Troubleshooting

First stop: g3x-core doctor

Almost everything below shows up in one place. From the install folder (%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\EmreliaE3X\core on Windows, ~/.local/opt/emrelia-e3x/core on Linux):

g3x-core doctor

It checks the install tree, the browser engine (including missing Linux shared libraries), the data pack and its cycle dates, the license status, your X-Plane plugin wiring and the sim version, and MSFS’s exe.xml — and prints the paths of every log file mentioned below.

Startup and display

The display window never appears (X-Plane)

In order of likelihood:

1. The plugin isn’t installed or its config is missing. doctor prints [plugin installed, cfg present] per X-Plane install; anything else, re-run g3x-core install xplane (with X-Plane closed).
2. The core started and exited at once. The reason is at the top of g3x-core.log in the data directory’s run/ folder (doctor prints the exact path). The most common reason is the license gate — see below.
3. The browser engine can’t run. On Linux, doctor lists any missing shared libraries together with the apt/dnf line that installs them. With no bundled engine and no installed Chrome/Edge, there is nothing to open the window with.

The core exits with “needs an activated license”

The live simulator sources are gated on activation. An unactivated machine refuses --source xplane (and msfs) at startup with:

--source xplane needs an activated license on this machine (status: UNLICENSED; ...)
Activate this machine with:  g3x-core license activate <KEY>
The fake and replay sources run without one.

When the sim launched the E3X for you there’s no console to read — the message lands in run/g3x-core.log, and on Windows a message box names that file. Activate with your key and start the sim again. Demo mode (the fake and replay sources) always runs, but shows a red UNLICENSED banner.

A port-in-use error at startup

The E3X uses two local ports (WebSocket 8765, HTTP 8000). When the sim launches it, the E3X deliberately refuses to move ports silently — it exits with a message naming the occupied port and, where the OS allows, the process holding it. Usually that’s a leftover E3X from a previous session or a second copy running: stop that process and start again.

The window opens but shows nothing

The display server has no built UI to serve — almost always a broken install. doctor will show the web root as missing; reinstall.

Data

The map is blank, or nothing can be found outside a small area

The data pack isn’t installed (or isn’t found) and the E3X has fallen back to its tiny bundled sample dataset. doctor reports no data pack in that state. Install or reinstall the pack — see Data Packs.

Plates or frequencies look out of date

Your data cycle has lapsed. g3x-core datapack status shows the expiry date of every product; install the current cycle’s pack over the top.

License and activation

For how activation works, see License & Activation.

“This key is already active on all of its allowed machines”

Both activation slots are in use. Either:

• run g3x-core license deactivate on a machine you no longer use, or
• sign in to your account page, find the key, and deactivate the machine there — useful when the old machine is dead or inaccessible.

Then activate the new machine again. If one of the listed activations is actually this machine under an old name (a reinstall or a dual-boot), license activate recognizes its own fingerprint and releases the stale slot automatically.

“This license has already been moved twice in the last 30 days”

Deactivations are limited to two per rolling 30 days to prevent key sharing. Occasional machine moves never hit this; if you’ve hit it for a legitimate reason (hardware failure, say), write to [email protected] and it’ll be sorted.

The display shows a DEACTIVATED banner

This machine’s activation was released remotely — from the account page, or the key was disabled or refunded. If it was a machine move you made yourself, nothing is wrong: activating again re-binds the machine (g3x-core license activate <KEY>), taking a free slot. If you didn’t deactivate anything, sign in to your account page and check the key’s status, or contact support.

“The license service is not reachable”

Activation and deactivation need a connection; day-to-day flying doesn’t (the activation is verified offline at every start). If deactivation fails because the machine is offline or being retired, release its slot from your account page instead.

What does g3x-core license status show?

The stored activation, this machine’s name and fingerprint, the activation limit, and whether the live sim sources are allowed — a one-command answer to “why won’t it start”.

MSFS

Nothing launches with the sim

In order of likelihood: exe.xml doesn’t parse; the <Path> is wrong or relative; the edit was made with the sim open and got overwritten on exit; <Disabled> is True. See Install: MSFS. doctor reports whether each sim’s exe.xml carries the E3X block.

The E3X exits after ~15 seconds

The supervision watchdog never got a SimConnect connection. Check the path and command line by running them in a console with the sim already at the main menu. doctor also reports which SimConnect.dll was found — the MSFS source can’t start without one.

Something else?

Write to [email protected] — include your sim, OS, what you saw, and (ideally) the output of g3x-core doctor.