Troubleshooting

A host won't connect over WinRM

The target needs WinRM enabled and reachable. Confirm the WinRM service is running on the host, that TrustedHosts allows the connection, and that the firewall permits 5985 (HTTP) or 5986(HTTPS). Use ServerEngine's one-click WinRM setup, or see Installation & Setup. For SSL, make sure the HTTPS listener exists and that “WinRM over SSL” is enabled in Settings.

A scheduled or API job can't find the script

Scheduled and API-triggered jobs run in the background service, which can't see per-user mapped drives (like Q:\). Keep your scripts in a location the service can read — a local folder or a share the service account can reach — rather than a mapped drive letter. Interactive runs from the console work either way; this only affects headless execution.

The API returns 401 Unauthorized

Your Bearer token is missing or wrong. Copy the current token from the API tab in Settings and send it as Authorization: Bearer se_…. If you regenerated the token, update every client — the old one stops working immediately.

The API call fails with a certificate error

The control API serves HTTPS on 127.0.0.1:5001 with a self-signed certificate, so clients reject it until the certificate is trusted. Import the ServerEngine-CA to trust it system-wide, or skip verification for local testing: -k with curl, -SkipCertificateCheck on PowerShell 7+, verify=False with Python requests. See Automation API.

A job fails with a signing error

If enforced signed execution is on (Enterprise), a script that is unsigned or was modified after signing is rejected before it runs. Review and re-sign the script from the Script Integrity tab, then run it again. See Scripts & Editor.

A job keeps reconnecting

When a connection drops, ServerEngine reconnects on a fixed interval for up to fifteen attempts before marking the job failed — this is expected resilience for flaky links. If it never succeeds, check the host's availability and credentials, and confirm WinRM is healthy on the target.