Troubleshooting

This page covers common issues you might encounter with MageDrop and how to resolve them.

Module not connecting to the SaaS

Symptoms

The "Test Connection" button in Magento admin shows an error.
The MageDrop button shows a connection error.
No releases appear in the Save & Stage modal.

Things to check

Issue	Solution
Module Token is incorrect	Compare the Module Token in Magento's config with the one shown in the MageDrop dashboard. They must match exactly — watch for trailing spaces when copying.
Module is disabled	Check that the Enabled setting is set to Yes in Stores > Configuration > MageDrop > Connection.
Firewall blocking outbound requests	Your Magento server needs to make outbound HTTPS requests to the MageDrop SaaS. Check your server's firewall rules and ensure outbound traffic to the MageDrop domain is allowed.
Development: localhost not reachable	If you're connecting a local dev environment, the SaaS can't reach `localhost`. Use ngrok or a similar tunnel: `ngrok http 443 --host-header=rewrite` Then use the ngrok HTTPS URL as your Store URL in the MageDrop dashboard.
SSL certificate issues	If your Magento store uses a self-signed certificate (common in development), the MageDrop SaaS won't be able to verify it. Use a tunnel like ngrok (which provides a valid SSL certificate) or configure your staging environment with a valid certificate.

Check the logs

# Magento log
tail -f var/log/system.log | grep -i magedrop

# Look for HTTP errors or connection timeouts
tail -f var/log/exception.log

Preview not working

Symptoms

Preview link opens the store but changes aren't visible.
Preview bar doesn't appear.
Changes appear intermittently.

Things to check

Issue	Solution
Full Page Cache serving stale content	Flush the Magento cache: System > Cache Management > Flush Magento Cache, or run: `php bin/magento cache:flush` The module should handle FPC automatically, but if you've recently installed or updated the module, a cache flush may be needed.
Session not set	Preview relies on a PHP session to persist the preview token. Check that: Cookies are enabled in your browser. You're on the same domain as the store (preview links won't work cross-domain). Your session hasn't expired — try generating a new preview link.
Varnish not passing preview context	Preview uses Magento's `X-Magento-Vary` cookie to vary the cache. Magento's default Varnish VCL passes requests through to PHP when session cookies are present. If your VCL has been heavily customised, ensure it respects the vary cookie.
Browser cache	Try a hard refresh (`Ctrl+Shift+R` or `Cmd+Shift+R`) or open the preview link in an incognito window.
Quick Preview expired	Quick Preview sessions expire after 2 hours. Click the Quick Preview button again to generate a fresh preview.

Changes not detected (diff shows no changes)

Symptoms

You made edits in the admin form, but Save & Stage says no changes were detected.
The staged change in the dashboard shows fewer fields than expected.

Things to check

Issue	Solution
Field is in the exclude list	Certain fields are excluded from the diff (e.g. `updated_at`, `created_at`, `form_key`, primary keys). See Staging Changes for the full list of filtered fields.
Change was already saved	The diff compares the form data against the Magento REST API. If you clicked Save before clicking Save & Stage, the form and API values will match, so no diff is detected. Make your changes without saving, then stage.
Whitespace-only changes	The diff normalises whitespace in some fields. If your only change is adding or removing trailing spaces, it may not be detected as a change.
Page Builder content	Page Builder stores content as encoded HTML. The diff compares the encoded output. If the visual change is minimal (e.g. reordering elements that produce the same HTML), it may not register as a diff.

Deploy failing

Symptoms

The release status shows Failed after deploying.
The activity log shows errors.

Things to check

Issue	Solution
OAuth credentials expired or invalid	Go to your store's setup page in the MageDrop dashboard and check the OAuth credentials. If the Magento integration was deactivated or reauthorized, you'll need to update all four OAuth tokens. See Connecting Your Store.
Insufficient API permissions	The integration needs permissions for all entity types in the release. Check the integration's API permissions in System > Integrations and ensure CMS page and block permissions are enabled.
Entity no longer exists	If a page or block was deleted from Magento after you staged the change, the deploy will fail when it tries to update that entity. Remove the orphaned change from the release and retry.
Magento validation errors	Magento's REST API validates data on save. If your staged data violates a validation rule (e.g. a required field is empty), the API will reject the update. Check the activity log for the specific validation error.
Magento is in maintenance mode	The REST API may be unavailable during maintenance. Wait for maintenance to complete and retry the deploy.
Network issues	Transient network errors between the MageDrop SaaS and your Magento store can cause deploys to fail. Check that your store is reachable and retry.

Where to find logs

When troubleshooting, check the following log files:

MageDrop SaaS (Laravel)

# Main application log
storage/logs/laravel.log

# View the latest entries
tail -f storage/logs/laravel.log

The MageDrop SaaS logs deployment activity, API errors, cron execution, and any exceptions. Entries related to a specific store or release include the store ID and release ID for easy filtering.

Magento

# System log (module activity, API communication)
var/log/system.log

# Exception log (PHP errors, uncaught exceptions)
var/log/exception.log

# Debug log (verbose output, if enabled)
var/log/debug.log

# View magedrop-specific entries
grep -i "magedrop" var/log/system.log

The Limely_MageDrop module logs its activity to var/log/system.log with the prefix [Limely_MageDrop]. This includes:

Connection test results
Staging requests (sent and received)
Preview session activation and expiry
Any errors communicating with the MageDrop SaaS

Getting help

If you're stuck and the above solutions don't resolve your issue:

Check the activity log on your release — it often contains the specific error message.
Collect the relevant log entries from both the SaaS and Magento.
Contact support with your store ID, release ID, and the log entries.