troubleshooting
Recover the IPython kernel safely
A kernel may hang, crash, or fail to bootstrap because of environment, dependency, or code errors. The safe fix is to stop the active session, clear the failed kernel, and let Prime Agent restart it from the session JSONL plus any kernel snapshot. Verify with a simple Python cell before resuming work.
First-party announcement, documentation, release, or installer.
Symptom
Symptom
The kernel stops responding, fails to start, or returns a blank prompt.
Diagnosis
Most failures are bootstrap, dependency, or stale-state problems rather than a broken site-wide install.
Safe fix
Stop the session, let the daemon recreate the kernel, and avoid reusing the corrupt live state.
Verification
Run a tiny Python expression and confirm the persisted state still exists where expected.
Rollback
If the restart loses important variables, restore from the latest snapshot or rerun the last stable cell.
Diagnosis
Symptom
The kernel stops responding, fails to start, or returns a blank prompt.
Diagnosis
Most failures are bootstrap, dependency, or stale-state problems rather than a broken site-wide install.
Safe fix
Stop the session, let the daemon recreate the kernel, and avoid reusing the corrupt live state.
Verification
Run a tiny Python expression and confirm the persisted state still exists where expected.
Rollback
If the restart loses important variables, restore from the latest snapshot or rerun the last stable cell.
Safe fix
Symptom
The kernel stops responding, fails to start, or returns a blank prompt.
Diagnosis
Most failures are bootstrap, dependency, or stale-state problems rather than a broken site-wide install.
Safe fix
Stop the session, let the daemon recreate the kernel, and avoid reusing the corrupt live state.
Verification
Run a tiny Python expression and confirm the persisted state still exists where expected.
Rollback
If the restart loses important variables, restore from the latest snapshot or rerun the last stable cell.
Verification
Symptom
The kernel stops responding, fails to start, or returns a blank prompt.
Diagnosis
Most failures are bootstrap, dependency, or stale-state problems rather than a broken site-wide install.
Safe fix
Stop the session, let the daemon recreate the kernel, and avoid reusing the corrupt live state.
Verification
Run a tiny Python expression and confirm the persisted state still exists where expected.
Rollback
If the restart loses important variables, restore from the latest snapshot or rerun the last stable cell.
Rollback
Symptom
The kernel stops responding, fails to start, or returns a blank prompt.
Diagnosis
Most failures are bootstrap, dependency, or stale-state problems rather than a broken site-wide install.
Safe fix
Stop the session, let the daemon recreate the kernel, and avoid reusing the corrupt live state.
Verification
Run a tiny Python expression and confirm the persisted state still exists where expected.
Rollback
If the restart loses important variables, restore from the latest snapshot or rerun the last stable cell.