How to resolve common issues

“I can’t draw this relationship between these elements”

Cause: The relationship type has pair-wise constraints that don’t allow the source/target combination you’re trying to create.

Fix:

Check which element types the relationship type allows — select the M2 relationship type in the Explorer and review its constraints
Use a different relationship type that permits this combination
If you’re building a custom metamodel, add an additional valid pair to the relationship type’s constraints

“An element is dimmed, and says its type is abstract”

Cause: The element’s type was made abstract after the element was created. An abstract type exists only to be inherited from, so nothing new can be created as one; elements that already exist are kept and flagged.

Fix:

If the type should be usable, untick Abstract in its Advanced section
Otherwise delete the element and create it again as one of the type’s subtypes

“I can’t remove a superclass from a type”

Cause: A board takes its columns from a property the type would no longer have.

Fix:

Change the board to group by another property, or delete it, then remove the superclass
Values and relationships that depend on the superclass do not block the removal: a dialog asks what to do with the values. See How to use class generalization

“I can’t edit this package / element”

Cause: The package is read-only. Built-in M2 metamodels (ArchiMate, UML, etc.) and M3 MOF Core are always read-only.

Fix:

You can’t edit built-in M2 packages — they’re shared across all projects and protected from modification
If you need a modified version, clone the package and edit the clone
Custom M2 metamodels you create are editable unless you’ve explicitly marked them read-only

“The Palette is empty — I can’t see any element types”

Cause: Your M1 package hasn’t imported any M2 metamodels.

Fix:

Select the M1 package in the Explorer
In the Properties panel, check the Imports section
If empty, add an import for the M2 metamodel you want to use
See How to declare package imports

“My element doesn’t appear on the diagram”

Cause: The element exists in the model but hasn’t been placed on this diagram. Elements are not automatically added to diagrams.

Fix:

Drag the element from the Explorer onto the Canvas
Remember: an element can exist in the model (visible in the Explorer) without appearing on any diagram. See Diagrams vs Models

“Import failed — duplicate $id”

Cause: The .farki file you’re importing contains $id values that conflict with existing elements in the project.

Fix:

Import into a new project instead of an existing one
If you generated the .farki file (e.g., with an LLM), ensure all $id values are unique within the file
$id values should be kebab-case and unique across the entire package tree

“Import failed — missing dependency”

Cause: The .farki file references an M2 metamodel that isn’t available in the target project.

Fix:

With File > Import Package…, a dialog names the missing metamodel and offers Import <metamodel name>…. Choose its .farki file and the model then imports on its own. See How to import a .farki package.
File > Import Project… only shows an error. Import the M2 metamodel first, then try again
If the file is a project-scope export, use File > New Project… > From File instead — it includes both M2 and M1 content

“Replace isn’t offered when I import a metamodel”

Cause: Models in the project use the metamodel. Replacing it would re-create its types with new ids and leave every model element that uses them without a type.

Fix: Click Upgrade… in the same dialog. It upgrades the metamodel in place from the file you chose, keeping every element and its type. See How to upgrade a metamodel.

“The upgrade backup couldn’t be saved”

See If something goes wrong in the upgrade guide.

“Deleting a metamodel type deleted model elements too”

Cause: Deleting an M2 type also deletes the M1 elements, relationships and property values that use it. The confirmation says how many before you click Delete.

Fix:

If you ticked Export a backup of the project first, re-import what you need from that file
Next time, upgrade the metamodel to a version without the type. Types still in use are retired rather than deleted

“Moving an element fails: too many nested elements”

Cause: Owned (nested) elements always live in their owner’s package, so moving or cloning an element moves or copies everything it owns. An element that owns more than 2,000 nested elements is refused: “This element owns more than 2,000 nested elements, too many to move in one step.”

Fix: Move or clone the package that contains it instead. Cloning a large package runs in batches, with a progress toast.

“The integrity checker shows warnings”

Cause: The model has referential integrity issues — broken references, orphaned nodes, or constraint violations.

Fix:

Click the integrity indicator in the status bar to see the full list of issues
Each issue identifies the affected element and the problem type
See How to use the integrity checker for resolution steps

“I deleted an element and it disappeared from all my diagrams”

Cause: Deleting an element from the Explorer (or using Ctrl+Delete on the Canvas) removes it from the model entirely — including all diagrams.

Fix:

Use Ctrl+Z immediately if you’re still on the same diagram (undo may recover the diagram node, but the model deletion is not undoable)
To remove an element from one diagram only, select it and press Delete (without Ctrl) — this removes the diagram node but keeps the element in the model

“Two people edited the same diagram and one person’s changes were lost”

Cause: Diagram layout is saved explicitly, and the last save wins. Two people editing the same diagram simultaneously will overwrite each other’s layout.

Fix:

Coordinate diagram editing — one person per diagram at a time
Model changes (elements, properties, relationships) sync in real time and don’t conflict — only diagram layout (positions, waypoints, formatting) has this limitation

“FarkiBot says my model doesn’t record something, but I’m sure it does”

Cause: Almost always scope. The Context chip controls which packages are sent, and a narrowed scope excludes the rest of the project.

Fix:

Click the Context chip and check the package you mean is ticked
Confirm the information is really in the model rather than in a diagram label or an element’s name — FarkiBot reads model content, so a fact that only exists as a note on a diagram may not be where you think it is
If it genuinely isn’t recorded, that’s a finding about the model. See How FarkiBot Works for why FarkiBot won’t fill the gap from training data.

“FarkiBot won’t let me modify my metamodel”

Cause: By design. The Modify M1 task lists M1 models only.

Replacing a metamodel would orphan every model instance built on it, and the damage would land in other packages — where neither the diff nor the snapshot could show it to you.

Fix: Edit metamodels directly, or bring in a new version with Upgrade a metamodel. See also How to create an element type and How to use the M2 lifecycle.

“A FarkiBot generation keeps failing validation”

Cause: Usually the model isn’t strong enough for the task. Generating an M2 metamodel is markedly harder than generating an M1 model — an M2 has to invent the structure and its notation, including inline SVG inside JSON strings.

Fix:

For Generate M2, use a starred model. Free models frequently fail here, and that’s expected.
For Generate M1, try a different free model before reaching for a paid one
Narrow the brief — a smaller scope is easier to get right
The failure card offers the raw output for download if you want to salvage it

See How to choose an LLM and FarkiBot Reference for the full error list.

“Support asked which version I’m on”

Choose Help > About in the app, or click the release line at the foot of the website or of these docs. Read out the release number, for example Release 264, or click Copy details and paste the result into your message. See Find your release.

“Other FarkiBot problems”

Error messages, their causes, and their fixes are listed in the FarkiBot Reference.