Troubleshooting
Common problems with MageDrop and how to fix them. If you're still stuck at the end, get in touch.
Module not connecting
Symptoms
- Saving the MageDrop configuration shows a connection error in the Magento admin.
- The module test on the dashboard's Connection card fails.
- No releases appear in the Save & Stage dialog.
Things to check
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Module token is wrong | Compare the Module Token in Magento's config with the one shown in the MageDrop dashboard. They must match exactly; watch for spaces when copying. |
| Module is disabled | Check that Enabled is Yes under StoresConfigurationMageDropConnection. |
| Firewall blocking outbound requests | Your Magento server needs to make outbound HTTPS requests to MageDrop. Check your firewall rules allow it. |
| Local store not reachable | MageDrop can't reach localhost. Use ngrok or a similar tunnel:
|
| SSL certificate problems | MageDrop can't verify a self-signed certificate (common in development). Use a tunnel like ngrok, which provides a valid certificate, or give your staging environment a valid one. |
Check the logs
grep -i "magedrop" var/log/system.log
tail -f var/log/exception.logPreview not working
Symptoms
- The preview link opens the store but the changes aren't visible.
- The preview bar doesn't appear.
- Changes appear only some of the time.
Things to check
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Link expired | Preview links last 2 hours. Click Preview on the release, or run Quick Preview again, for a fresh one. |
| Full page cache serving stale content | The module handles the full page cache automatically, but after installing or updating it, flush the cache once under SystemCache Management, or run:
|
| Session not set | Preview is stored in your Magento session. Check that:
|
| Varnish not passing the preview context | Preview uses Magento's X-Magento-Vary cookie to vary the cache. Magento's default VCL handles it; if your VCL has been heavily customised, make sure it still respects that cookie. |
| Browser cache | Try a hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R or Cmd+Shift+R) or open the preview link in a private window. |
| Change can't be previewed | A few catalog changes, such as search results and related products, can't be shown in preview but deploy correctly. See what preview can't show. |
No changes detected
Symptoms
- You edited the form, but Save & Stage says no changes were detected.
- The release shows fewer staged fields than you expected.
Things to check
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Field is never staged | Some fields are excluded, such as timestamps, IDs and the CMS URL key, and stock is never staged. See Staging changes for the full list. |
| Change was already saved | The diff compares the form with the live entity at the current store view. If you clicked Save first, they already match. Make your changes without saving, then stage. |
| Wrong store view | Categories and products are compared at the store view selected in the switcher. Check you're on the scope you meant to change. |
| Page Builder produced the same HTML | Page Builder content is compared as the HTML it saves. A visual change that produces the same HTML isn't a change. |
Deploy failing
Symptoms
- The release shows Failed after deploying.
- The activity log shows errors.
Things to check
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| OAuth tokens expired or invalid | If the Magento integration was deactivated or reauthorized, open the store's setup page in the dashboard and save all four new tokens. See Connecting your store. |
| Missing API permission | The integration needs the MageDrop > API permission (module 2.0 and later). Edit it under SystemIntegrations, tick MageDrop on the API tab, save and reactivate. The store page shows a warning while it's missing. Stores still on module 1.x need Content > Elements > Pages and Blocks instead. |
| Entity no longer exists | If an entity was deleted in Magento after you staged it, the deploy fails when it tries to update it. Remove it from the release and retry. |
| Magento validation errors | Magento validates data on save. If a staged value breaks a rule (a required field left empty, for example), the save is rejected. The activity log shows the exact error. |
| Module 1.x with catalog changes | Category and product changes, and any store-view change, need MageDrop module 2.0 or later. Upgrade the module and grant the API permission, then retry. |
| Empty value on a store view shows the default | Magento treats an empty store-view value as "use default value", for every attribute type. To blank a field on one store view only, stage a placeholder (a space, or an empty HTML comment) instead. |
| Stuck on Deploying | A deploy that makes no progress for 10 minutes (the server running it restarted, for example) is treated as a failed attempt. A scheduled one is retried and carries on from where it stopped; one you started yourself is marked Failed, and Retry deploy carries on from there. A long deploy that is still making progress is never interrupted: the release page shows how far it has got. |
| Magento in maintenance mode | The REST API is unavailable during maintenance. Scheduled deploys and rollbacks are retried automatically (see Automatic retries); for a manual deploy, wait for maintenance to finish and retry. |
| Network problems | A temporary network error between MageDrop and your store can fail a deploy. Scheduled runs retry on their own; otherwise check the store is reachable and retry. |
Checking Magento logs
The module logs errors to Magento's standard log files:
# Module errors and API communication
var/log/system.log
# PHP errors and uncaught exceptions
var/log/exception.log
# Only MageDrop entries
grep -i "magedrop" var/log/system.logMageDrop's entries start with MageDrop, and cover staging, previews, revisions, the connection handshake and deploys applied through the module.
In the dashboard, the store's Activity page logs every deploy, rollback, error and connection check.
Getting help
If none of the above solves it:
- Check the release's timeline and activity log; it usually contains the exact error.
- Collect the matching entries from Magento's logs.
- Contact us with your store name, the release name and those log entries.