalume appearance, access recovery restores those saved selections only while the fallback remains unchanged. Any manual appearance choice you made afterward takes precedence. Recover your key or manage activations in the customer portal. Older versions did not save selections replaced during enforcement. Those missing selections cannot be reconstructed automatically; select your preferred theme and icons once after updating if needed. Never include license keys in a public support issue.

I installed Syntalume but do not see the themes#

Run:

Preferences: Color Theme

Search for Syntalume.

Icons did not change#

Run:

Syntalume: Sync Icons With Active Theme

Then reload VS Code if the Extensions view asks for it.

If you used desktop Icon Studio, confirm Syntalume Icons – Studio (Desktop) is the active file-icon theme. Apply switches through a shipped Syntalume theme and back automatically so Explorer reloads the generated manifest. If Apply reports that the installation is read-only, reinstall Syntalume in your normal User extensions location; no settings are changed by the failed attempt.

Browser-only hosts such as vscode.dev are not supported by this paid release; use a native desktop editor for the trial and activation. In older browser builds, choose Balanced, Minimal, Outline, or Pictorial. Arbitrary slider values and custom folder/root/language maps remain read-only preset previews there because browser extensions cannot update their packaged contribution files.

Accessibility Lab cannot read the active theme#

Run Preferences: Color Theme, select the theme again, and retry:

Syntalume: Open Accessibility Lab

Some installed themes do not expose a readable JSON contribution to other extensions. Syntalume shows a warning and makes no changes when the active theme cannot be inspected.

I want one place to check my setup#

Run:

Syntalume: Open Setup Dashboard

It reports the active theme, icon themes, git decoration visibility (the M/A/U letters and colors next to changed files), formatter settings, companion extensions, and optional ambience settings.

The git letters (M, A, U) next to changed files are missing#

Those letters and file colors come from VS Code's explorer decorations, and Syntalume themes color them in every variant. If they are missing, a past setting turned them off. Run Syntalume: Run Doctor (Check Setup) to confirm, or set these back to true:

{
  "explorer.decorations.badges": true,
  "explorer.decorations.colors": true,
  "git.decorations.enabled": true
}

Applying any Syntalume Complete Experience profile also restores them.

Blame Ghosts does not show anything#

Check that:

  • The workspace is trusted.
  • The file is saved and not dirty.
  • The file is inside a local git repository.
  • git is available on your PATH.
  • auralis.blameGhosts.enabled is true.

A profile changed too many editor settings#

Profiles write normal VS Code settings. Open Settings JSON and adjust the settings you do not want. To stop profiles from toggling ambience:

{
  "auralis.profiles.includeAmbience": false
}

General Reset says its reset history is damaged#

Syntalume preserves every current editor setting and clears only its local reset metadata, so the next Syntalume apply starts from the setup you can see. If that metadata cleanup fails, retry General Reset before applying more Syntalume changes.

Images are broken on Marketplace#

Marketplace images must be public HTTPS URLs. Syntalume uses a public asset repository for screenshots while keeping the source repository private.

Public support issues live at:

https://github.com/syntalume/syntalume-support/issues

For a shareable support payload that excludes file paths, project names, source code, and environment context names, run:

Syntalume: Copy Support Diagnostics