Pancake Stack › Pancake Stack Manual

What to do when a site doesn't open, a server won't start or a link doesn't work, where Pancake keeps things, and how to get help.

17.1First steps

1. Look at the status pill. If it says Needs attention, hold the pointer over it to read the error.
2. Open the Logs window (⌥⌘L). "Web server" and "MySQL" cover the servers; each site has "PHP errors" and "web server errors".
3. Hold ⌥ and click Stop All to restart everything.
4. Ask the Assistant: "Why is my blog showing an error?" It reads the logs for you.

17.2A site doesn't open

The browser can't connect

The servers are probably stopped: click Start All. The Open button is greyed out while they're stopped.

The address needs a port

If another web server on your Mac (macOS's Apache, MAMP, Docker) had port 80, Pancake moved to 8080: the status pill shows Running :8080, and addresses look like http://blog.localhost:8080. Use the site card's Open button, which always has the right address.

A blank page or "500 Internal Server Error"

A PHP error. Open the site's "PHP errors" log, or turn on Show errors in the page in its PHP settings.

"Error establishing a database connection"

MySQL isn't running (Start All), or the site's configuration uses fixed database details instead of the DB_… variables Pancake provides. Imported WordPress sites are set up to read them.

A folder shows "Forbidden"

It has no index page. Add index.html or index.php, or turn on AutoIndex.

Links like /about give "Not Found" in a React or Vite app

Turn on Single-page app on the site's card (Advanced).

WordPress sends you to the old live address

The database still has the old address. Import again and fill in Old site address to replace, or use From a live website, which changes it by itself.

17.3A server won't start

"MySQL didn't start listening"

MySQL may still be recovering after a crash (Pancake waits up to a minute). Read the "MySQL" log. If another MySQL uses port 3306, Pancake takes the next free port by itself, so that isn't the cause.

"… stopped unexpectedly"

A server crashed and Pancake stopped everything to keep the stack consistent. Read the log it names, then Start All again.

"Template … wasn't applied"

A template you edited doesn't load. Pancake is using its own; open Settings ▸ Advanced ▸ Templates…, fix the line it shows, or Reset.

A Python site says "Not set up yet"

Click Set Up on its card. If the app doesn't start, read its App Log; check the App entry (module:callable).

17.4Online problems

The test link doesn't appear

Check that Outside Access is on and the servers are running. A new link takes about 20 seconds; if none appears after a minute, the "test link" log says why (often a network that blocks outgoing tunnels).

My domain shows a Cloudflare error

The tunnel isn't connected: Outside Access is off, the servers are stopped, or the Mac is asleep or offline. The site's card in the Online pane shows the tunnel's state, and Show tunnel log (Advanced) has the details.

"Over your plan's public-site limit"

Switch another site off, or check whether another of your Macs is serving a site (the Online pane says which).

A phone can't open blog.test

The phone must use this Mac's address as its DNS server, and be on the same network. blog.localhost never works from a phone.

17.5Other problems

The browser warns about the certificate on https://name.localhost

Open Settings ▸ Local HTTPS and click Trust again…. In Firefox, turn on its option to use macOS's certificates.

Mail doesn't arrive

That's on purpose: mail is captured in the Mailbox (⇧⌘M). To send real mail, see Sending real mail.

An outside database won't connect

Read the message after Test; see If the test fails.

The Assistant says Apple Intelligence isn't available

Turn on Apple Intelligence in System Settings ▸ Apple Intelligence & Siri, and wait for its model to download. Macs without Apple Intelligence can use a cloud provider (see Where the answers come from).

An AI tool says "changes are switched off"

Choose Allow changes at the end of the Assistant pane's Advanced settings.

17.6Where Pancake keeps things

Pancake is sandboxed, so everything lives in its own container. Settings ▸ Advanced ▸ Show data folder opens it.

The full path is ~/Library/Containers/jp.co.enfour.pancake/Data/Library/Application Support/Pancake/. Passwords and keys are in your Keychain, never in these folders.

17.7Getting help

• Help ▸ Pancake Help (⌘?) has searchable topics in English, Japanese and Korean.
• The Pancake Stack support page answers common questions and explains how to contact us.
• When you write, mention your macOS version, your Mac (Apple silicon or Intel) and what the status pill and logs say. Please never send passwords or keys.