🧰 LobstaKit
Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions for LobstaKit.

Docker is not installed

Run lobstakit install — it will offer to install Docker automatically.

Or install manually:

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
sudo systemctl enable --now docker

Docker permission denied

If you see "permission denied while trying to connect to the Docker daemon":

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
# Then log out and back in

Or run LobstaKit as root:

sudo lobstakit install

Container exits immediately

Check the logs:

lobstakit logs
# or
docker logs lobsta

Common causes:

  • Invalid API key — ensure ANTHROPIC_API_KEY starts with sk-
  • Port conflict — another service is using port 3000
  • Insufficient memory — Lobsta needs at least 512 MB free

Gateway not responding

Run the doctor:

lobstakit doctor

Check if the port is open:

curl http://localhost:3000/health

If the port is open but not responding, the container may be starting up (allow 10–30 seconds).

Can't access web dashboard

  • Ensure LobstaKit web server is running: lobstakit start
  • Check the port isn't blocked by a firewall: sudo ufw allow 8080
  • If binding to 0.0.0.0, access from another device via the host's IP address

Forgot web dashboard password

Delete the auth file and create a new password:

rm ~/.lobsta/auth.json
# Then visit the web dashboard — you'll be prompted to create a new password

Image pull fails or times out

  • Check internet connectivity: curl -s https://ghcr.io
  • Pull timeout is 10 minutes. On slow connections, try again.

How to change the API key

Option 1 — CLI wizard:

lobstakit config

Option 2 — Edit directly:

nano ~/.lobsta/.env
# Update the ANTHROPIC_API_KEY line
lobstakit restart

Option 3 — Web dashboard:

  1. Go to /setup
  2. Update the API key field
  3. Save and restart

Updating

Update Lobsta

lobstakit update

Update LobstaKit itself

pip install --upgrade lobstakit

Backup configuration

cp -r ~/.lobsta ~/.lobsta.backup

Uninstall

# Stop and remove container
docker rm -f lobsta
 
# Remove configuration (optional)
rm -rf ~/.lobsta
 
# Uninstall LobstaKit
pip uninstall lobstakit
Web Dashboard