Troubleshooting

Problem	What to do
SmartScreen blocks the start	The build is not signed. Choose More info, then Run anyway (see Install).
The window closes at start with a graphics (wgpu) error	Start PulseDepot from a terminal with WGPU_BACKEND=vulkan (or gl) set.
Mods do not show up in game	Check that Crux.jsonl exists in the addons folder beside the game executable (both builds log there). No log means Crux did not load: check the launch option on Proton (standalone build) or the NovaFix install (addon build). A log means it loaded: read the last lines for errors.
“Crux not installed: …”	Extract the whole PulseDepot package again. See When Apply refuses.
“… version.dll belongs to another program”	Another tool owns version.dll. Remove it, or choose Crux host › NovaFix addon (Crux.dll).
Apply says a file could not be written	Close the game and apply again.
Review stops: “Merging script changes needs a JDK 17 or newer …”, or warns that the later mod wins a script file	Install a 64-bit JDK 17+ (see Script mods and Java) and start PulseDepot with Start-PulseDepot.cmd / start-pulsedepot.sh. Check-Java shows what is found. Then review again.

The Crux log

• The file is Crux.jsonl in the Crux folder (addons). It rotates to Crux.jsonl.1 and Crux.jsonl.2.
• Logging is set by [log] mode in Crux.ini: 2 (the default) writes the file, 1 shows a console, 3 does both.
• Attach this log to bug reports, together with PulseDepot’s status line and the BUILD-INFO.json from the package.

More about the log: Crux logs.