Chapter 19

Troubleshooting

Solutions for common problems, and where Manta logs errors. If you report a bug, the log file helps a lot.

The log file¶

Manta writes errors and important events to:

~/Library/Logs/Manta/manta.log

To find it:

1. Choose Help → Show Log File in Finder in the menu bar – or open the command palette with ⇧⌘P and choose Show Log File in Finder there.
2. Finder opens the log folder (~/Library/Logs/Manta) with the file manta.log – in Finder itself, even when Manta is your default file viewer.

Every error message Manta shows you is in there with the technical error, the path and the location (local, server …). The file rotates at 5 MB; one older copy is kept.

Plugins have logs of their own: Settings → Plugins → Show Log on the plugin's card.

Report a bug¶

Found a bug? Report it on GitHub – the easiest way is Help → Report an Issue… (also in the command palette – type "bug" – and in Settings → General → About Manta → Feedback). Manta opens the bug report form in your browser with the Manta version, the macOS version and the chip (Apple silicon or Intel) already filled in. Manta itself sends nothing: you see the form and decide what to submit. You need a free GitHub account.

What helps to find the bug:

• Manta and macOS version – filled in by Manta; otherwise under Manta → About Manta and Apple menu → "About This Mac".
• Steps to reproduce – what did you do, step by step?
• Expected and actual behaviour – what should have happened, and what happened instead? The exact error message helps.
• A screenshot (⇧⌘4) or a short screen recording (⇧⌘5).
• The relevant lines from the log file ~/Library/Logs/Manta/manta.log – open it with Help → Show Log File in Finder, see The log file.

Have an idea or a suggestion? Help → Suggest an Idea… opens the form for ideas. All options are also at github.com/web-workers-com/manta/issues/new/choose.

When Manta quits unexpectedly¶

If Manta crashes, it saves a crash report in ~/Library/Logs/Manta – a file named crash- followed by the date and time (UTC). The report contains only what is needed to find the bug: the Manta and macOS version, the chip, the error message and the program addresses at the moment of the crash (the "backtrace"). Your home folder appears as ~, and user, server and host names are replaced by placeholders such as <user> and <redacted>.

The next time you start Manta, a notice appears once in the bottom right corner: Manta quit unexpectedly last time.

• Report on GitHub opens the bug report form with the versions and a short summary of the report already filled in. Attach the report file to the form (drag it into the text field) – a link can't carry a file. Nothing is submitted until you submit the form on GitHub yourself.
• Show Report opens the report in your text editor, so you can see exactly what it contains.
• Ignore closes the notice. The report stays in the folder; Manta keeps the 10 newest.

Manta won't open (Gatekeeper)¶

Problem: At the first launch macOS says "“Manta” Not Opened" ("Apple could not verify “Manta” is free of malware …") or, on older macOS versions, "… can't be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software".

Cause: Manta isn't notarized by Apple. macOS blocks such apps at the first launch.

Fix:

1. Click Done in the message (not Move to Trash).
2. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security and scroll to the Security section.
3. Click Open Anyway next to "“Manta” was blocked …", click Open Anyway again when macOS asks, and confirm with your password or Touch ID.

If there's no Open Anyway, start Manta again and look right after – the button only stays for about an hour. Every step with pictures, and the Terminal way, is in The first launch: Gatekeeper.

Before macOS 15: right-click (or Control-click) Manta in the Applications folder → Open → Open.

"macOS blocked access"¶

Problem: A folder won't open, or Manta says "macOS blocked access to “…” (Operation not permitted)".

Cause: You haven't allowed Manta to access this folder (or clicked "Don't Allow" by accident), or the folder needs Full Disk Access.

Fix:

1. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Files and Folders.
2. Find Manta and turn on the folder (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, removable volumes, network volumes).
3. For folders such as ~/Library/Mail: Full Disk Access → turn on Manta.
4. Quit Manta and start it again.

If Manta isn't in the list, macOS hasn't asked yet. Open the folder once in Manta and the question appears.

"You don't have permission to open this folder" is something else: the normal Unix permissions are missing. Ask the folder's owner or change the permissions in Finder (Get Info).

Features that control Finder or Terminal¶

Problem: "Reveal in Finder", "Open in Terminal.app" or moving duplicates to the Trash doesn't work.

Fix: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Automation → under Manta, turn on Finder and Terminal.

FTP: folders don't load, "TLS" errors¶

Problem: Signing in to an FTPS server works, but folders stay empty or load forever, or Manta says "the network blocks encrypted FTP data connections".

Cause: Some company networks and firewalls reset encrypted FTP data connections.

Fix:

1. Right-click the favorite → Edit Connection… (or ⌘K for a new connection).
2. Set Data channel to Automatic.
3. Connect again.

Manta then sends listings and files unencrypted; the login stays encrypted. A warning shield on the location chip shows this.

More FTP hints:

• "A secure connection couldn't be set up": the server can't do FTPS on this port (try FTP if that's acceptable on your network), or its certificate isn't trusted.
• Manta doesn't support implicit FTPS (port 990).

A container without a shell¶

Problem: A container opens read-only, or Manta says "The container has no shell".

Cause: Manta needs sh in the container to list and change files. Distroless and scratch images have no shell.

Fix:

• Reading and copying out (F5, dragging) still works – through docker cp.
• To make changes you need an image with a shell (a debug variant of the image, for example).
• Kubernetes pods need sh even for reading.
• Stopped containers are read-only too: start them to make changes.

Docker or Kubernetes don't show up¶

• "Docker isn't running": start Docker Desktop.
• "Docker isn't installed": install Docker Desktop, or make sure the docker command is on your PATH. Manta also looks in /opt/homebrew/bin, /usr/local/bin and inside the Docker Desktop app.
• "kubectl isn't installed": brew install kubectl.
• "The Kubernetes cluster isn't reachable": check the context and your VPN, or start your local cluster.

Server connections¶

A transfer doesn't move on¶

See Pause and resume transfers.

An update fails¶

See Updates. Usually Manta isn't running from the Applications folder.

Cloud: "Remove Download" doesn't work¶

For Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox and others the provider's app decides. Use Finder: right-click → Remove Download. See Cloud Storage.

A folder shows outdated contents¶

Press ⌘R. Manta only sees changes made by other apps or the server after a refresh.

Reset Manta¶

As a last resort:

1. Quit Manta.
2. Rename ~/Library/Application Support/Manta (to Manta old, for example).
3. Start Manta. It starts as if for the first time.

Your favorites and Quick Actions are still in the renamed folder.