Troubleshooting
Start with the menu-bar icon: permissions, the reply service, WeChat compatibility and the license all show there. Then match your symptom below.
By symptom
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| Nothing happens at all | Check the switch at the top of the menu is on. When something new is in another chat, it waits for 60 seconds without keyboard or mouse input before bringing WeChat forward to open it, and it holds off while you're in WeChat (the menu says “Paused while you use WeChat”). It only watches the chats visible in the chat list (about 16 in a 1920×1055 window), and messages that arrived while Meow was stopped aren't answered later. |
| The menu-bar icon turned red; a permission shows as missing | The app was replaced by a differently signed build, or macOS asked for Screen Recording again. Grant it again as the menu says; after Screen Recording, reopen the app. |
| WeChat main window not found (logged in?) | WeChat isn’t logged in, or the screen is locked. Open WeChat, log in and keep the screen unlocked. |
| “WeChat compatibility” failed in the menu and sending paused | WeChat’s language isn’t Simplified Chinese or English, or a WeChat update changed its window. Switch the language back to Simplified Chinese or English and click Check Again; if an update caused it, wait for our next release. |
| Every message is skipped; nothing gets read | WeChat is in full screen, or its language isn’t Simplified Chinese or English (Settings → General → WeChat shows the check). Leave full screen and switch WeChat to Simplified Chinese or English. |
| A group message got no reply | The group isn’t followed and nobody @-mentioned you; or “Also look at other groups when @-mentioned” in Settings → Groups is off; or the model decided the message wasn’t for you, which is how it’s meant to work. |
| The log says “sent, not confirmed” | What WeChat displays differs slightly from what was sent, so it couldn’t confirm. Rare; have a look at the chat. |
| It doesn’t recognise my other WeChat account | That account isn’t registered in Settings → You, or you entered its nickname. It goes by the WeChat ID on the contact’s profile card. |
| Files people send aren’t read | WeChat’s automatic file download is off, or the app wasn’t allowed to read WeChat’s downloaded files. With DeepSeek, PDFs can’t be read; switch to Claude. |
| Mail alerts never arrive | The extension isn’t paired (click Connect in Settings → Mail), the Gmail or Outlook tab was closed, the Outlook tab was never clicked, or Send alerts to isn’t your other WeChat account. |
| The menu says the key was rejected or the account is out of credit | Click Test the Key in Settings → Assistant. Out of credit: top up with your provider. Rejected: check the key was pasted whole and that the provider chosen there matches it. |
| A license message | See what the status line means. |
Where the logs are
The activity log is ~/Library/Logs/meow/activity.log and the reply service's log is server.log in the same folder; the menu shows recent activity too. Logs hold chat names, actions and counts, never message text, so they're safe to attach when you write to support.
Still stuck?
Email support with your macOS and WeChat versions and what the menu shows; attach the logs if you can. Contact details