You're staring at the screen, your fleet is halfway across the galaxy, and there it is—that nagging notification. Star base is not in a sector. It’s annoying. It feels like a clerical error in a game where you’re supposed to be a god-emperor or a democratic crusader. Why does Paradox make us micromanage this?
The truth is that "Star base is not in a sector" isn't just a random UI bug; it’s a direct consequence of how the Stellaris sector system has evolved over years of patches. Back in the day, you’d manually draw these lines. Now? The game does a lot of the heavy lifting, but it’s remarkably easy to leave a lonely outpost out in the cold. If you’ve played through the Overlord or Astral Planes expansions, you know that efficiency is everything. Leaving a star base unassigned is basically leaving resources on the table.
Why Does "Star Base Is Not in a Sector" Even Happen?
It’s about the four-jump rule. In the current version of Stellaris, sectors are automatically generated based on a "core" system—usually a colony you’ve designated as a sector capital. The game looks at that capital and says, "Okay, everything within four hyperlane jumps belongs to this group."
But hyperlanes are messy.
Sometimes you claim a system that is five jumps away from your nearest capital. Or maybe you conquered a cluster of stars through a total war waraur and the geography is just... weird. Because that new star base is technically out of range of your existing administrative hubs, it sits in "Frontier Space." Frontier space is fine for the early game, but once you start hitting the mid-game slog, you need governors. You need those sweet, sweet bonuses to resource production and research. If your star base is not in a sector, you are effectively paying the upkeep for a station that isn't being optimized by a leader’s traits.
It’s also worth noting that the game doesn’t always "auto-update" when you delete an old star base or lose a system to a crisis. The borders get janky. You might find a single system that should be in a sector but somehow slipped through the cracks because the hyperlane pathing calculated a longer route than you expected.
The Governor Problem
Let’s talk about governors for a second. In the Galactic Parallaxes era of the game, leaders are massive. A high-level governor can be the difference between a planet being a drain on your economy and a powerhouse of alloy production. When a star base is not in a sector, the planet in that system doesn't get the governor's buffs. You're losing out on planetary stability, build speed, and specialized yields.
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How to Fix the "Not in a Sector" Error Immediately
Fixing this is usually a three-click process, but the UI doesn't always make it obvious. First, open the system view of the planet or star base that's causing the notification. On the right-hand side of the planet summary window (if there is a colony there), you’ll see a button that looks like a small star with a plus sign. That’s your "Create Sector" button.
Click it.
Boom. That system is now the capital of its own brand-new sector. It will automatically gobble up any other orphaned systems within four jumps.
But what if you don't want a new sector? What if you want it to join an existing one? This is where people get tripped up. You cannot "drag and drop" systems into sectors anymore. If the system is too far away from an existing sector capital, you're stuck. You either have to move the sector capital of an adjacent sector to a more "central" planet to extend its reach, or you just accept that this new area needs its own administration.
- Step 1: Find the orphaned system.
- Step 2: Check the distance to the nearest Sector Capital.
- Step 3: If it’s 4 jumps or fewer, check if the Sector Capital needs to be reset.
- Step 4: If it’s 5+ jumps, create a new sector or move a capital.
Honestly, sometimes the easiest way to fix a "star base is not in a sector" alert is to just ignore it until you have a colony nearby. If there’s no inhabited planet in that system, the "penalty" for it being in Frontier Space is basically non-existent. The game just likes to remind you that your map isn't tidy.
The Strategy of Frontier Space vs. Sectors
Not every star base needs to be in a sector. There, I said it. If you’re playing a "Tall" empire—meaning you have a few really high-quality systems rather than a sprawling mess—you might have outposts at choke points that are nowhere near your core worlds.
In the early game, the "star base is not in a sector" warning is a constant companion. Don't let it bait you into over-extending. Creating too many sectors early on can drain your Unity because you’ll feel the need to hire governors for all of them. Each leader increases the Unity cost of the next one.
Is a level 1 governor worth the Unity upkeep for a single mining outpost in a sector with no planets? Probably not.
When it Actually Matters
It matters when you have a Mega-Shipyard. It matters when you have a Dyson Sphere. It matters when you have a Hive World or an Ecumenopolis. If you have high-value assets in a system and that star base is not in a sector, you are missing out on potential defensive bonuses or output modifiers that a specialized military or industrial governor provides.
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I’ve seen players lose wars because their bastion star bases weren't receiving the "Unyielding" style buffs from a sector governor. That extra 10% hull points or fire rate doesn't seem like much until a Devouring Swarm is knocking on your door.
Advanced Micromanagement: Moving Sector Capitals
Let’s say you have a really messy border. You’ve got three systems that are "Frontier Space" and they’re all just out of reach of your main sector. You can actually change which planet is the "heart" of the sector.
Go to a planet that is more centrally located among your "out-of-sector" systems. In the planet interface, there is a "Move Sector Capital" button. It costs some Influence—usually around 25 to 50 depending on your current game version and mods—but it resets the four-jump radius. This is the "pro move" to get rid of the star base is not in a sector notification without having to create a whole new administrative zone.
It’s like moving the county seat to a bigger city. Suddenly, the surrounding towns (systems) are under the umbrella of the law (your governor).
A Note on Vassals
If you're playing as an Overlord, the sector logic gets even weirder. When you spin off a sector into a vassal, the game uses these exact boundaries. If your star base is not in a sector, it won't be included in the new vassal state. This can leave weird holes in your map where you still own one random star in the middle of your subject's territory. It’s ugly. It’s inefficient. Fix your sectors before you release subjects.
Common Misconceptions About Sector Range
A lot of players think the "four jumps" rule follows trade routes or sensor range. It doesn't. It follows hyperlanes. If you have a gateway, it does not count as a single jump for sector calculation. This is a huge point of confusion. You can't have a sector capital on one side of the galaxy and expect it to manage a star base on the other side just because you have a gateway network.
The physical hyperlane distance is the only thing the game cares about when it flags that a star base is not in a sector.
Also, Wormholes don't count either. You could have a system that is literally one wormhole away from your home world, but if the hyperlane path is 20 jumps long, that system is staying in Frontier Space until you give it its own governor.
Technical Glitches and UI Ghosting
Sometimes, you’ll see the star base is not in a sector icon even after you’ve fixed it. This is usually a UI "ghost." Usually, letting the game run for a month (until the monthly tick) clears it. If it doesn't, try clicking the "Outliner" settings and toggling the notifications.
If you are playing with mods like UI Overhaul Dynamic or various planetary diversity mods, the sector buttons can sometimes get pushed off the screen or hidden behind other assets. Always check your mod compatibility if the "Create Sector" button is missing.
Actionable Steps for a Cleaner Galaxy
To keep your empire running smoothly and kill those annoying notifications, follow this workflow every time you finish a war or a major expansion phase:
- Open the Outliner: Look at your list of sectors. If you see "Frontier Space" at the bottom with a long list of systems, you have work to do.
- Evaluate Colonies: Look for any colony in Frontier Space. This is your anchor. Turn it into a Sector Capital immediately.
- Check Choke Points: Look at your most important defensive star bases. If they are in Frontier Space, see if moving a nearby Sector Capital can bring them into the fold.
- Hire Leaders: Once the sectors are created, actually put someone in charge. A sector without a governor is just a fancy box on the map.
- Trim the Fat: If you have a sector with zero planets and only two or three mining stations, consider if you actually need it. Sometimes, having a few systems in Frontier Space is better for your Leader Capacity than having twenty tiny sectors.
Efficiency in Stellaris isn't about having zero alerts; it's about knowing which alerts actually affect your bottom line. The star base is not in a sector warning is a tool. Use it to find where your empire is growing too fast for your bureaucracy to keep up, and then decide if you want to pay the "Unity tax" to organize it.
Managing your sectors effectively won't just stop the notifications; it'll tighten your economy, boost your research, and make your borders look a whole lot cleaner on the galactic map. Go ahead, open that planet menu and click the star icon. Your advisors will thank you.
Next Steps for Your Empire:
Check your Leader tab to see if you have any unassigned Governors with the "Industrialist" or "Pioneer" traits. These leaders provide the biggest boosts to new sectors. If you've just fixed a bunch of Frontier Space issues, matching the right leader to the right newly-formed sector is the fastest way to see a jump in your monthly Energy and Mineral income.