# Diagram error messages

Most errors come from the renderer for the language you are using, which means they read like that language's errors rather than ours. That is a feature: the message usually points at the exact line.

The table below covers the categories, and what each one usually means in practice.

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## What you are seeing

* An error message shown instead of the diagram.
* An error in the editor while typing.
* An error that appears only for some readers.

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## Work through these in order

| **Check**                    | **What it means and what to do**                                                                              |
| ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| A syntax error naming a line | The source has a mistake at that line. The language reference pages have working examples to compare against. |
| A parse error with no line   | Usually the wrong language: source detected as one language but written in another.                           |
| A timeout                    | The diagram is too large or too slow to render. Simplify or filter it.                                        |
| Nothing to render            | An empty diagram, or one whose source failed to load.                                                         |
| A permissions error          | The reader cannot see the page storing the source. This is expected behaviour for references.                 |
| A renderer unreachable error | If your site uses a self-hosted renderer, it is not responding.                                               |

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## A few things that catch people out

* Check the language first. A Mermaid diagram detected as Graphviz produces confusing errors.
* Errors from TikZ are TeX errors, which are verbose and often point one line further on than the real mistake.
* If a diagram renders in the editor but errors on the page, that is worth reporting rather than working around.

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## Related

[Diagram does not renderBlank space, or an error where the picture should be.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/diagram-does-not-render.html)

[Diagram editor will not openIt hangs, loads blank, or reloads and loses work.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/diagram-editor-will-not-open.html)

[ExamplesWorking diagrams you can copy.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/examples.html)

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_Most of these take under a minute._