Troubleshooting
Error Message Reference
A quick-reference table of every common error message in TradingForge — what it means and how to fix it.
When TradingForge encounters a problem it logs an error message in the Activity log and in the console window. Use this table to quickly identify what a message means and what action to take. For detailed step-by-step fixes, follow the links to the relevant troubleshooting articles.
Error Message Reference Table
| Error Message | Meaning | Fix |
|---|---|---|
EADDRINUSE :::3000 | Port 3000 is already occupied by another process. TradingForge cannot start its web server. | Open Task Manager and end any existing node.exe processes. Close other applications that may be using port 3000 (dev servers, other Node apps). |
ECONNREFUSED | TradingForge attempted to connect to the exchange API but the connection was refused. The exchange server may be unreachable. | Check your internet connection. Visit the exchange website to confirm it is online. Check the exchange status page for API outages. |
Invalid API key | The API key or secret stored in TradingForge does not match the credentials on the exchange. The key may have been entered incorrectly or regenerated. | Go to Settings → Exchange, clear the existing credentials, and re-enter your API key and secret. Regenerate the key on the exchange if necessary. |
Insufficient balance | Your exchange account does not have enough free funds to cover the order TradingForge tried to place. | Add funds to your exchange account or reduce your configured base order and safety order sizes. Review your maximum active trades limit. |
Rate limit exceeded | TradingForge sent too many API requests to the exchange in a short period. The exchange is temporarily blocking further requests. | TradingForge will automatically back off and retry. If this occurs frequently, reduce the number of active trading pairs or increase the TradeSmith analysis interval. |
IP restriction violation | Your current internet IP address is not on the whitelist configured for your exchange API key. | Log in to your exchange, go to API Management, and update the allowed IP list with your current public IP. Or remove the IP restriction from the key. |
Order size too small | The order size TradingForge calculated is below the minimum allowed by the exchange for that trading pair. | Increase your base order or safety order size in TradeFuel settings. Check the exchange minimum order size for the specific pair you are trading. |
License validation failed | TradingForge could not verify your license with the license server. | Check your internet connection — license validation requires an outbound connection. If the problem persists, contact tfcontact@tradingforge.net with your license key. |
Config file corrupted | A local configuration file contains invalid JSON and cannot be parsed. This can happen if the application was closed abruptly during a write operation. | Navigate to the TradingForge data folder (%APPDATA%\TradingForge) and delete the corrupted config file. TradingForge will recreate it with defaults on next startup. You will need to reconfigure the affected settings. |
Authentication failed | The password entered on the TradingForge login page is incorrect. | Ensure Caps Lock is off and try again. The default password is tradingfuel (all lowercase). If the password was changed and forgotten, follow the password reset procedure in the Dashboard Issues article. |
Where to Find More Help
If an error you are seeing is not in this table, or if the suggested fix does not resolve the issue, the following resources are available:
Detailed troubleshooting guides are available in the Troubleshooting section of this wiki, covering startup issues, API errors, dashboard problems, and trade execution issues in depth.
For errors not covered here, contact the TradingForge support team at tfcontact@tradingforge.net. Include the full error message, the contents of the Activity log around the time of the error, and your TradingForge version number.