# Troubleshooting
Resolve sign-in, preview, import, editing, export, and download problems with Creator MCP.

Start with the symptom below. Keep the document ID and output file name when asking your AI agent to investigate so it checks the right animation.

## Connection and sign-in

<Accordion type="single">
  <AccordionItem title="The tools do not appear" value="missing-tools">
    Confirm that the server is enabled in your client's MCP settings and that its tools are enabled for the current conversation. Reconnect to refresh the tool list, then ask the agent to list the Creator MCP tools. You may see up to 11 tools with the `creator_` prefix; `creator_preview` appears only in clients that support MCP Apps. If only `creator_exec`, `creator_docs`, and `creator_document` appear, the server you're connected to doesn't offer file downloads, file deletion, or workspace tools. Reconnecting or retrying won't add them; check that you're using the server address in [Connect your MCP client](/en/developers/creator-mcp/connect).

    Check your organization's custom MCP settings if the server cannot be added. Follow the instructions for your client in [Connect your MCP client](/en/developers/creator-mcp/connect).
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="Sign-in does not open, hangs, or returns 401" value="sign-in">
    Start sign-in from the client's MCP settings and finish both LottieFiles login and consent. For `401 Unauthorized`, reconnect and sign in again. If the client has cached an old registration, remove that server entry and add it again.

    The client must support remote MCP with OAuth. For a stdio-only client, use the bridge in [Other clients](/en/developers/creator-mcp/connect). On a remote machine, use the client's supported browser authorization flow.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="ChatGPT sign-in shows unknown client_id" value="chatgpt-client-id">
    Start the connection again from the plugin. If the error continues, delete the plugin in **Settings → Plugins**, then add it again using the [ChatGPT setup](/en/developers/creator-mcp/connect#chatgpt). If sign-in still fails, set **Registration method** to **Dynamic Client Registration (DCR)** under **Advanced OAuth settings** when you add the plugin. You can't change this setting afterwards.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="The LottieFiles page shows consent expired" value="consent-expired">
    The approval page is valid for five minutes. Start the connection again from your connector or plugin, then select **Approve** right away.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="A workspace tool asks me to sign in again" value="workspace-reauth">
    A connection made before workspace saves were available signs in again the first time it uses a workspace tool. Other tools keep working. Complete the sign-in when your client opens it, then ask the agent to run `creator_account` to confirm the account and workspace.

    If your client doesn't open the sign-in by itself, remove the server from the client and add it again. Reconnecting alone does not sign in again.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="My animations are missing or a Creator link says Unauthorized" value="other-account">
    Animations belong to the LottieFiles account you approved when you connected. If you connected again while your browser was signed in to another account, the agent sees that account's documents, and your earlier animations appear to be missing. Ask the agent to run `creator_account` to see which account it is connected to.

    If a Lottie Creator link says Unauthorized, your browser is signed in to a different LottieFiles account from the one the agent saves to. Sign in to that account in your browser and open the link again; you don't need to reconnect the server.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="The hostname does not resolve or the server returns 503" value="endpoint">
    Confirm that you are using `https://creator.mcp.lottiefiles.com/mcp`. A 503 while your client refreshes its sign-in can mean a temporary service problem: wait for the `Retry-After` interval, then retry. If it persists, reconnect once the service recovers. If the URL is correct, retry later. If the problem persists, contact [LottieFiles support](https://help.lottiefiles.com/) with the error and your client name.
  </AccordionItem>
</Accordion>

## Previews and edits

<Accordion type="single">
  <AccordionItem title="I get a description instead of an image" value="missing-image">
    Ask explicitly for a filmstrip. Some clients do not display images from tool results. Ask the agent to render a named PNG still and provide its download link instead. For moving playback, request an MP4 preview, or open the [preview card](/en/developers/creator-mcp/preview) in Claude or ChatGPT.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="The preview card does not appear" value="preview-missing">
    The [preview card](/en/developers/creator-mcp/preview) appears only in clients that support MCP Apps; Claude and ChatGPT are confirmed to work. Ask the agent to show your animation playing. If it cannot, check that `creator_preview` is in the tool list; reconnect the server to refresh the list. The card shows the animation as last saved, so ask the agent to build the scene first. In clients without MCP Apps support, ask for filmstrips, stills, or an MP4 instead.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="Send is off, or my comments did not reach the agent" value="preview-send">
    If the card says Send is off, your client doesn't accept messages from the card. Copy your notes into the chat instead.

    Some clients put the card's message in the message box instead of sending it; check the box and send it. If the card says it couldn't send, your comments are kept; select **Send to chat** again. Comments are notes for the agent, so the animation changes only after the agent applies them.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="The card has no Download or Edit in Lottie Creator button" value="preview-buttons">
    **Download** is hidden when the server can't encode video right now; ask the agent for the video in chat, or try again later. **Edit in Lottie Creator** appears only when your connection can save to your LottieFiles workspace and your client can open links. Ask the agent to open the animation in Lottie Creator instead.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="The card says This version is no longer available" value="preview-version">
    The version the card was showing dropped out of the document's history, so it can't be exported. Select **Check again** to retry. If the message stays, ask the agent to show the animation again, and export from the new card.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="The preview is small or a different size than requested" value="preview-size">
    Without explicit dimensions, filmstrip tiles and stills are at most 320 pixels on the longest edge; smaller compositions are not enlarged. Ask for explicit dimensions when you need a larger still. Renders preserve the scene's aspect ratio and may shrink to fit server limits. `output_resized` or `preview_scaled` warnings explain the adjustment.

    To change the layout from square to portrait, resize the composition and rearrange its elements before exporting. Changing the render size alone does not reframe the scene.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="A follow-up request rebuilt the scene or changed the wrong animation" value="wrong-scene">
    Ask the agent to list your documents, select the original document ID, and describe the scene before making another edit. Target a named element and explicitly preserve everything else.

    To go back, ask the agent to list the document's history and restore the revision before the change. A restore also brings back the scene after a reset. History lists only revisions saved since the server's v0.7.0 release. A failed script leaves the document at its previous committed state.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="An import is missing parts or the agent cannot read my asset" value="import">
    Ask the agent to confirm that it received the file's contents and inspect the import warnings. An attachment visible in chat may not expose its bytes to tools.

    Expressions, repeaters, and other unsupported features may be omitted. Ask the agent to recreate missing shapes or motion. Lottie text layers import as editable text, and SVG text imports as outlined shapes.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="Text uses the wrong font or characters are missing" value="text-font">
    Text whose font has not been loaded is drawn in the bundled font, and the agent sees a `font_fallback` warning. The bundled font covers Latin characters only, so other scripts and emoji draw nothing. Supply the font as a TTF, OTF, or TTC file the agent can read; WOFF files are not read. A `font_not_loaded` warning means nothing was added from the file: it was already loaded, it is truncated or corrupt, or it lacks the family or PostScript name that fonts carry (name IDs 1, 6, and 16).

    Fonts are limited to 8 MiB. An agent that can upload files imports the font with `creator_import_media`; otherwise the file must fit in one 4 MiB request, so keep it below roughly 3 MiB. For a large font, supply a version subset to the characters you use. When subsetting, keep the font's names, for example with `pyftsubset --name-IDs='*'`.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="Text runs off the canvas" value="text-clipped">
    A `text_clipped` warning names the text, the edge it crosses, and the times. Ask the agent to make the text smaller, wrap it in a text box, or move it, then show a filmstrip at those times. Text inside a nested composition is not checked; ask the agent to focus that composition to check it.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="Text that should start hidden appears too early" value="text-visibility">
    Ask for a filmstrip that includes the first frame of each text entrance, and name the text that appears early. Ask the agent to look up `setOpacity` and the per-character reveal in `creator_docs`, then check the text's state at the start of the scene.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="A script times out or reports a method error" value="script-error">
    Ask the agent to inspect the error's message, line, source, and hint, then look up the affected method with `creator_docs`. An uncaught error rolls back the script, so it should inspect the current document before continuing.

    For a timeout, split the work into smaller scripts or reduce scene complexity. Rendering a filmstrip is cheaper than repeatedly encoding a video.
  </AccordionItem>
</Accordion>

## Exports and downloads

<Accordion type="single">
  <AccordionItem title="Lottie export reports UNSUPPORTED_FEATURE" value="unsupported-export">
    Ask the agent to read the error details and move affected transforms, masks, effects, mattes, or images onto appropriate composition-level layers. Some gradient and color animations are also restricted. Compare the preview after restructuring.

    For text, a `text_export_limit` warning names the feature that renders but cannot export, such as animator timing or animated font size. Ask the agent to replace it with a supported technique, or keep it and export video.

    If you only need the rendered appearance, export MP4 or WebM. Those formats do not provide Lottie playback.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="My video has a white or black background" value="background">
    Video exports use the animation's background color, which is white unless you set one. Ask the agent to set the background you want, or request **WebM with a transparent export background**. MP4 has no alpha channel; transparent pixels are composited over black.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="The file is still encoding or waiting for quota" value="encoding">
    Ask the agent to check the existing file after the reported `retryAfterS` interval. `waiting: "quota"` means you already have eight queued or running video jobs; this export starts when one finishes.

    Avoid exporting again under the same name: that replaces the output and cancels the previous encode. Invalid export settings, such as exceeding the frame limit, fail in the same request with a message that says what to change. Failures during encoding appear later as an `error` status; use its message to adjust the export. A `render_unavailable` error means rendering could not start, for example because the server was busy or startup took too long; ask the agent to export again. If video encoding is unavailable, use PNG or Lottie JSON, or retry later.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="Deleting a file returns output_changed" value="output-changed">
    Another export has reused the file name since the agent last checked it, so the newer file was kept. Ask the agent to check the file again, then decide whether to delete the newer export.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="A link expired or cannot be opened" value="download-link">
    Ask for a fresh download link to the same file. Links last up to 15 minutes; output files are retained for seven days by default. If the file itself has expired, render or export it again.

    A `uri` returned without a `downloadUrl` is an MCP resource. Your client needs to read it and provide the file; pasting it into a browser will not work.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="Saving to my workspace failed or timed out" value="workspace-save">
    Workspace saves accept the animation itself, saved as dotLottie, or a ready Lottie JSON output. Use a download link for video and stills. `workspace_busy` means retry later. `empty_document` means the animation has no composition yet, and `no_focused_composition` means none of its compositions is selected for output; ask the agent to focus the composition you want and try again.

    If the result is uncertain, check your workspace's Drafts project before saving again; the file may already be there. Ask the agent to run `creator_account` if you're not sure which workspace it saves to.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="Opening in Lottie Creator failed" value="open-in-creator">
    `empty_document` means the animation has no composition yet. `no_focused_composition` means none of its compositions is selected for output; ask the agent to focus the composition you want and try again. `export_failed` means the animation can't be exported as dotLottie; the error carries the Lottie exporter's message, so see the Lottie export items above. `output_replaced` means another request changed the file at the same time; retry. `workspace_busy` means retry later.

    Later requests for the same animation add a new version of the same workspace file. If that file was deleted, the agent creates a new one and the link changes.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="Loading a file from my workspace failed" value="workspace-load">
    `unsupported_file` means the file's format can't be read; files created inside Lottie Creator are one cause, and can't be loaded yet. Ask the agent for the error message. `file_not_found` means the file ID doesn't match a file the connected account can see. `file_too_large` means the file is over the load limit, at most 12 MiB. `workspace_download_failed` means the download failed; ask the agent to retry.
  </AccordionItem>

  <AccordionItem title="The agent asks to reset a document" value="reset-delete">
    Confirm only if you want to clear that document. A reset removes its output files and cancels encodes; download or save anything you need first. To undo a change instead, ask the agent to restore an earlier revision. A restore can also undo a reset.

    A reset requires a client that supports MCP 2026-07-28 form elicitation. If your client cannot show the form, use a client that can complete confirmation.
  </AccordionItem>
</Accordion>