Chat-only mode
What Palisade does when it finds no ACP agent, and how to fix it with the first-run checklist.
Palisade needs at least one ACP agent to do work. With none available, it opens in chat-only mode and tells you what is missing. This means you can open the app and record prompts, but no coding agent can execute them.
Add an available agent
If a supported runtime such as Node.js is installed, Palisade shows Choose your coding agent. Select an agent to enable it. Its adapter downloads on first use, and it may ask you to sign in.
The first-run checklist
When the startup check finds no agent, Palisade shows a checklist instead of a one-line warning. It states the reason first. There are two:
| Reason | What it means |
|---|---|
| Registry unreachable | Palisade could not fetch the ACP registry and has no cached copy. |
Nothing on PATH | The registry loaded, but none of its agents are installed on this Mac. |
The checklist then gives three numbered steps and a link to the ACP registry. Select Check again to re-run the startup check after you fix it.
Fixing it
- Install the runtime and ACP adapter required by your chosen agent. For npm-based agents, install Node.js and use Add an agent in the picker.
- Sign in to it. See Agents and sign-in.
- Select Check again.
If the reason is the registry, check your network connection first.
Offline behaviour
Palisade opens offline. A registry fetch that returns no agents is treated as an error, not cached as an empty list.