Bob Support

Cannot Start a Name Auction?

“I received an error” is not enough to identify the cause. Use this checklist to rule out common problems and send a safe, useful diagnostic report.

Never Share Wallet Secrets

Bob support will never need your seed phrase, recovery words, private keys, wallet password, API keys, or a wallet backup. Anyone asking for them is trying to take control of your wallet.

Do not type, photograph, paste, upload, or screen-share any of those secrets—even in a private message.

First, Save the Exact Error

Try the action once more and note the approximate time and your time zone.
Copy the complete error text. If it cannot be copied, take a clear screenshot that includes the whole message.
Do not repeatedly click Start Auction. First check whether Bob created a pending transaction.
If a transaction ID appears, save it and do not retry until its status is understood.

Quick Checks

Sync: wait until Bob says its wallet and chain are synced. Include the current block height in your report.
Name status: search for the name again and confirm Bob says it is available now—not reserved, locked, already opening, or available at a future block.
Spendable balance: make sure the wallet has confirmed, spendable HNS for the network transaction fee. HNS locked in bids is not spendable.
Pending activity: check transaction history for an unconfirmed OPEN transaction before trying again.
Restart once: fully quit Bob, reopen it, let it sync, search for the name, and try once more.

If it still fails, stop there and send the report below. Do not reinstall Bob, delete its data, change node folders, rescan, or restore a seed phrase unless support has identified a reason.

Send This Diagnostic Report

Copy this template into a support message or GitHub issue. You may replace the name with redacted-name if you do not want to disclose it publicly.

Bob app: Original Bob / Bob LearnHNS
Bob version: [enter version]
Operating system and version: [enter OS and version]
Connection mode: SPV / Full Node / Custom RPC
Network: Mainnet / Testnet / Regtest
Wallet and chain fully synced: Yes / No
Current block height: [enter block height]
Name searched (or “redacted-name”): [enter name or redact]
Name status shown by Bob: [enter status]
Spendable HNS available: Yes / No
Exact steps taken: [describe steps]
Exact error text: [paste error]
Approximate error time and time zone: [enter time and zone]
Pending transaction or transaction ID: None / Details
Did starting an auction work before?: Yes / No / Unknown
Screenshot attached: Yes / No
Redacted log excerpt attached: Yes / No

Export a Node Log

Reproduce the error once and write down the time.
Open Settings → General.
Select Download and save the bob-debug-*.log file.
Open the file in a text editor and look near the recorded time. Send only the relevant redacted section unless support specifically requests more.

The downloaded file is the Handshake node log. The exact on-screen error and screenshot are still important because an app-interface error may not appear in that file.

Review Logs Before Sharing

Logs should not contain your seed phrase, but they can contain privacy-sensitive information such as Handshake names, wallet addresses, transaction IDs, IP addresses, server URLs, usernames, and local file paths. Review and redact those details when they are not needed to reproduce the problem.

Post only a redacted excerpt in Telegram or a public GitHub issue.
Do not upload an entire unredacted log to a public file-sharing service.
If maintainers need the full log, contact them first and agree on a private transfer method. Encrypt the file and send its password through a different channel.
Even when encrypted, never include recovery words, private keys, passwords, API keys, or wallet backup files.

Where to Report It

Use Telegram for initial help. Use GitHub when the report is reproducible and safe to discuss publicly. Keep private information out of both.

Bob Telegram Open a GitHub Issue