When something in StretchWire doesn't behave as expected, it's almost always one of a handful of known causes. This guide is organized by symptom → cause → fix.
Access and permission gates
"Read-only — pending step-up authorization" - Cause: You're on the admin surface, where write actions require a step-up confirmation before saving. - Fix: Complete the step-up confirmation when prompted. Until then, reading works and writes are held — this is by design, not an error.
A create/save button is locked or says "Authorizing..." - Cause: On the workspace (Pro) surface, creating and versioning require an active Pro entitlement; reading is always allowed. - Fix: Confirm your organization has an active Pro entitlement for StretchWire. Once it's active, create and save unlock. If you believe it's active but writes are still blocked, contact your administrator.
Lists are empty or a project I expect is missing - Cause: StretchWire is organization-scoped — you may be viewing a different organization than the one that owns the project. - Fix: Switch to the correct organization. Everyone in the same org sees the same projects and boards; other orgs are isolated.
Saving
My changes didn't save - Cause: Write access is gated (Pro on workspace, step-up on admin), or you lost connection mid-edit. - Fix: Look for an access banner and clear the gate. Then reopen the board and re-save. During live sessions, autosaves capture versions, so recent work is usually recoverable from history.
"Project title is required" / "Board title is required" - Cause: The title field is empty — every project and board needs a title. - Fix: Enter a title and try again.
Imports
"JSON is too large. Keep imports under 2 MB." - Cause: The file or pasted content exceeds the 2 MB import limit. - Fix: Trim unused frames and blocks, or split the wireframe across multiple boards, then import again.
"Import JSON must be an object with wireframe document fields."
- Cause: The content isn't a JSON object (it may be an array, a bare value, or invalid JSON).
- Fix: Wrap the content in { }, ensure it has document fields like frames, and validate it as JSON before importing. The expected shape looks like {"frames":[],"sections":[]}.
The import validated but the board looks empty - Cause: The imported document had no frames/blocks, or its structure didn't include laid-out content. - Fix: Confirm the source document actually contains frames and blocks. Open the canvas and add frames/blocks as needed.
Viewports and frames
My board is on the wrong viewport mode
- Cause: The viewport mode was set at creation (or by the template) and doesn't match the artifact.
- Fix: Reopen the board and change the viewport mode — responsive for web pages, mobile/tablet for app screens, email for emails, canvas for flows and sitemaps.
Edits on Desktop didn't appear on Mobile - Cause: This is expected — frames are independent so you control each breakpoint. - Fix: Switch to the Tablet and Mobile frames and lay out the content there deliberately.
Collaboration
A teammate can't see my live edits - Cause: You opened different boards, or you're in different organizations. Each board is its own room, scoped to your org. - Fix: Confirm you're both in the same organization and both opened the same board.
"Room token does not authorize this board" / session won't connect - Cause: Room tokens are board-specific and short-lived; a stale or mismatched token was used. - Fix: Close and reopen the board to mint a fresh token for the correct board.
Collaboration won't start at all - Cause: The real-time room service isn't configured for your environment. - Fix: Contact your administrator. Reading and manual saving continue to work while collaboration is unavailable.
Canvas
Open Canvas opened a blank canvas - Cause: You have no boards yet, so there was nothing recent to open. - Fix: Create a project and a board first, then use Open Canvas — it targets your most recent board.
Still stuck?
If a problem persists after these steps, capture the exact banner or error text and the board/project it happened on, then contact your administrator or StretchSuite support. Because every save is versioned, your work history is preserved while an issue is investigated.
Tips to avoid issues
- Snapshot before risky changes so rollback is always one step away.
- Keep imports valid and under 2 MB; validate JSON externally first.
- Confirm your organization and entitlement before troubleshooting a locked write.
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