Troubleshooting

Something not working right? Here's how to fix common problems and get help.

Common Issues

My notes disappeared

Don't panic — BetterStickies keeps automatic backups. Try closing and reopening the app. If your notes reappear, the backup recovery worked.

If they don't come back, your notes file may be damaged. You can find your notes data here:

PlatformNotes location
Linux~/.config/BetterStickies/data/notes.json
Windows%APPDATA%\BetterStickies\data\notes.json
macOS (coming soon)~/Library/Application Support/BetterStickies/data/notes.json

Back up the data folder before making any changes.

Global shortcuts not working (Linux)

On Linux, global shortcuts need to be set up in your desktop environment's settings. Open BetterStickies, go to Settings > Global Shortcuts — the dialog will guide you through the setup.

Windows SmartScreen warning

When running BetterStickies for the first time on Windows, SmartScreen may show a "Windows protected your PC" warning. This happens because the app is new and hasn't built up enough download reputation with Microsoft yet — it's not a security risk.

To get past it:

  1. Click More info on the SmartScreen dialog
  2. Click Run anyway

The warning only appears on the first launch. After that, Windows remembers your choice.

The app won't start

Try resetting your settings by deleting the configuration folder. Back up your data subfolder first if you want to keep your notes.

PlatformConfiguration folder
Linux~/.config/BetterStickies/
Windows%APPDATA%\BetterStickies\
macOS (coming soon)~/Library/Application Support/BetterStickies/

Reporting a Bug

If you've found a bug, please open an issue at github.com/HimaSphere/BetterStickies/issues.

What to include

  1. What happened and what you expected instead
  2. The log file (see below) — this helps us diagnose the problem quickly
  3. Your system — OS name and version (e.g., "Ubuntu 24.04", "Windows 11")
  4. Steps to reproduce — what were you doing when it happened?

Finding the log file

BetterStickies automatically saves a log file with diagnostic information. Please attach it when reporting bugs.

PlatformLog file location
Linux~/.config/BetterStickies/betterstickies.log
Windows%APPDATA%\BetterStickies\betterstickies.log
macOS (coming soon)~/Library/Application Support/BetterStickies/betterstickies.log

The log file stays small (under 1 MB) and rotates automatically — it's safe to attach the whole file.

Getting extra detail

If we ask for more detail on a tricky bug, you can launch BetterStickies in verbose mode:

TEXT
betterstickies --verbose

This prints additional diagnostic messages to the terminal. Share that terminal output along with the log file.

See Also

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