Setup Troubleshooter

Diagnose and fix common No Johns setup problems. Run each check in order and report findings at the end.

Steps

1. System Check

# OS and architecture
uname -a

# Python version (must be 3.12.x, NOT 3.13)
python3.12 --version 2>/dev/null || python3 --version

# Check if venv exists
ls -la .venv/bin/python 2>/dev/null && echo "Venv OK" || echo "PROBLEM: No .venv found"

# Check venv Python version
.venv/bin/python --version 2>/dev/null

Expected: Python 3.12.x. If 3.13, pyenet won't build. If no venv, user needs

python3.12 -m venv .venv

2. Package Check

# libmelee (critical — the Dolphin interface)
.venv/bin/python -c "import melee; print('libmelee OK')" 2>&1

# pyenet (libmelee dependency — C extension, common build failure)
.venv/bin/python -c "import enet; print('pyenet OK')" 2>&1

# nojohns CLI
.venv/bin/python -m nojohns.cli list-fighters 2>&1

# TensorFlow (only needed for Phillip)
.venv/bin/python -c "import tensorflow as tf; print(f'TF {tf.__version__} OK')" 2>&1

# slippi-ai (Phillip runtime)
.venv/bin/python -c "import slippi_ai; print('slippi-ai OK')" 2>&1

Common failures:

• import enet

  fails → pyenet build issue. See

  docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md

  "pyenet Build Failure"
  • macOS fix:

    LDFLAGS="-L/opt/homebrew/lib -lenet" CFLAGS="-I/opt/homebrew/include" .venv/bin/pip install --no-cache-dir --no-binary :all: pyenet

  • Linux fix:

    sudo apt install -y libenet-dev && .venv/bin/pip install --force-reinstall pyenet

• import melee

  fails → libmelee not installed. Run

  .venv/bin/pip install -e .

• import tensorflow

  fails with

  mutex lock

  → TF 2.20 on macOS ARM. Fix:

  .venv/bin/pip install "tensorflow==2.18.1" "tf-keras==2.18.0"

3. Config Check

# Config file exists
cat ~/.nojohns/config.toml 2>/dev/null || echo "PROBLEM: No config.toml — run 'nojohns setup melee'"

Verify these fields in

~/.nojohns/config.toml

• dolphin_path

  : Must exist and contain "netplay" in the path string (libmelee validates this)
  • macOS:

    ~/Library/Application Support/Slippi Launcher/netplay

  • Linux:

    ~/.config/Slippi Launcher/netplay

• iso_path

  : Must exist and be >500MB (a real Melee ISO is ~1.3GB)

• connect_code

  : Format

  XXXX#NNN

  (4 letters, hash, 1-3 digits). Avoid codes with '9' on macOS Sequoia.

# Verify Dolphin path exists
DOLPHIN_PATH=$(python3 -c "
import tomllib
with open('$HOME/.nojohns/config.toml', 'rb') as f:
    c = tomllib.load(f)
print(c.get('games', {}).get('melee', {}).get('dolphin_path', 'NOT SET'))
" 2>/dev/null)
echo "Dolphin path: $DOLPHIN_PATH"
ls "$DOLPHIN_PATH" 2>/dev/null && echo "Path OK" || echo "PROBLEM: Path does not exist"

# Verify ISO exists and check size
ISO_PATH=$(python3 -c "
import tomllib
with open('$HOME/.nojohns/config.toml', 'rb') as f:
    c = tomllib.load(f)
print(c.get('games', {}).get('melee', {}).get('iso_path', 'NOT SET'))
" 2>/dev/null)
echo "ISO path: $ISO_PATH"
ls -la "$ISO_PATH" 2>/dev/null || echo "PROBLEM: ISO file not found"

4. Dolphin Check

# macOS: Check Gatekeeper isn't blocking Dolphin
# (only relevant on macOS)
if [[ "$(uname)" == "Darwin" ]]; then
    DOLPHIN_APP="$HOME/Library/Application Support/Slippi Launcher/netplay/Slippi Dolphin.app"
    if [ -d "$DOLPHIN_APP" ]; then
        echo "Dolphin app found"
        xattr -l "$DOLPHIN_APP" 2>/dev/null | grep -q quarantine && \
            echo "PROBLEM: Gatekeeper quarantine active. Fix: xattr -cr \"$DOLPHIN_APP\"" || \
            echo "Gatekeeper OK"
    else
        echo "PROBLEM: Dolphin.app not found at expected location"
        echo "Open Slippi Launcher and let it download Dolphin"
    fi
fi

# Linux: Check Dolphin binary exists
if [[ "$(uname)" == "Linux" ]]; then
    NETPLAY_DIR="$HOME/.config/Slippi Launcher/netplay"
    if [ -d "$NETPLAY_DIR" ]; then
        echo "Slippi netplay dir found"
        find "$NETPLAY_DIR" -name "dolphin-emu" -o -name "*.AppImage" 2>/dev/null
    else
        echo "PROBLEM: Slippi netplay directory not found"
    fi
fi

5. Phillip Check

# Model weights exist
MODEL="fighters/phillip/models/all_d21_imitation_v3.pkl"
if [ -f "$MODEL" ]; then
    SIZE=$(wc -c < "$MODEL")
    echo "Model weights: $SIZE bytes"
    if [ "$SIZE" -lt 1000000 ]; then
        echo "PROBLEM: Model file too small — may be corrupted"
    else
        echo "Model OK"
    fi
else
    echo "PROBLEM: Model weights not found. Run: nojohns setup melee phillip"
fi

# slippi-ai installed
if [ -d "fighters/phillip/slippi-ai" ]; then
    echo "slippi-ai repo OK"
else
    echo "PROBLEM: slippi-ai not cloned. Run: nojohns setup melee phillip"
fi

6. Network Check

# Arena reachable
ARENA_URL=$(python3 -c "
import tomllib
with open('$HOME/.nojohns/config.toml', 'rb') as f:
    c = tomllib.load(f)
print(c.get('arena', {}).get('url', 'https://nojohns-arena-production.up.railway.app'))
" 2>/dev/null || echo "https://nojohns-arena-production.up.railway.app")

echo "Arena URL: $ARENA_URL"
curl -s --max-time 5 "$ARENA_URL/health" 2>/dev/null || echo "PROBLEM: Arena unreachable"

7. Known Issues Reference

If the checks above pass but things still don't work, check these known issues in

docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md

online_delay=6

on_game_start

mutex lock failed

Unknown path

8. Report

After running all checks, print a summary:

=== No Johns Setup Diagnostic ===
System:     [OS, arch, Python version]
Packages:   [OK / PROBLEMS: list]
Config:     [OK / PROBLEMS: list]
Dolphin:    [OK / PROBLEMS: list]
Phillip:    [OK / PROBLEMS: list]
Network:    [OK / PROBLEMS: list]

[For each PROBLEM, include the specific fix command]

If everything passes: "Setup looks good. Try

nojohns fight random do-nothing