PenstockJetBrains / Licence and help
Troubleshooting in a JetBrains IDE
Fixes for the problems that only happen in the IDE: a blank editor, a file that opens as text, a command that does not start.
Problems that are not about the IDE, such as a failed deployment or a missing template, are in the general troubleshooting page.
The editor area is blank
- Check that your IDE is version 2024.2 or newer.
- The diagram editor is a browser view (JCEF) inside the IDE. An IDE that cannot supply JCEF cannot show a diagram, and the editor area says The editor needs the embedded browser, which this IDE does not have. JetBrains' own downloads run on the JetBrains Runtime, which has it. If you pointed the IDE at another Java runtime, point it back.
- Right-click inside the blank area. If there is an Open DevTools entry, use it to see the error.
- Use the Text tab. The XML is never locked away.
The editor needs no licence. A paid feature explains itself when you reach for it. The rest keeps working.
A file does not open in its editor
- The BPMN file type covers
bpmn,bpmn.xmlandbpmn20.xml. The DMN type coversdmn. If such a file opens as plain XML, the pattern may have been given to another file type in Settings | Editor | File Types. Move it back. - A
.formfile opens in the form editor only if it is a Camunda Form: a JSON object withcomponents. Other.formfiles stay with the IntelliJ GUI Designer. - The tool window lists only files inside a project content root. A diagram kept outside is not listed.
A command from the tool window does nothing
| "Running Penstock requires trusting this project first" | The Run Penstock actions start an external process, which Penstock allows only in a trusted project. From IDE 2025.2 the message adds with the IDE's Trust Project action: use that, and run it again. On 2024.2 and 2025.1 Penstock asks itself, in a dialog called Trust this project? that names the exact command, with Trust project as the answer that goes ahead. Deployment hooks need trust too. Settings | Tools | Penstock lists what Penstock itself recorded. |
| "Penstock could not start" | The actions run the project's penstockw, or npx when there is none. node and npx must be on the PATH the IDE inherited. Start the IDE from a terminal to test. |
The bpmnlint rules of my own plugin are not applied
A bundle named in lint.clientBundlePath is loaded only from a trusted project, and only if the file is inside the project. Until you trust the project, a notification says the lint rules are not loaded, and the editors reload when you do. See Settings in the IDE.
Problems appear in the IDE that I did not open
The check runs in the background on every .bpmn, .dmn and .form file, so its findings are in the IDE's Problems window and the file is marked in the Project view. To stop that, switch off Diagram findings from the check in Settings | Editor | Inspections | Penstock. The editor keeps its own findings.
Deployment to a private certificate fails
Penstock has no option to skip certificate checks. Trust the certificate in the Java runtime the IDE uses. Deployment is described in Deployment.
Where else to look
- The IDE log: Help | Show Log in Finder (or Explorer). Penstock logs under
jetbrains.bpmn.editor. Swallowed failures, such as a template that would not parse, are there with a stack trace. - DevTools in the editor: right-click the diagram and choose Open DevTools to see a frontend error. The diagram diff viewer forwards its browser console to the IDE log with a
[bpmn-preview]prefix.
Still stuck
Open an issue on the support tracker. Add the IDE and its version, the plugin version, the engine, and a .bpmn file that shows the problem.