Connection Doctor

You can reach this page from Site Overview, Troubleshooting, Connection Doctor.

The Connection Doctor checks whether Panopticon can communicate with a site's API and reports any issues it finds. It is the first place to look if you are having trouble connecting a site, or if you notice that Panopticon is no longer able to retrieve information from a site that was previously working.

What Connection Doctor checks

Connection Doctor performs a live check of the site's API endpoint. It displays:

• The site's public URL and administrator URL.
• The installed connector version and API level (if the connection succeeded).

If the connection is successful, you will see a green confirmation message indicating that everything is working as expected.

If the connection fails, you will see a detailed description of the error along with actionable troubleshooting steps specific to what went wrong. Possible issues diagnosed include:

• HTTP 403 (blocked request): Your server's WAF, mod_security, or a third party security plugin is blocking Panopticon's requests. The page explains what to check and how to whitelist Panopticon.
• Invalid hostname: The URL entered for the site does not resolve to a valid host.
• SSL/TLS certificate problems: The site's SSL certificate is self-signed, expired, or otherwise untrusted. Instructions for dealing with self-signed certificates are provided.
• Frontend password protection: The site's frontend (or administrator directory) is password-protected with HTTP authentication, blocking access to the API.
• PHP messages in the output: A plugin or configuration on the site is emitting PHP notices, warnings, or errors before the JSON response, corrupting the API output.
• Broken API application: A third party plugin is interfering with the Joomla! API application in a way that produces invalid output.
• Invalid credentials: The API token you provided does not match the one configured on the site.
• cURL errors: Low-level network errors, such as connection timeouts, DNS resolution failures, or SSL handshake errors.
• Panopticon Connector not enabled: The Panopticon Connector plugin is installed but not enabled on the site.
• Web Services Installer not enabled (Joomla! 3): The Web Services Installer plugin, which is required for Joomla 3 sites, is not enabled.

If Akeeba Backup Professional is installed on the site, Connection Doctor also checks the Akeeba Backup connection and reports any issues with that separately.

Next steps if errors persist

If the Connection Doctor reports an error and the inline troubleshooting steps do not resolve it, see the Connection Troubleshooting page for more detailed guidance on common connection problems.