Troubleshooting

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

Common Issues

My notes disappeared

Don't panic. Check the hub first: a note may just be hidden, or in the Trash (Menu > View Trash). If BetterStickies showed a message when it started, see Messages About Your Notes below.

Your notes are in the notes folder inside your data folder, one file per note, and BetterStickies keeps a daily copy of all of them in a separate backups folder for the last 7 days. Backing Up Your Notes shows where both folders are and how to restore one note or all of them. Back up the data folder before making any changes.

A note shows in the hub but I can't see it

This usually means the note is parked off-screen, most often after a monitor change. If you unplug a second monitor, close a laptop lid, or rearrange your displays, a note that was sitting on the now-missing screen can end up drawn outside your visible desktop. It's still there (that's why it's listed in the hub), just nowhere you can reach it.

BetterStickies fixes this for you automatically:

• It checks every note when the app starts.
• It re-checks whenever you add, remove, or switch monitors: any note (and the hub itself) that ended up off-screen, or with only an ungrabbable sliver still showing at a screen edge, is brought back onto a screen you can see, usually within a second of the change.
• When that monitor comes back (after sleep, or when you switch it on again), the notes it moved return to where you left them. If you moved one of them yourself in the meantime, it stays where you put it. If you quit Better Stickies while the monitor is still off, the notes stay on the screen they were moved to. A note you hid in the meantime goes back the next time your monitors change, not the moment you show it again.
• If a note is hidden, it's repositioned the moment you bring it back with Locate, search, or a reminder.

So in most cases the note will simply reappear on its own. If it doesn't, try clicking the note in the hub or in search results to locate it, or quit and reopen the app. Both re-run the position check and pull it back into view. Notes that still show a comfortably grabbable portion, or that sit on a monitor that's still connected, are left exactly where you put them.

Better Stickies doesn't start when I log in

Open ☰ Menu → Settings… → General and check that Start Better Stickies when I log in is on in the Startup section. If it is off, turn it on and click Apply. If it is greyed out, hover over it: the tooltip says why (for example the Flatpak and Microsoft Store versions don't support it yet, on Windows you turned it off in Task Manager, or on Linux there is already a startup entry with our name that Better Stickies didn't create). On Linux the setting is a file called betterstickies.desktop in your ~/.config/autostart folder (in the Snap version it lives in ~/snap/betterstickies/current/.config/autostart instead), so your desktop's own startup-applications page (KDE's Autostart settings, GNOME Tweaks) can turn it off too, and Settings will show that. If you use the AppImage and moved or renamed it, just start it once from its new place: it updates its own startup entry.

On Windows (the download version) the setting is an entry in Windows' startup apps, so Task Manager's Startup apps page (or Settings → Apps → Startup) can turn it off too. Better Stickies respects that: Settings then shows the switch off and greyed out, and you turn it back on in Task Manager. If you moved from the older single-file version, start the installed BetterStickies once: it takes the startup entry over. If the switch is greyed out and its tooltip names an older copy of Better Stickies that is still on your computer, delete or rename that old copy, then start the one you use. Uninstalling BetterStickies removes its startup entry too. If you had turned the entry off in Task Manager and then deleted an old single-file copy, turning it back on there starts nothing until you open BetterStickies once, which points it at the installed version.

The hub never appears when I start the app

If you turned on Start with the hub hidden (Settings → General → Startup), this is working as intended: the app launches straight to the system tray. Click the tray icon to bring the hub up, or double-click it, or simply start the app again from its usual icon, which brings the hub up too. Then turn the setting off if you'd rather go back to the hub appearing at launch.

If you can't find the tray icon at all, some desktops tuck new icons into an overflow or "show hidden icons" area, and a few need an extension for a tray to exist. BetterStickies normally detects that and shows the hub anyway. If it somehow doesn't, on Linux you can ask the running app to show the hub directly: run ~/.config/BetterStickies/betterstickies-cmd.sh show-hub in a terminal (this also makes a good desktop keyboard shortcut; see Global Shortcuts on Linux). This works on native and AppImage installs; it isn't supported in the Snap and Flathub builds (the Snap has no helper script, and the Flathub build's copy lives inside its sandbox), so use the state.json step below there. As a last resort you can turn the setting off by hand: quit the app, open state.json in your configuration folder (see The app won't start for the path per platform) in a text editor, change "start_hub_hidden": true to false, and start the app again.

Starting the app again while it's already running brings the hub back: the new launch hands off to the copy that's already running, that copy shows its hub, and the new one closes itself quietly. Only when it can't reach the running copy does it show a message saying the app is already running. That happens while the running copy is still starting up (give it a moment and try again), if it has stopped responding, or sometimes when the two copies came from different package formats (a Snap and an AppImage, say), which may not be able to reach each other. If the message keeps appearing and the hub never comes back, the running copy is stuck: quit it from your system's task manager and start it again.

I closed a tab and want it back

Closed pages go to the trash, just like deleted notes. Open Menu > View Trash from the hub, select it, and click Restore. It comes back as its own note rather than as a tab in the note it came from.

One exception: a page that was completely empty and unnamed closes without going to the trash, since there was nothing in it to keep. If you'd given the tab a name, it goes to the trash like any other page.

Notes stay on top of every other window (Linux)

In version 1.2.0, on Linux desktops outside KDE (GNOME, Cinnamon/Linux Mint and others), opening the hub could leave every note floating above all your other applications (browsers, editors, terminals) no matter what each note's own Always on Top setting said. This is fixed in the release after 1.2.0: update the app and windows stack normally again.

If you are still on 1.2.0, the workaround is to hide the hub. Notes stack normally while it's hidden, and you can bring it back from the tray icon (on 1.2.0, starting the app again only shows an "already running" message; bringing the hub back that way arrived in a later version). KDE was never affected.

Global shortcuts not working (Linux)

On Linux, global shortcuts need to be set up in your desktop environment's settings. See Global Shortcuts on Linux for a step-by-step guide, or open BetterStickies and click Configure Global Shortcuts… in Settings > General for a quick start.

Typing ń, ś or @ does nothing (Windows)

If a character you type with the right Alt key (AltGr) stopped appearing, or opens a new note or Search instead, one of BetterStickies' global shortcuts is catching it. Keyboards With an AltGr Key shows which layouts are affected and how to change the shortcut.

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.

Native Wayland (Linux)

Most Linux desktops today (KDE Plasma, GNOME and others) run on Wayland. Better Stickies can run there in two ways:

• The compatible way (the usual one): it runs the same way as on older Linux desktops, so it can put your notes back where you left them. Most versions use this whenever your desktop offers it.
• Native Wayland: text and images look sharper on scaled displays, but Wayland lets your desktop, not the app, decide where windows go. The Flathub version always runs this way on a Wayland desktop, because Flathub gives apps no access to the compatible way there. On an older desktop that doesn't use Wayland (an "X11 session"), the Flathub version works the same as every other version.

What's different on native Wayland

Typing, formatting, reminders, search, menus and dialogs work as usual. These things differ, because Wayland doesn't let apps place their own windows. On KDE Plasma Better Stickies asks KDE's window manager to do it instead, so several of them work there as usual (the KDE notes in the table). The Snap version can't reach KDE's window manager, and neither can a Flathub version that has no access to it: those work as on other desktops.

Turning native Wayland on or off

On a Wayland desktop, open ☰ Menu → Settings… → General and turn on Use native Wayland in the Startup section. Better Stickies explains what changes and asks you to confirm; click Switch, then Apply, and restart Better Stickies. To go back, turn it off, click Apply and restart: your saved note positions are still there.

You only see this option where there is a choice. The Flathub version on Wayland has no compatible way to switch to, and an X11 session has no Wayland, so the option is hidden there.

Advanced users can also choose for one launch from a terminal: BETTERSTICKIES_PLATFORM=wayland betterstickies starts native Wayland, and BETTERSTICKIES_PLATFORM=xcb betterstickies the compatible way. While that is set, the Settings option is greyed out, because the terminal choice wins.

Typing Chinese, Japanese or Korean on native Wayland

Better Stickies uses your desktop's own input method (Fcitx 5 or IBus). On KDE Plasma, choose it first in System Settings, under Virtual Keyboard: if none is selected there, typing in those languages doesn't work in Better Stickies.

The Flathub version won't start on Wayland

If you (or a tool like Flatseal) told the Flathub version to use the compatible way by adding the setting QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb, it can't start on a Wayland desktop, because Flathub gives it no access to the compatible way there. Remove that setting the same way you added it (in Flatseal, it's under Environment). The app's own BETTERSTICKIES_PLATFORM=xcb is safe: it falls back to native Wayland when it has to.

Messages About Your Notes

These can appear when BetterStickies starts. None of them deletes anything.

Unreadable Notes

"1 note couldn't be read and was skipped" (or several notes): a note file in your notes folder is damaged, so that note isn't shown. The file is left exactly where it is, and the message appears at every start until the file can be read again. While it does, BetterStickies keeps all its older daily backups, so you can restore the note from the last good copy: see Restoring from a Backup. If your data folder is synced by a cloud service, the file may simply not have downloaded yet: let the sync finish and restart BetterStickies.

Old Notes Not Imported

BetterStickies found notes saved in the old format (from a version before 1.4) that it couldn't bring in, and kept them in your data folder under the names the message lists. That happens when an old notes file was damaged at the update to 1.4 (…unreadable-…), or when an older version saved notes into your data folder after the update (…not-imported-…), for example after going back to an older version, or from another computer that shares the folder through a sync service. Your current notes are untouched. The kept files are plain text: open one in a text editor to copy out anything you need. To stop it happening again, update every computer that shares the folder (see Syncing Across Computers).

Upgrade Failed

BetterStickies couldn't read or finish preparing your notes folder, so it closed before opening your notes. This usually happens on the first start after updating to 1.4 or 1.5, while it moves your notes into the new format, but it can appear at any start if another program is holding the notes folder's files at that moment. Start it again: it simply tries again, and your notes are kept as they were until it succeeds. If the message keeps coming back, check that the disk has free space and that you can create files in your data folder. On Windows, an antivirus or sync program briefly holding the files can cause it too, so waiting a moment and retrying often helps.

Newer Version Needed

Your notes were saved by a newer version of BetterStickies than the one you're running (the message names it), in a format this version can't read. BetterStickies closes without touching them. Install that newer version (or a later one) again to open your notes. If you went back from 1.5 to 1.4 on purpose, see Going Back to an Older Version.

Activating Premium

These apply to Activate Premium… in the Snap and the AppImage from version 1.4.2, in the Windows and Mac apps from version 1.5, and in the Flatpak once Better Stickies is listed on Flathub (see Activate Premium in the app).

The browser didn't open

The activation window still works without it. Open betterstickies.com/activate in a browser on any device (your phone works too), sign in, and enter the code the app shows. You can also click Open the page again to try opening your browser once more.

"This computer has no system ID"

Activation ties Premium to your computer's system ID: a code your operating system gives each computer when it is installed. This computer's ID is missing or damaged, which can happen after a system was copied from another computer or tidied up by a cleaning tool. Your notes are fine, and the fix only takes a minute. Find your system below, then open Better Stickies again and click Activate Premium….

Linux: open a terminal and run sudo systemd-machine-id-setup. It creates a new system ID when the old one is missing. Restart the computer, then activate.

Windows: the ID is a setting called MachineGuid. Only change it when it is missing, all zeros, or not in the usual form (eight letters and numbers, then three groups of four, then twelve, joined by hyphens). Other programs may use it too, and Better Stickies counts the computer as a new one once it changes. If you're comfortable with it, right-click Start, choose Terminal (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin), and first look at the current value:

Get-ItemPropertyValue 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Cryptography' -Name MachineGuid

Only if it shows an error, a row of zeros, or a value that isn't in that form, give it a new one:

New-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Cryptography' -Name MachineGuid -PropertyType String -Value ([guid]::NewGuid().ToString()) -Force

If the value already looks right, don't change it: email support instead.

Mac: a Mac's system ID is its Hardware UUID (System Information, under Hardware), and every Mac normally has one, so there's nothing to fix on your side: email support and we'll sort it out with you.

In every case you can click Open help page in the activation window to come back here, or email support@betterstickies.com.

"Couldn't reach betterstickies.com"

Check your internet connection and try again. In the Flatpak, also check that Better Stickies is still allowed to use the network: if you turned off its network permission (for example in Flatseal), turn it back on, then activate. Once a computer is activated, Premium keeps working with no network at all.

"This request expired"

A request stays open for about 15 minutes. Click Continue in browser to start a new one and approve it in your browser. Starting again never uses another computer.

"All computers on this account are used"

One Premium account activates up to 5 computers. If you reinstalled or replaced a computer, click Contact support and support will help.

I approved with the wrong account

The app is now Premium under the account you approved with, and the activation window is no longer offered. Contact support to have it put right.

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.

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:

betterstickies --verbose

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

See Also

• Installing BetterStickies: download, update and uninstall, and where your notes are kept
• Backing Up Your Notes: where your notes are stored and how to back them up
• Free & Premium: what Premium adds and how to activate it
• Note Tabs: how pages inside a note work
• Search Notes: find and jump to any note
• Reminders: set reminders so you don't forget what's on your notes