Troubleshooting & FAQ

The handful of issues you are most likely to hit, and how to resolve each.

Forecasts load but the markets are empty

The forecast panels read bundled files, so they work even with no internet. If the market table stays empty, the server cannot reach Polymarket — usually a geo-block on the server's region.

• Test from the server: curl -s "https://gamma-api.polymarket.com/events?limit=1". A block or empty result confirms it.
• Fix by routing the upstreams through a proxy in an allowed region: edit GAMMA_UPSTREAM and CLOB_UPSTREAM at the top of server.js and restart.

The service won't start

• Check the log: journalctl -u weather-dashboard -e.
• Cannot find module 'express' — run npm install --omit=dev in the app directory.
• EADDRINUSE — another process holds the port; change PORT or stop the other process.
• Permission denied on port 80 — either use nginx (recommended) or add AmbientCapabilities=CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE to the unit. See Deployment.

nginx shows the default page or 502

• Default page — the site isn't enabled or the default is still linked. Re-check the symlink and sudo rm -f /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default, then sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx.
• 502 Bad Gateway — the Node service is down or on a different port. Confirm systemctl status weather-dashboard and that the unit's PORT matches the proxy_pass in the nginx config.

A data file 404s in the network tab

That is expected for optional files you have not added (actuals.json, ensemble.json, per-continent variants). The dashboard requests them, takes the 404, and falls back gracefully. Add the file when you have it.

Login problems

• Credentials rejected — confirm AUTH_USER/AUTH_PASS (defaults are ddacata / Dd329148) and that any .env override is correct, then restart.
• Logged out after every restart — set a fixed SESSION_SECRET so the signing key is stable.
• Remember the login is cosmetic: being signed out never hides data.

The forecast looks stale

The dashboard shows each forecast file's own fetched_at. If it's old, the file on the server is old — check the ingestion jobs that write forecasts.json (and friends) on your pipeline host. Replacing the file is picked up on the next request without a restart.

Useful commands

systemctl status weather-dashboard      # is it running?
journalctl -u weather-dashboard -f      # live logs
sudo nginx -t                           # validate nginx config
sudo systemctl restart weather-dashboard