Picochess crashed

[Krzysztof]

Hi, my PicoChess crashes from time to time. Any suggestions on how to make it run stably?

RPI 5 8GB
Raspberry Pi OS Lite

sudo systemctl status picochess.service
[sudo] password for pi:
× picochess.service - PicoChess Chess Program
     Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/picochess.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: failed (Result: signal) since Wed 2026-04-29 15:51:09 CEST; 1h 17min ago
   Duration: 1h 33min 8.556s
 Invocation: 05ec7e9847c749f2904fd55f36f67cc1
    Process: 2202 ExecStart=/opt/picochess/venv/bin/python3 /opt/picochess/picochess.py (code=killed, signal=KILL)
   Main PID: 2202 (code=killed, signal=KILL)
        CPU: 1min 29.355s

Apr 29 15:50:56 dgt-p python3[2202]: Expression 'alsa_snd_pcm_prepare( stream->playback.pcm )' failed in 'src/hostapi/alsa/pa_linux_alsa.c', line: 2928
Apr 29 15:50:56 dgt-p python3[2202]: Expression 'AlsaStart( stream, 0 )' failed in 'src/hostapi/alsa/pa_linux_alsa.c', line: 3246
Apr 29 15:50:56 dgt-p python3[2202]: Expression 'AlsaRestart( self )' failed in 'src/hostapi/alsa/pa_linux_alsa.c', line: 3313
Apr 29 15:50:56 dgt-p python3[2202]: Expression 'PaAlsaStream_HandleXrun( self )' failed in 'src/hostapi/alsa/pa_linux_alsa.c', line: 3950
Apr 29 15:50:56 dgt-p python3[2202]: Expression 'alsa_snd_pcm_prepare( stream->playback.pcm )' failed in 'src/hostapi/alsa/pa_linux_alsa.c', line: 2928
Apr 29 15:50:56 dgt-p python3[2202]: Expression 'AlsaStart( stream, 0 )' failed in 'src/hostapi/alsa/pa_linux_alsa.c', line: 3246
Apr 29 15:50:56 dgt-p python3[2202]: Expression 'AlsaRestart( self )' failed in 'src/hostapi/alsa/pa_linux_alsa.c', line: 3313
Apr 29 15:51:09 dgt-p systemd[1]: picochess.service: Main process exited, code=killed, status=9/KILL
Apr 29 15:51:09 dgt-p systemd[1]: picochess.service: Failed with result 'signal'.
Apr 29 15:51:09 dgt-p systemd[1]: picochess.service: Consumed 1min 29.355s CPU time.

Krzysztof

[Randy Reade]

Any entries in /opt/picochess/logs/picochess.log around the Apr 29 15:50:56 time?

Randy

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[Randy Reade]

Also, make sure you are using SoX as the audio backend on RPiOS Lite.

Randy

On Wed, Apr 29, 2026, 10:32 a.m. Krzysztof <sq9...@gmail.com> wrote:

--

[Krzysztof]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E5kdjex_-lLRTLn0eLq-RjMOGK9-alAO/view?usp=drive_link

[Randy Reade]

As I mentioned, ensure audio backend is set to SoX (sox) on the Lite OS. If you still have those errors in the log it could be that the output device isn't detected properly by the kernel and SoX will fail. You can test SoX outside of PicoChess by the command 'play <path to audio file>' (e.g. 'play /opt/picochess/talker/voices/en/christina/verybadmove.ogg').

Randy

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/picochess/3092adc9-9b4c-442c-8a07-13fc69db58den%40googlegroups.com.

[Randy Reade]

Unable to access that log. 

On Wed, Apr 29, 2026, 12:29 p.m. Krzysztof <sq9...@gmail.com> wrote:

Picochess' logo keeps showing errors. The current picochess log is available here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g8n9vcq_RaX1Nsi-B33wBMRHgWJ2CHLR/view?usp=sharing

Krzysztof

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/picochess/7e577497-1297-4822-86b2-1130569de8a9n%40googlegroups.com.

[Krzysztof]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g8n9vcq_RaX1Nsi-B33wBMRHgWJ2CHLR/view?usp=sharing

[Randy Reade]

Ok. It looks like your sound errors are gone. Those warnings at the end are just the output from the engine (looks like Maia) and can be disregarded. You can delete the old logs so they are only showing new entries:

'rm /opt/picochess/logs/pico*'

Randy

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/picochess/be80d214-d5b9-4ca1-a6f4-7b9763d8bf93n%40googlegroups.com.

[Randy Reade]

Since you mentioned you installed PicoChess using the Lite RPiOS image, I think you uncovered an install situation that install-picochess.sh does not account for.

Perhaps Johan can add a check for a display server running (or, perhaps better, a sound server like PipeWire or PulseAudio which the Lite OS doesn't install) and switch to sox in picochess.ini if not found.

Randy

[Krzysztof]

For now, the errors are gone—I don't even know what I did. If the errors reappear, I'll share a link to the picochess log.

Krzysztof