Goose

Goose: Fixes

This is page 6 of 8 for Goose. It covers the problems people hit most often, drawn from the Goose Known Issues page, its other docs, and common GitHub issues. It ends with how to uninstall or reset Goose cleanly.

Each problem gives the symptom, the likely cause, and the fix, in that order. These checks match the docs as of 14 November 2026, and if Goose is not installed yet, go back to Install and first job.

Stop Goose right now

Symptom: Goose is doing something you did not ask for, or it is heading toward files you care about.

Likely cause: the model misread the job, or a page or file it read carried a prompt injection.

Fix: type stop in the chat box and click Send. Click the button rather than pressing Enter, because the docs say pressing Enter while Goose is working only queues your message, although a queued message that starts with "stop" also halts the task. If Goose keeps going, close the app, because the docs say closing it ends the chat. On Windows, open Task Manager to check that no Goose is still running, and on a Mac, check Activity Monitor.

This guide could not confirm a separate Stop button in the desktop app, so do not count on one. In the terminal version, hold Ctrl+C instead. If Goose already changed a file, read After it does something wrong before the next job.

What you should see Goose stops and asks what you want, or the app is closed and nothing named Goose is left in Task Manager or Activity Monitor.

Install problems

The Windows installer will not finish

Symptom: Goose-win32-x64-setup.exe will not run, stops partway, or Goose does not appear in the Start menu.

Likely cause: this guide could not confirm a documented cause. The file may have downloaded only partly, or your PC may have an ARM chip, which this guide could not confirm the desktop app supports.

Fix: download the installer again from the install page, not from the newest numbered release. If it still fails, the install page also offers a portable zip, Goose-win32-x64.zip, which you unzip and then open Goose.exe inside. Never run either one as an administrator.

Goose opens with no window on a Mac

Symptom: Goose starts but no window ever appears, or later its tools cannot make files.

Likely cause: the Known Issues page says Goose needs to read and write the hidden .config folder in your home folder, to make its log files.

Fix: open Terminal and paste the check from the docs.

ls -ld ~/.config

If the start of the answer does not show rwx for your user, give yourself access with this command.

chmod u+rw ~/.config

The docs also suggest opening System Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Files & Folders, and giving Goose access there. They mention launching Goose with sudo as a last test, but they also warn it can leave files owned by the administrator account, so skip that step.

Model problems

Errors about the key, credits, or the model name

Symptom: every message comes back with an error, sometimes a 404 or a message about credits, instead of an answer.

Likely cause: the Known Issues page says this usually means the key is wrong or the account has run out of credit. A model that cannot use tools also fails, because Goose depends on tool calling, and the providers page says some models, such as o1-mini, are not supported for that reason.

Fix: log in to your provider's website and check the key and your credit. Then open Settings, click Models, then Configure Providers, and paste the key again. Pick a model from the list Goose shows you rather than typing a name. For some providers, Goose shows an Insufficient Credits notice when the balance runs out, and you resend your message after adding credit.

Answers stop because of a rate limit

Symptom: Goose stalls or shows a 429 error, often after a busy stretch on a free key.

Likely cause: you hit the provider's rate limit. The Goose docs say Goose works quickly, so it can send many requests in a short time.

Fix: wait and try again later, because this guide could not confirm when the free Gemini or Groq limits reset. The docs suggest a higher plan, or a provider with its own rate limiting, naming Tetrate Agent Router and OpenRouter. Both pass your requests on to other model companies, so read Relays before you switch.

Goose loops, repeats itself, or goes quiet

Symptom: Goose runs the same step again and again, or stops replying in a chat that used to work.

Likely cause: the Known Issues page calls this a "doom spiral," which can happen in a long chat. GitHub issues also describe chats that stop answering until a new chat is started, including one report with a Gemini model.

Fix: stop it as described at the top of this page, then start a new chat and give a smaller job with one file and one folder. The docs recommend a new chat for each new task, for this reason. To keep a loop short next time, open Settings, click Chat, scroll to Conversation Limits, and lower Max Turns from its default of 1000. The safety research suggests 25 for your first sessions, and when Goose reaches the limit, it stops and asks whether to continue.

What you should see after the limit is lowered, a long job pauses with the message "I've reached the maximum number of actions I can do without user input," and waits for you.

The chat gets too long

Symptom: an error says the context length was exceeded, or the colored dot next to the model name at the bottom of the window turns red.

Likely cause: the chat, plus the files and pages Goose read, no longer fits in what the model can take in at once.

Fix: the docs say Goose compacts a long chat into a summary on its own. You can also hover over the dot next to the model name and click Compact now, or simply start a new chat and attach only the files you need.

An extension will not turn on

Symptom: an error such as "Failed to start extension" or "Could not run extension command," or a message that Goose blocked a malicious package.

Likely cause: many outside extensions need another program to run, such as Node.js for any extension started with npx. The malware message means Goose found a package with known malware and blocked it.

Fix: install the program the extension needs from its official website, then restart Goose. If Goose blocked a package, do not work around it, and use a different extension instead. The docs say this check covers only extensions that run on your computer through npx or uvx, and that if the check service is down, extensions install anyway, so add only extensions from sources you trust.

Update it safely

Make a copy before you update. Read the release notes before you install a new version. The update leaves your settings folders in place, and the copy is there if a new version misbehaves.

  1. Copy the folders that hold settings, memory, and chats, and copy the folder Goose is working in. On Windows, copy %APPDATA%\Block\goose and %LOCALAPPDATA%\Block\goose. On a Mac, copy ~/.config/goose, ~/Library/Application Support/goose, ~/.local/share/goose, and ~/.local/state/goose. Also copy the working folder. In this guide that folder is goose-tryout, and it may hold .goosehints and .goose/memory. Your model key stays in Credential Manager on Windows or Keychain Access on a Mac unless Goose fell back to plain-text secrets.yaml inside the config folder, so keep that backup copy private. Windows File History or Previous Versions, and Mac Time Machine, are places that copy can live.

What you should see a second copy of those folders, dated today, kept outside the originals.

  1. Update from inside the desktop app, after you have read the release notes. Open the sidebar, click Settings, then App, and scroll to Updates. Click Check for Updates, click Download Now if Disable automatic update downloads is ticked, and then click Install & Restart. On Windows installer builds, Install & Restart opens the setup wizard to finish. If the app cannot update itself, quit Goose and install the file from the install page over the old one. On a Mac, drag the new Goose.app onto Applications so it replaces the old app. On Windows, run the new installer, or unzip the portable zip in place of the old folder. If you use the terminal version, run goose update and leave off --reconfigure, because that flag resets configuration settings. This guide could not confirm a past update that reset a setting on its own.

What you should see Goose opens again, and the Updates section says the current version is up to date.

Automatic update downloads.

  1. Check the version, then run one small test in goose-tryout. The Updates section shows the version. In a terminal, goose --version prints it. Start a new chat in goose-tryout and ask Goose to list the file names and not change any file. Leave Manual Approval on.

What you should see a short file list, and an Allow or Deny question if Goose wants to use a tool.

Uninstall or reset Goose cleanly

Symptom: you want Goose gone, or you want to start over with no saved settings, keys, chats, or memories.

Likely cause: uninstalling the app alone keeps your data. The install guide says "Your settings and sessions are kept" after an uninstall.

Fix: first export any chat you want to keep from Session History, because these steps delete every chat for good. Then close every copy of Goose, and check Task Manager or Activity Monitor.

On Windows 11:

  1. Open Credential Manager from the Start menu, and delete the credentials related to goose, which hold your keys.
  2. Open File Explorer, type %APPDATA%\Block in the address bar, and delete the goose folder there.
  3. Do the same for %LOCALAPPDATA%\Block.
  4. Uninstall Goose from Installed apps in Windows Settings.

On a Mac:

  1. Open Keychain Access, and delete the item named "goose," which holds your keys.
  2. Remove Goose's data folders. The Known Issues page gives these Terminal commands, and they delete without asking, so paste them exactly:
rm -rf ~/.config/goose
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/goose
  1. Drag Goose from your Applications folder to the Trash.

If you think a key may have leaked, also delete it on the provider's website and make a new one.

What you should see no Goose in your apps list, no goose folders in the places above, and no goose entry in Credential Manager or Keychain Access.

Sources

Checked 14 November 2026.

Next

Next: Advanced features.

Checked 14 November 2026 · prices, limits, and versions change