Start with the basics: do your installed server and client builds match? Are you editing the active template you actually spawned? Is there an error in the server or client log? A preset, an unsaved draft, and a running fight can all have different settings.

• Melee movement: fixed in 0.2.0. Movement keeps the original wind-up; reach and visibility at impact decide whether damage can land. Native regressions pass. Retest chasing with a nonzero charge time in your multiplayer encounter.
• Reported whole-skin color flash: 0.2.0 restricts the tendril tint mask to native tendril UVs, removing confirmed opaque body/face coverage. Loaded client mask/model checks pass with tested EMF/ETF versions. A replacement model exposing the old full-atlas mask is a possible cause; the exact modpack frame has not been reproduced. Confirm in game that only the glow regions pulse.

The older 0.1 jar sends extra Warden metadata that a client without Clockwork Bosses cannot decode safely. Stable 0.2.0 and beta.6 include recipient-specific filtering/native fallback. Confirm the installed server jar, and use matching builds on clients that install the core; /boss reload cannot update code. Real mixed-client login/latency checks remain separate from native fixtures. See optional-client compatibility.

With the new server source, players without the mod intentionally see a vanilla Warden and hear no custom file audio. They cannot open the editor. If a player has Clockwork Bosses installed, its build must still match the server; the fallback is not a repair for mismatched old client jars. Other mandatory mods and addons can still have their own client requirements.

• Confirm Clockwork Bosses loaded on the server.
• Use /boss, not vanilla /bossbar.
• Check native game-master permission, normally operator level 2.
• Selector clicks recheck permission, even after the arrow has been issued.

• It must be a named folder under config/clockwork-bosses/boss-templates/ with a template.json inside.
• Presets do not appear in the active-template list. Copy one with /boss create preset <preset> <template>.
• Use a valid lowercase folder name with no spaces.
• Run /boss reload after external edits or manual copies.
• If you're using an earlier development folder layout, move it to the current layout manually.

Save writes the file. Reload saved applies saved templates to loaded bosses. Save first, then reload.

Also check that you edited the active template rather than its source preset. Preset edits affect future copies only.

Some behavior that's already in progress keeps its earlier settings. An already charging Sonic Boom uses its captured definition, and the last completed melee swing keeps its captured cooldown/recovery. See Combat and targeting.

• Check numeric ranges and descending health-phase cutoffs.
• A stale revision means another admin or external edit changed the file. Reopen and compare the newer settings.
• Sessions expire after 30 minutes and clear on disconnect; reopen the editor if needed.
• Invalid edits leave the previous file intact. The rolling template.json.gui-backup retains one prior version.

Extreme imported numbers may display in compact form. That doesn't make an out-of-range edit valid.

• AREA/radius activation needs an outside-to-inside crossing. Being inside at spawn does not trigger it.
• Redstone needs an off-to-on edge. Keep the pulse on for at least 10 ticks.
• Check dimension, region size, and saved emergence position.
• Trigger edits on reload reset the occupancy baseline; leave and re-enter for another test.
• Use /boss activate <name> to test manual activation separately.

• A dormant boss has no boss bar, and support starts only after activation.
• Activation and arena regions are separate unless you used the selector's final true option.
• Box limits are 256 blocks per axis; radius limits are 1–256 blocks and include height.
• Check the separate switches for Beacon effects, Fight health, and Reusable potion.
• Fresh default templates leave the Beacon effects master switch off. The six player-count presets enable it with only Regeneration I. Both enable fight health and the reusable potion.
• Older files missing those sections remain disabled.
• A full inventory can prevent the offhand potion gift.

Existing effects from potions, beacons, or other mods take precedence over area buffs, even when weaker. First-entry healing is once per encounter; re-entry, reconnect, and reload do not repeat it.

Target hold time takes priority over attack-count rotation. Check min_target_ticks, min_attacks, max_attacks, and eligible alternatives.

switch_chance: 0 does not disable forced rotation at max_attacks. If there's no eligible alternative, the boss keeps its current target. Blocked completed swings count; cancelled charges and rejected attempts do not.

For automatic follow range, set the base to 0 and clear positive phase overrides. Beam range remains independent. Invalid configured regions do not broaden the target pool.

Enabled melee has priority at close range and can cancel beam charging. Disable melee in the intended phase if you want close-range beams. Then check the captured beam range, line-of-sight requirement, charge time, and cooldown.

• Set skin.type to custom and use the exact lowercase filename.
• Put the PNG in that template's own skins/ folder.
• Use a 128×128 vanilla Warden atlas, at most 512 KiB.
• Use a regular file, not a linked file or directory.
• Run /boss reload after replacing it.

Player skins depend on each client's Minecraft/Mojang lookup. Preview failures write an actionable client-log warning per refresh. Check the live boss separately from the alignment preview's stronger glow.

• Use valid OGG Vorbis in the correct template-local folder.
• Check filename case, size/duration limits, enable switches, channel, volume, and client sliders.
• Empty event/music filenames disable playback. A missing explicitly selected phase sound does not fall back.
• Voice clips belong directly in sounds/voice-lines/; only successful hits roll, and a busy voice skips new rolls.
• First-use media may be delayed on a slow connection. Waiting audio can expire before transfer starts.
• Run /boss reload after adding or replacing files; invalid selected voices are skipped until reload.
• /stopsound @s music clears default-channel encounter requests until re-entry or reload.

Use mono for directional event/voice playback. Stereo files are accepted, but they won't have normal 3D positioning. See Sounds and music for the full limits.

Darkness centers on the actual boss position, including its underground offset. A small dormant radius may not reach players above it. There is no aura during emergence.

Disabling or changing the aura affects future refreshes. Existing Darkness expires naturally. Increasing the amplifier does not make it visually darker. Keep amplifiers at 0.

Check the Loot enabled switch, selected source, reward entries or server table ID, and the keep/replace-vanilla option. Save the active template, then Reload saved. Missing loot sections stay disabled; an omitted source uses the legacy table source.

Built-in entries are limited to 32. Check registered non-air item IDs, quantity bounds of 1–64, and chance units: 0–1 in the file, 0–100% in the GUI. See Loot for the field limits.

Basic entries grant default items; advanced enchantment/component editing is not in the 0.1 entry editor. Rewards run once on committed death, so test with an actual encounter death.

These checks apply to the experimental API in stable 0.2.0 and beta.6; the old 0.1 jar has no API.

• Check the addon's exact core dependency in its jar metadata. Current example source pins the version used for compilation; rebuild it when changing the core. An API revision number alone does not promise binary compatibility.
• Install the action addon on the server and restart. Reloading templates cannot load a newly installed jar.
• Check its metadata entrypoint, registered ID and namespace. Duplicate/invalid registration or a failing entrypoint can prevent initialization.
• A missing action ID rejects template validation. Restore the addon or edit the template to use an available action; saved settings are not silently replaced with another mechanic.
• A recoverable runtime exception closes that action and attempts cleanup. It stays stopped until a transition or reload, so read the action error in the server log before retrying.
• An old execution cannot finish a new subphase after interruption. Phase changes, reloads and unloads intentionally cancel pending addon work.
• Burrow returns to its original surface if no eligible player or safe loaded destination is available. Check arena limits, standing-body clearance, hazards and target-assignment vetoes before treating fallback as a malfunction.

Use Addon API for the lifecycle and Lightning addon walkthrough to understand the example's warning, eligibility and cleanup.

Record the Clockwork Bosses version, Minecraft/Fabric versions, mod list, exact reproduction steps, and relevant configuration/media warnings. Use the bounded /boss debug capture when investigating attack/support compatibility, then turn it off after reproducing the problem.

See Compatibility and testing for what was actually checked and what still needs a real multiplayer test.

Action context requires the server thread means addon code used a live context from a worker or timer. Resolve players/entities and change game state on the server thread. Copy immutable settings or capture a UUID-based snapshot there before using data elsewhere.

Whole-number action settings require 32-bit integer bounds means the addon declared a range outside integer(key)'s supported values. The addon author needs to fix its setting definition. You can't repair that schema by changing a template.

Temporary action-owned entities intentionally cannot use portals or teleport across dimensions. This prevents native entity replacement from escaping cleanup. Ordinary entities retain their normal behavior, and same-world teleport is still available. A failed action remains stopped until a transition or reload; diagnose its logged error instead of expecting an automatic retry every tick.

Use Workshop troubleshooting for unsupported versions, owner permission, channel selection, stale drafts, uncertain saves/uploads and reconnects. A Workshop outage does not stop boss fights.

The Test Mod and Boss Observatory are separate development work. Core installation alone does not add /cwtest, a testing profile or a finished GUI. Keep incomplete/unsupported tests labelled separately from passed scenarios.