Known Issues
Problems and limitations already known in the beta: what they affect, how to work around them now, and how far along the fix is. This page contains only summaries, and no one's designs or data. For a problem not listed here, please export a reproduction package with "反馈问题" (Report a problem) in the software, or submit it on the website's feedback page (use the web page when the software won't install or open). For what it can do and what is not done at this stage, see Capabilities and scope.
What the statuses mean: Planned: will be done, scheduled for later; Being fixed: being worked on; Fixed: with the version it was fixed from; By design: intentional behavior, not treated as a problem.
Installation and startup
| Problem | Workaround | Status |
|---|---|---|
There is no installer, only a portable zip: no Start menu entry, and double-clicking a .lens does not open it with the program | After unzipping, run lensbench-desktop.exe and use "打开…" (Open…) in the program | Planned |
| Running directly from inside the archive fails, or shows "找不到随包的桥……安装不完整" ("cannot find the bundled bridge … incomplete installation") | Fully unzip to a directory with write permission (for example D:\LensBench\) before running; if that still fails, delete the unzipped directory and unzip again | By design |
| The program is not code-signed, so on the first run Windows shows "Windows protected your PC" | Click "More info" → "Run anyway", and it won't ask again | Planned |
| Some antivirus programs flag the program as a virus by mistake | Add the unzipped directory to the trusted list; if unsure, ask whoever gave you the test build | Planned (with code signing) |
| Every beta has an expiry date (about 90 days after release); after it expires, the program stops at the sign-in page with a prompt to download a new version | Switch to a new beta | By design |
Sign-in and AI
| Problem | Workaround | Status |
|---|---|---|
| The built-in chat in the AI page on the right uses the quota of your optic.chat account, counted by calendar week; once used up, you wait until 00:00 the next Monday (the AI page says when it resets) | Under "协作" (Collaboration) in the AI page, connect your own AI client (Claude, Cursor, etc.) through MCP, which doesn't spend optic.chat AI quota (LensBench itself still requires sign-in) | By design |
| When running long optimizations through MCP, some clients time out: Claude Desktop after about 60 seconds; Cherry Studio defaults to 60 seconds | Have the AI run it as a background task (tool parameter background=true, then check progress and fetch the result); in Cherry Studio turn on "long-running mode" (up to 10 minutes) | By design (a client limitation) |
| Trae loads at most 40 tools, and LensBench has more than that; the program path in the configuration cannot contain spaces | lb mcp-config --client trae configures the slimmed-down tool set by default; put the program in a path without spaces | By design (a client limitation) |
Desktop app
| Problem | Workaround | Status |
|---|---|---|
| "脚本和产物" (Scripts and artifacts) under the browser can list and show files, but cannot yet run scripts inside the program | Run python scripts/xxx.py in your own Python, or have the AI run it | Planned |
| Optimization uses only one process, so it is slower than the future official release when there are many variables | — | Planned |
| The documentation inside the program (F1) does not show images, only the image captions | Read the same document on the website | Planned |
| The "验收" (Acceptance) page for multi-configuration designs gives only the verdict, with no evidence id | Upgrade to 0.2.0: the acceptance page is grouped by configuration, with one copyable evidence id per configuration | Fixed (0.2.0) |
Interchange with Zemax
| Problem | Workaround | Status |
|---|---|---|
Thickness solves in .zmx other than marginal ray height, chief ray height and edge thickness (such as optical path difference), and edge-thickness solves with automatic semi-diameter and a radial height of 0, are frozen at their current value on import | After import, check these thicknesses in the "镜头" (Lens) tab, and if needed rewrite them as solve(…) (for an edge-thickness solve write the radial height: solve(edge_thickness, thickness, height)) or add a constraint such as op ETVA | Planned (chief-ray-height solves have been imported as solve(chief_height, …) since 10-19; edge-thickness solves have been imported as solve(edge_thickness, …) since 10-19) |
A position solve (solve(position, …)) is frozen at its current value when exported to .zmx (how Zemax writes it in the file has not been verified) | After opening in Zemax, reset the Position solve on that cell | Planned |
| A semi-diameter pickup (Zemax's Semi-Diameter Pickup) is imported as an automatic semi-diameter | When you need it fixed, write semi= in the .lens | Planned |
| A diffractive surface cannot be a mirror (Binary 2 + MIRROR) | — | Planned |
After you report
Reproduction packages (.lbfb) exported by "反馈问题" in the software and feedback received through the web feedback form go into the same inbox. We replay reproduction packages with the latest version: if it reproduces, we fix it, and after the fix we state on this page and in the release notes which version it is fixed from; for ones that no longer reproduce, we tell you. Reproduction packages do not include the design file by default; the web form does not accept design files.