Merge pull request #2546 from posit-dev/dotnomad/troubleshooting-link

Add troubleshooting link to documentation when `publish/failure` occurs

docs/index.md

@@ -55,6 +55,10 @@ See the [VS Code Extension](vscode.md) page.
 
 See the [Configuration Reference](configuration.md) page.
 
+## Troubleshooting
+
+See the [Troubleshooting](troubleshooting.md) page.
+
 ## Acknowledgements
 
 See the [Licenses](licenses.md) page.

docs/troubleshooting.md

@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+# Troubleshooting Posit Publisher
+
+This document contains some common issues and solutions for Posit Publisher.
+
+## The Configuration has a schema error
+
+If deploying results in the following error:
+
+> Failed to deploy. The Configuration has a schema error
+
+This occurs when there is a problem with the Deployment's Configuration file.
+This can occur due to a missing field, an incorrect value, or even a typo.
+
+Using an extension like [Even Better TOML](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=tamasfe.even-better-toml)
+can help catch problems in the Configuration by providing syntax highlighting,
+completion, and hover text using the schema provided by Posit Publisher.
+
+Carefully check your Configuration file for any errors, and refer to the
+[Configuration File reference documentation](https://github.com/posit-dev/publisher/blob/main/docs/configuration.md)
+for more details on the fields and values that are expected.
+
+## Unrecognized app mode
+
+If when deploying you see the following error:
+
+> Cannot process manifest: Unrecognized app mode
+
+there are few things to check.
+
+### Using `type = 'unknown'`
+
+If your Configuration file contains `type = 'unknown'`, either from the
+generated Configuration being unable to identify the type of your content, or
+if it was set to the `unknown` type manually, you will see this error.
+
+The Posit Publisher extension view will show an alert when this occurs, asking
+for the framework you are using to be set using the `type` field in your
+Configuration.
+
+To fix this you will need to find and set the `type` in your Configuration file.
+Supported types can be found in the [Configuration File Reference documentation](https://github.com/posit-dev/publisher/blob/main/docs/configuration.md#type).
+
+### Using a `type` that is not supported by your server
+
+Another possibility is Posit Connect, on the server you are deploying to, is
+older than the version that introduced support for the `type` set in your
+configuration file.
+
+For example, in [Posit Connect 2024.12.0](https://docs.posit.co/connect/news/#posit-connect-2024.12.0-new)
+Gradio app support was introduced. When deploying a Gradio app to a server
+running an older version of Posit Connect than 2024.12.0, it will error.
+
+## Still having trouble?
+
+If you're still having trouble with Posit Publisher or have any questions,
+please reach out to us using a new
+[GitHub discussion](https://github.com/posit-dev/publisher/discussions).
+
+If you think you've found a bug or have a feature request,
+please open a
+[GitHub Issue](https://github.com/posit-dev/publisher/issues).

extensions/vscode/src/utils/window.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+// Copyright (C) 2025 by Posit Software, PBC.
+
+import { window } from "vscode";
+
+export function showErrorMessageWithTroubleshoot(
+  message: string,
+  ...items: string[]
+) {
+  let msg = message;
+  if (!message.endsWith(".")) {
+    msg += ".";
+  }
+  msg +=
+    " See [Troubleshooting docs](https://github.com/posit-dev/publisher/blob/main/docs/troubleshooting.md) for help.";
+  return window.showErrorMessage(msg, ...items);
+}

extensions/vscode/src/views/logs.ts

@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ import {
   ErrorMessageActionIds,
   findErrorMessageSplitOption,
 } from "src/utils/errorEnhancer";
+import { showErrorMessageWithTroubleshoot } from "src/utils/window";
 
 enum LogStageStatus {
   notStarted,
@@ -219,7 +220,10 @@ export class LogsTreeDataProvider implements TreeDataProvider<LogsTreeItem> {
           ...options,
         );
       } else {
-        selection = await window.showErrorMessage(errorMessage, ...options);
+        selection = await showErrorMessageWithTroubleshoot(
+          errorMessage,
+          ...options,
+        );
       }
       if (selection === showLogsOption) {
         await commands.executeCommand(Commands.Logs.Focus);