Samara Debug and Control
Diagnose and manage Samara.app, the message broker connecting iMessage to Claude. Check status, view logs, restart the app, and troubleshoot Full Disk Access issues.
name: samara description: Debug, check, or restart Samara.app - the message broker. Use when messages aren't being detected, Samara crashed, need to view logs, check Full Disk Access, or restart the app. Trigger words: samara, messages not working, restart, logs, FDA, broker. context: fork allowed-tools:
- Bash
- Read
- Grep
- Glob
- Write
hooks:
PreToolUse:
- matcher: "Bash"
hooks:
- type: command command: "/Users/claude/Developer/samara-main/.claude/hooks/block-deriveddata-copy.sh" timeout: 5
- matcher: "Bash"
hooks:
Samara Debug and Control
Diagnose and manage Samara.app, the message broker that connects iMessage to Claude.
Quick Actions
Check if Running
pgrep -fl Samara
ps aux | grep -i [S]amara
View Recent Logs
# Samara's own logs
tail -50 ~/.claude-mind/logs/samara.log 2>/dev/null
# System logs for Samara
log show --predicate 'process == "Samara"' --last 5m 2>/dev/null | tail -30
Restart Samara
# Kill if running
pkill -f Samara
# Wait a moment
sleep 2
# Relaunch
open /Applications/Samara.app
Tip: This sequence is a good candidate for the Bash subagent (Task tool with subagent_type=Bash) to avoid polluting context with intermediate steps.
Check Full Disk Access
# This will work if FDA is granted
ls ~/Library/Messages/chat.db && echo "FDA: OK" || echo "FDA: MISSING"
# Check code signature (Team ID must be stable)
codesign -d -r- /Applications/Samara.app 2>&1 | head -5
Common Issues
Messages Not Being Detected
- Check Samara is running
- Check FDA is intact
- Check chat.db is readable
- Look for errors in logs
Samara Crashed
- Check system logs for crash reason
- Restart with
open /Applications/Samara.app - If repeated crashes, may need rebuild
FDA Revoked After Update
This happens if Team ID changed during rebuild:
# Check current signature - MUST show G4XVD3J52J
codesign -d -r- /Applications/Samara.app 2>&1 | grep "subject.OU"
# If shows 7V9XLQ8YNQ or any other team: WRONG CERTIFICATE USED
# Must rebuild properly and re-grant FDA
Rebuild Samara
CRITICAL: ONLY use the update-samara script. NEVER copy from DerivedData.
A Claude instance previously broke FDA by copying a Debug build from
~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/. This used automatic signing which picked the WRONG certificate and revoked all permissions.
The ONLY correct way to rebuild:
~/.claude-mind/bin/update-samara
FORBIDDEN (will break FDA):
cp -R ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/.../Samara.app /Applications/xcodebuild -configuration Debugfor deployment- Any manual copy of Samara.app to /Applications
Verify after rebuild:
codesign -d -r- /Applications/Samara.app 2>&1 | grep "subject.OU"
# Must show: G4XVD3J52J
# If shows: 7V9XLQ8YNQ - WRONG! FDA will be revoked
Diagnostic Report
When troubleshooting, gather:
- Is Samara running?
- FDA status
- Recent log errors
- Last successful message detection
- Code signature validity
Present findings clearly with recommended actions.
Related Skills
For specific issues, use these specialized skills:
/diagnose-leaks— Debug thinking traces or session IDs leaking into messages/debug-session— Debug session management, batching, and task routing/status— Quick system health check
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