6. Updating & troubleshooting

6.1. Updating LatticeMind

When an interactive CLI or Web startup finds a newer release on the public Nanoacademic package index, it prints one line containing the exact upgrade command. LatticeMind checks at most once per 24 hours and stores the last result in ~/.latticemind/update_check.json. A failed check is silent and is not retried for one hour. Interactive startup waits at most 1.5 seconds for the notice.

python -m pip install --upgrade \
  --index-url https://pypi.nanoacademic.ca/simple/ \
  --extra-index-url https://pypi.org/simple/ \
  lattice-mind

Set LATTICEMIND_UPDATE_CHECK=0 to disable the check. It reads only the public lattice-mind project page; it does not send prompts, project paths, API keys, or solver files. latticemind --version and other shell subcommands never make the check.

This is the same index pair used to install LatticeMind in the first place; see Where LatticeMind comes from.

To install a wheel file supplied directly by Nanoacademic instead, open a terminal in the directory containing it and run:

python -m pip install --upgrade --force-reinstall <matching-wheel>.whl

The wheel installs the post-processing libraries (h5py, scipy, matplotlib) by default. An upgrade does not touch your projects — the folders you started LatticeMind in (or LATTICEMIND_ARTIFACTS_DIR). A conversation started under an earlier version continues after the upgrade, with one line saying the newer guidance was adopted.

To confirm which version you are running, use latticemind --version; the greeting panel in the terminal and the web console’s top bar also state it.

6.2. Troubleshooting

Symptom	Fix
No model configured, or an API key is missing or rejected	Run `latticemind setup`, or type `/model` in a conversation and pick the model; an unconfigured one asks for its key. `latticemind setup --show` prints what is ready. See Connecting your AI model.
Web UI port already in use	LatticeMind picks another free port automatically, or set `LATTICEMIND_WEB_PORT=7866`.
Web UI loads but CSS / live updates don’t (behind a proxy)	Set `LATTICEMIND_WEB_BASE_PATH` to your proxy prefix, e.g. `/proxy/7865`.
No browser / running on a server	Nothing to change: `latticemind` starts the conversation in the terminal and opens no browser. `latticemind-web` serves the web console when you want it.
LatticeMind reports “License check failed”	LatticeMind needs its own license, not a RESCU one. Put exactly one valid `.lic` or `.license` file under `~/.nanoacademic/LATTICEMIND`, or set `LATTICEMIND_LICENSE_FILE` to the exact file. This startup check applies to every solver selection.
RESCU command needs configuration	Run `latticemind setup` and confirm or type the RESCU path, or set `LATTICEMIND_RESCU_CMD` to the exact executable. Test `rescu` directly first. RESCU execution needs its own active RESCU license on the computer that runs it.
NanoDCAL command needs configuration	Test NanoDCAL directly, then set `LATTICEMIND_NANODCAL_CMD`. NanoDCAL needs its own active solver license on the computer that executes it.
NanoDCAL neutral-atom data path needs configuration	Extract the NeutralAtomDatabase from the Nanoacademic Portal and set `LATTICEMIND_NANODCAL_DATA_PATH` to its root directory, not to the archive file.
A DFPT/phonon post-processing step fails in parallel	Some RESCU post-analysis stages are serial-only; LatticeMind strips MPI launchers for them automatically. See Settings & configuration reference.

6.3. Before launching expensive jobs

Every launch asks first, and the permission question shows what will run, on which machine and in which folder. Read it before you answer. To look at the inputs before any launch is proposed, ask:

Prepare the inputs but do not run anything yet.

Approve-for-me never approves a high-cost run on this machine or a run whose size cannot be estimated; those always ask.

RESCU and NanoDCAL feasibility depends on atom count, basis, k/q grids, functional, spin, wall time, memory, and scheduler limits. Start with a cheap validation run before launching dense DFPT, phonon, optics, Raman, relaxation, transport, or large-cell workflows.

6.4. Getting help

See Contact Us for the Nanoacademic forum and support email, and what to include in a report.