Skip to main content

​
Troubleshooting

Solutions to common issues you might encounter with Wafer.

​
Installation Issues

  1. Restart VS Code — Sometimes a restart is needed for new extensions
  2. Check the Activity Bar — Look for the Wafer icon on the left sidebar
  3. Verify installation — Go to Extensions and confirm Wafer shows as installed
  4. Check VS Code version — Wafer requires VS Code 1.90.0 or later
Check the VS Code Developer Tools console for errors:
  1. Open Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P)
  2. Run: “Developer: Toggle Developer Tools”
  3. Check the Console tab for error messages
Common causes:
  • Conflicting extensions
  • Corrupted installation (try reinstalling)

​
Authentication Issues

  1. Check your network — Ensure you have internet access
  2. Try a different browser — The OAuth flow opens in your default browser
  3. Clear browser cookies — Try signing in from an incognito window
  4. Check GitHub status — Verify GitHub is operational at status.github.com
Your session may expire after extended inactivity. Simply sign in again using the GitHub button in the Wafer panel.

​
NCU Profiler Issues

Cause: The ncu command is not found in your PATH.Solutions:
  1. Verify NCU is installed: Run ncu --version in your terminal
  2. Add NCU to PATH if installed but not found
  3. Restart VS Code after modifying PATH
  4. Download NCU if not installed
Note: Analyzing existing reports doesn’t require NCU to be installed.If analysis fails:
  1. Verify the file is a valid .ncu-rep file
  2. Check the file isn’t corrupted (try opening in Nsight Compute GUI)
  3. Ensure the file was created with a compatible NCU version
Common causes:
  • Incorrect executable path — Verify your program exists and is executable
  • Program crashes — Run your program directly to verify it works
  • Permission issues — NCU may require elevated permissions
Try running the NCU command manually in a terminal to see full error output.

​
Compiler Explorer Issues

Cause: The CUDA toolkit is not installed or nvcc is not in PATH.Solutions:
sudo apt-get install nvidia-cuda-toolkit
nvcc --version  # Verify installation
Compilation errors appear in the output panel. Common causes:
  • Missing headers — Ensure all required headers are included
  • Syntax errors — Fix errors in your source code
  • Architecture mismatch — Select the correct target architecture
SASS requires nvdisasm to be installed (included with CUDA Toolkit).
nvdisasm --version  # Verify nvdisasm is available
PTX output should still work even without nvdisasm.
  1. Verify a file is selected (shown in the header)
  2. Check that the file is saved (unsaved files trigger on save)
  3. Verify nvcc is working by clicking Compile manually

​
GPU Docs Issues

Response time depends on:
  • Query complexity
  • Server load
  • Network latency
Simple questions typically respond faster than complex multi-part queries.
Citation links open in your default browser. If links don’t open:
  1. Check your default browser is configured
  2. Try clicking the link again
  3. Copy the URL manually if needed
  1. Ensure the file is in your workspace
  2. Check file permissions
  3. Verify the file isn’t too large (there may be size limits)

​
General Issues

  1. Reload window — Command Palette → “Developer: Reload Window”
  2. Disable other extensions — Check for conflicts
  3. Update Wafer — Ensure you’re on the latest version
  4. Check memory usage — VS Code may need more resources
Some features require:
  • Sign-in — Most features require authentication
  • Subscription tier — Some features are tier-limited
  • Local tools — NCU/nvcc must be installed for certain features
  1. Zoom level — Reset VS Code zoom to 100%
  2. Theme compatibility — Try a different VS Code theme
  3. Reload — Reload the VS Code window

​
Getting Help

If you can’t resolve your issue:

GitHub Issues

Report bugs or request features on GitHub.

Documentation

Return to the main documentation.

​
When Reporting Issues

Include:
  • VS Code version
  • Wafer extension version
  • Operating system
  • Steps to reproduce
  • Error messages (from Developer Tools console)
  • Screenshots if relevant