Kinetic

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Troubleshooting ​

If you are experiencing issues with Kinetic, check the scenarios below for solutions.

Daemon won't start ​

Port 53 already in use ​

This is very common on Ubuntu systems because systemd-resolved binds to port 53. Fix: Disable the stub listener:

bash
sudo systemctl disable --now systemd-resolved

Then edit /etc/resolv.conf to point to 127.0.0.1:

bash
sudo rm /etc/resolv.conf
echo "nameserver 127.0.0.1" | sudo tee /etc/resolv.conf

Permission denied on port 53 ​

On Linux and macOS, port 53 is a privileged port. Fix: You must start the daemon as an administrator using sudo:

bash
sudo kinetic daemon

Database locked (KIN-STO-001) ​

Another instance of the Kinetic daemon is already running in the background. Fix: Kill the existing process. On Linux/macOS, run sudo pkill kinetic-daemon. On Windows, use the Task Manager to end it.

Identity not found (KIN-IDN-003) ​

The daemon requires an identity key to start, but none was found. Fix: Run kinetic seed init to generate a new identity.

Not connecting to network (No peers) ​

If you see errors like KIN-NET-003 (routing table empty) or KIN-RES-001 (node offline), your node cannot talk to the network.

  • Check your internet connection.
  • Ensure your router or firewall is not blocking outbound TCP traffic on port 6070 (the Kinetic P2P port).
  • Restart the daemon; it will attempt to bootstrap connection to peers again.

DNS not resolving in browser ​

If your browser shows "site not found" for .kin names:

  • Make sure the daemon is actually running in a terminal or as a service.
  • Check if DNS is working locally by running dig @127.0.0.1 myname.kin A.
  • macOS: Verify the daemon is listening on port 53 by running sudo lsof -i :53.
  • Windows: Ensure the Windows DNS Client service isn't blocking port 53.
  • Ensure the name has been published: run kinetic name resolve myname.kin. If it isn't found, you may need to run kinetic name publish myname.kin.

VDF computation seems stuck ​

If you started a registration or renewal and it seems like nothing is happening:

  • This is normal. VDF computation is silent and takes a long time. Your CPU should be working hard. Use kinetic name info myname.kin in another terminal to check the status.
  • KIN-VDF-001/002: Only one VDF task can run at a time. If you see lock errors, wait for the current task to finish.
  • If it has taken hours longer than the expected time for your name length, you can safely restart the daemon. The computation will resume from its last checkpoint.

Name not found (KIN-RES-002) ​

  • If you just registered it: You probably haven't published it yet. Edit your zone file, then run kinetic name publish myname.kin.
  • If you just published it: It takes a few minutes for the name to propagate across the DHT network. Wait a few minutes and try again.
  • Verify you actually own the name by running kinetic name list.

Drand errors (KIN-DRA-001, KIN-DRA-002) ​

The daemon uses the Drand network to fetch random challenges for the VDF.

  • If you see these errors, it means your computer cannot reach the Drand beacon. Check your internet connection.
  • If you are on a corporate network or strict firewall, ensure HTTPS traffic to drand.cloudflare.com is permitted.

Seed/Identity Errors ​

Invalid seed phrase (KIN-IDN-004) ​

If you are trying to restore, check your spelling carefully. All 12 words must be valid English words from the official BIP-39 dictionary.

Lost Seed and Key ​

If your hard drive crashes and you lose both the identity.key file AND your paper seed phrase backup, recovery is impossible. Ownership of your .kin names is permanently lost.