Troubleshooting

Before escalating issue, please, try reading through this document. If none of the described issues apply to your situation, then grab the game's log file and make a posting on the KIS forum giving as much details as you can. Please, don't post just a short message like "KIS doesn't work" - nobody will be able to help you.

What's the right installation process

Read the README.md file. Please, follow the steps exactly. Don't assume you can skip something, it will likely break the installation.

ISSUE: KIS inventory can only have 1L of stuff

The KIS setup is wrong, it must be installed exactly as described in the README.md file. When the required files are not found, the described issue shows up. Below are described some frequent mistakes that people do, but this is not an exhaustive list.

Possible reason: Using GitHub release

The sources on GitHub must not be used for the mod installation. It won't work! Go to the release page and download the release. Inside, there will be a release file, e.g. KIS_v1.18.zip. This is the installation archive.

This is how the right installation looks like:

Possible reason: Extracting the release archive into a wrong location

There is just one right location where the KIS files must be located. If you changed the location either intentionally or by a mistake, you've broke the mod. To verify if that's the case, find the KIS.dll file. It must be located exactly in the path <game root>\GameData\KIS\Plugins\KIS.dll. If it's not there, then drop all the files and repeat the installation, but this time extract the release archive into the right location.

If you did it right, then this is how your GameData folder will look like:

ISSUE: Kerbals don't have "inventory" menu item when EVA

What kerbal can have is defined via ModuleManager mod (a.k.a. MM). If it's not installed, corrupted, or of a wrong version, then there will be no KIS specific items in the context menu.

For KSP 1.3, the lowest compatible version of MM is 2.8.0. Even if you use CKAN, and it says all the versions are OK, the version still can be wrong (there were several occurrences). Go into the GameData folder and check the version of the mod. Update if necessary.

ISSUE: No longer able to stack a previously stackable item

If an item was stackable before, but then suddenly stopped stacking, it always means exactly one thing: you've installed a mod that, for its own reasons, decided to add a custom module to a large set of parts that are not directly related to this mod. This type of issues is called "mods conflict", and it's out of the KIS author responsibility, since it impossible to test KIS against every single mod existing in the world. However, you may take some actions to have it fixed in your game. And if the mod, you've installed, is a widely recognized mod, then it makes sense to escalate it to the KIS author via forum or GitHub.

To address the problem in your own game, follow these steps:

• Prior to modifying any game or mod files, make a backup of your save directory, and the file you are intending to modify. Please be aware that folders such as saves and GameData, are always sub-directories of your Kerbal Space Program installation. The name of the main directory, or where that directory is located on your drive however, may vary depending on where you have chosen to install it.
• To function properly, KIS must be aware of all modules being applied to a part. If a part's behavior has suddenly changed, find that part's unique name by searching for it within the GameData directory files. Please be aware, a part's unique name usually is not the same as its common name. For example, the Mk1 Command Pod configuration file is located at <game root>\GameData\Squad\Parts\Command\mk1pod\mk1Pod.cfg, and is referenced as mk1pod.
• When you have found the part's unique name, open ModuleManager.ConfigCache in the root of the KSP's GameData folder, and search for it.
• When you have located the part's unique name in ModuleManager.ConfigCache, for example name = mk1pod, scroll down to look for module references, for example MODULE { name = ModuleCommand }. It is very likely that there will be more than one module reference, and it may be beneficial to take note of them all.
• When you have determined the part's module references, check them against KIS's allow list located in the KIS settings file, under the StackableModule reference. Entries will be listed as moduleName = ModuleSAS.
• You may add custom modules such as moduleName = AYPart here. Where AYPart is what was listed in the cache file, but was missing in the config.
• If you continue to have difficulties with part behavior, restore backups; then open a ticket on the KIS Git Repository. Write a detailed explanation of the unexpected behavior, and include any steps you have taken to rectify the problem. Attaching your ModuleManager.ConfigCache and persistent.sfs files may also be helpful.

Be careful with allowlisting modules since KIS doesn't allow stacking of the unknown modules for a reason. The unknown module may store an internal state which differs from part to part. If you allow such module, then the state of all items in the stack will be reset to the very first item of this stack.

How to get the game's log file

When the problem cannot be solved via the troubleshooting steps, the only way to resolve it is analyzing the log file. However, most people don't know how to get it, or get the wrong one (e.g. output_log.txt). When you're requested for a log, find the file named KSP.log which is located in the game's root:

By default, Windows doesn't show the files extensions, which causes troubles when locating the right file. The game's folder has two files: KSP.exe (the executive game file), and KSP.log (the log itself). When the extensions are not shown, it's really hard to find the right one. To solve it, change the view settings in the file explorer:

Sharing the log file

The log file is usually huge. Don't even try to copy/paste it to the forum. Instead, share the file via any free (or paid) sharing service, and provide a link on the forum. There are a lot of free services in the Internet that allow sharing files, many of them don't even require registration. However, some services put a lot of ads and scripts on their pages, so avoid using such websites.

Here are just a few services that can help you sharing the file:

• Google Drive. If you have email on Gmail, then you have the drive. Put the file on the drive and set the sharing permissions to "everyone with the link". Then, grab the link and post it on the forum.
• Uploadfiles.io. Just drag-n-drop or browse for the log file. The file will be persisted there for 30 days. If you didn't get help after 30 days, then it doesn't matter anyways.
• File Convoy. Browse for the log file and select a reasonable retaining period (21 days max). You may skip the e-mail option.