# X_SOCKET_AUTH_UNAVAILABLE

## Means

the sync node could not decide who a connecting socket is

## Typical cause

`authenticate` **raised** instead of deciding — a token service that timed out, a JWKS fetch that failed. The same rule the row gate follows: a failure is not a denial, so the client is told to come back rather than told it may not connect, and this one **does** page someone

## Fix

`x doctor --json`

[Realtime](/error-codes#realtime)