← § Help

Daemon Troubleshooting

Quick Answer

The colored dot in the Hollowmark app tells you the daemon's status: green means connected, yellow means reconnecting, red means disconnected. Most problems are caused by the daemon not running, a firewall block, or an incorrect config file.

Understanding the Status Indicator

ColorMeaning
GreenDaemon is running and connected to Hollowmark. Data is syncing.
YellowDaemon is trying to reconnect. Wait 30 seconds — it usually recovers on its own.
RedDaemon is not connected. Action required — work through the checklist below.

Problem: Red dot — daemon is not connecting

Work through this checklist in order.

1. Is the daemon running?

macOS:

  1. Open Activity Monitor (press Command + Space, type "Activity Monitor", press Enter).

  2. In the search box at the top-right, type hollowmark-daemon.

  3. If it appears in the list, it is running. If not, launch it from Applications > Hollowmark Daemon.

Windows:

  1. Open Task Manager (press Ctrl + Shift + Esc).

  2. Click the Details tab.

  3. Look for vaultmtg-daemon.exe in the list.

  4. If it is not there, open the Start Menu, search for Hollowmark Daemon, and launch it.

2. Is a firewall or antivirus blocking the daemon?

The daemon makes outbound HTTPS connections to hollowmark.app. Some security tools block unsigned executables from making network requests.

Windows Defender / Windows Firewall:

  1. Open Windows Security from the Start Menu.

  2. Click Firewall and network protection > Allow an app through firewall.

  3. Click Change settings, then find vaultmtg-daemon.exe in the list.

  4. If it is not listed, click Allow another app and browse to the daemon executable (default location: %LOCALAPPDATA%\VaultMTG\vaultmtg-daemon.exe; browse to wherever you installed it).

  5. Check both Private and Public boxes, then click OK.

macOS firewall:

  1. Open System Settings > Network > Firewall.

  2. Click Options (or Firewall Options on older macOS).

  3. Look for hollowmark-daemon in the list. If it shows Block incoming connections, click the entry and change it to Allow incoming connections.

Third-party antivirus (Malwarebytes, Avast, Norton, etc.): Add hollowmark-daemon (macOS) or vaultmtg-daemon.exe (Windows) to the exceptions or exclusions list. Refer to your antivirus documentation for the exact steps.

3. Is the config file correct?

The daemon reads its configuration from a JSON file on your machine.

macOS path:

~/.hollowmark/daemon.json

To open it: press Command + Space, type "Terminal", press Enter, then run:

open ~/.hollowmark/

Windows path:

%APPDATA%\vaultmtg\daemon.json

This is the file the installed daemon reads. A %APPDATA%\hollowmark\ folder may also exist; it is a copy the daemon does not read, so editing it changes nothing. To open the folder: press Windows + R, paste %APPDATA%\vaultmtg\, press Enter.

Open daemon.json in a text editor (Notepad on Windows, TextEdit on Mac). Confirm:

  • The cloud_api_url value starts with https:// and does not have a trailing slash.

  • The file is valid JSON (no missing commas or brackets). If you are unsure, paste the contents into jsonlint.com to check.

If the file is missing entirely, delete and reinstall the daemon — the installer recreates it.

4. Restart the daemon

macOS: Click the menu bar icon > Quit Hollowmark Daemon, then relaunch from Applications.

Windows: Right-click the system tray icon > Exit, then relaunch from the Start Menu.

Problem: Data not syncing after matches

The daemon is connected (green dot) but games are not appearing in Hollowmark.

1. Is MTG Arena writing to its log file?

The log file only updates while Arena is actively running. After quitting Arena, no new data is written.

  • Open Hollowmark settings and confirm the Player.log path is correct for your system:

    macOS:

    ~/Library/Logs/Wizards Of The Coast/MTGA/Player.log

    Windows (most users):

    %LOCALAPPDATA%\Wizards Of The Coast\MTGA\Player.log

    Windows (Epic Games Store install): The log may be in a different location. Try:

    %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Wizards Of The Coast.MTGArena_*\LocalState\Wizards Of The Coast\MTGA\Player.log

  • Navigate to that folder and confirm Player.log exists and has a recent Date modified timestamp.

2. Did you play after the daemon was running?

The daemon only tracks games that start while it is connected. Games played before launching the daemon are not imported.

3. Wait a few seconds

There is a brief delay (usually under 10 seconds) between a game ending in Arena and the data appearing in Hollowmark.

4. Force a refresh

Click the refresh icon in the Hollowmark top navigation bar to trigger a data reload.

5. Check that you are signed in

Open Hollowmark Settings > Account and confirm you are logged in with the same account you used during daemon setup.

Problem: Daemon crashes immediately on startup

Missing config file

If daemon.json does not exist, the daemon cannot start. Reinstall the daemon — the installer creates a fresh config file.

Wrong BFF URL in config

Open daemon.json and verify the cloud_api_url field. It should point to https://api.hollowmark.app. If it is blank or points to localhost, the daemon will fail to connect and may crash.

Expired or invalid auth token

Your sign-in session may have expired. Click the menu bar icon (macOS) or system tray icon (Windows) and choose Sign Out, then Sign In again.

If the icon is not visible (because the daemon crashed before showing it), delete the daemon.json file and relaunch — you will be prompted to sign in again.

Problem: macOS — "cannot verify developer" warning

See Installation Guide — Step 3 for the full walkthrough.

Short version:

  1. Click OK to dismiss the initial warning.

  2. In Finder, right-click the .dmg or the app in Applications.

  3. Choose Open from the right-click menu.

  4. In the dialog that appears, click Open.

Problem: Windows — "Windows protected your PC" SmartScreen warning

See Installation Guide — Step 2 for the full walkthrough.

Short version:

  1. Click More info in the SmartScreen dialog.

  2. Click Run anyway.

If More info is not visible, your machine may have strict SmartScreen settings enforced by an IT policy. Try right-clicking the .exe and choosing Properties > check Unblock at the bottom of the General tab > click OK, then run the installer again.

How to Check If the Daemon Is Running

macOS — Activity Monitor:

  1. Press Command + Space, type "Activity Monitor", press Enter.

  2. Search for hollowmark-daemon in the search box.

  3. If it appears in the list, the process is running.

Windows — Task Manager:

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.

  2. Click the Details tab.

  3. Look for vaultmtg-daemon.exe.

How to Restart the Daemon Manually

macOS:

  1. Click the Hollowmark icon in the menu bar.

  2. Choose Quit Hollowmark Daemon.

  3. Open Finder > Applications > double-click Hollowmark Daemon.

Windows:

  1. Right-click the Hollowmark icon in the system tray (bottom-right, near the clock).

  2. Choose Exit.

  3. Open the Start Menu, search for Hollowmark Daemon, and click it to relaunch.

If the icon is not visible (daemon is not running at all):

  • macOS: Open Applications > Hollowmark Daemon.

  • Windows: Start Menu > search Hollowmark Daemon > click to launch.

If That Doesn't Work

Post in Discord #help and include:

  • Your operating system and version (e.g., macOS 14.4, Windows 11 23H2)

  • Hollowmark version (Settings > About)

  • The status indicator color you are seeing

  • What you have already tried from this guide