# Troubleshooting
## Connection problems
### Service unavailable
- Verify server is running and reachable
- Confirm `ADDRESS` value or `GRPCTESTIFY_ADDRESS`
- Check TLS settings if server requires TLS/mTLS
### Timeout errors
Use a higher timeout:
```bash
grpctestify test.gctf --timeout 60
```
## Test file problems
### JSON parse errors
- Validate JSON in `REQUEST` / `RESPONSE` / `ERROR`
- Remove trailing commas
- Ensure section markers are correct
### Missing required sections
- `ENDPOINT` is required
- At least one verification block is required: `RESPONSE`, `ERROR`, or `ASSERTS`
## Assertion problems
### Expression fails
- Start with simple checks (`.status == "ok"`)
- Validate paths exist in actual response
- For metadata checks use built-ins like `@header()` / `@trailer()`
## Debugging commands
```bash
# Verbose run
grpctestify test.gctf --verbose
# Execution preview
grpctestify test.gctf --dry-run --verbose
# Syntax check
grpctestify check test.gctf
# Inspect parsed structure
grpctestify inspect test.gctf --format json
```
## Environment variables
- `GRPCTESTIFY_ADDRESS`
- `GRPCTESTIFY_COMPRESSION`
- `GRPCTESTIFY_TLS_CA_FILE`
- `GRPCTESTIFY_TLS_CERT_FILE`
- `GRPCTESTIFY_TLS_KEY_FILE`
- `GRPCTESTIFY_TLS_SERVER_NAME`