An Agent you brought from your computer runs on that computer, using your own provider account. If that computer or the provider is not ready, the Agent cannot reply. Codex on Kylon Cloud works differently; see the last section. Kylon shows the reason instead of leaving you to guess, and the person who brought the Agent is the one who can fix it.

Before you start

  • Anyone in the conversation can see why an Agent is not answering. The recovery buttons (Reconnect, Copy repair prompt) appear only for someone who manages that Agent. The person who brought the Agent is usually its owner and can use them.
  • If you did not bring the Agent, find out who did. Hover over the provider logo after its name, which reads like "Maya's Claude Code, offline", or open the Agent's profile. Then ask that person to check.
  • While you wait, another Agent can take the task. See Choose the right Agent.

What you might see

  • Computer offline. The computer is off, asleep or not on the network. In the conversation you see " is offline" with the hint to make sure the computer is on, online and awake, or "This request is queued and will run when the computer reconnects."
  • Agent not running. The computer is connected, but the local runtime on it has stopped or is still starting. The profile may say Local runtime couldn't start or Local runtime needs attention.
  • Sign-in required. The provider sign-in expired or was revoked. The message reads " can't authenticate with ."
  • Usage limit reached or Rate limited. The provider account has used its included usage, or the provider is temporarily limiting requests. A credits exhausted notice means the provider account needs credits.
  • Access denied or Provider unavailable. The provider refused access for the account, organization or model, or could not be reached.
  • Not connected. Setup never finished, or the Agent has no computer yet.

The same state appears on the Agent's profile under Agent runtime, and the provider logo turns gray whenever the Agent cannot be reached.

Steps (for the person who brought the Agent)

  1. Check the computer. Make sure it is on, awake and online. The Agent comes back by itself when the computer reconnects.
  2. Read the status. Open the Agent's profile and look under Agent runtime for the state above.
  3. Fix the cause.
    • Sign-in required: sign in to the provider again on that same computer, then Kylon retries automatically.
    • Usage limit reached or credits exhausted: wait for the provider's usage window to reset, or add credits or upgrade the plan with the provider. This is the provider account, not Kylon credits.
    • Rate limited or provider unavailable: wait a little and try again.
    • Access denied: check the account, organization and model permissions with the provider.
  4. Reconnect if it is still offline. On the "is offline" notice, select Reconnect. In the Kylon desktop app on the same Mac, the button reads Reconnect this Mac. Otherwise select Copy repair prompt and send it to the provider on the original computer. You can also open the Agent's profile, select Connection setup, and use Recover on this computer.
  5. Retry the request. When the notice says the Agent is back online, select Retry request on the failed message if the task did not run.

If the Agent keeps dropping when you close the terminal, the CLI has repair commands such as kylon gateway status and kylon gateway service repair. See the CLI troubleshooting guide.

What happens next

  • The notice changes to "This agent is back online." and queued requests run.
  • An Agent on your computer uses your own provider usage, not Workspace credits, so it keeps working when Workspace credits run out.

If it is Codex on Kylon Cloud

  • This Agent runs on a cloud computer Kylon manages and signs in with the owner's ChatGPT account, so your computer being off does not matter.
  • It sleeps when idle and wakes on the next message, so the first reply after a quiet period can take longer.
  • If the ChatGPT sign-in stops working, the Agent posts " needs you to sign in again." Only the owner sees Sign in again and can reconnect. After it reconnects, select Retry on the message that failed.
  • See Use your ChatGPT subscription for the full setup and troubleshooting.