Log file/Advanced


 * Not sure what to do, but someone just asked you for a "log file", "debug log", "kodi.log", or "xbmc.log"? Click here.

At some point during your foray into, you will likely come up against a problem that isn't made 100% clear from errors in the GUI. This is where the log file comes into play. writes all sorts of useful stuff to its log, which is why it should be included with every bug/problem report. Don't be afraid of its contents! Often a quick glance through the log will turn up a simple typo or missing file which you can easily fix on your own.

= Enable debugging = If someone asks for a debug log then debugging needs to be enabled. There are three ways to do this:


 * 1) Select the enable debug options in the GUI settings
 * 2) Use an advancedsettings.xml file
 * 3) Toggle debug logging with a keyboard or remote shortcut

GUI settings
Most users only need to enable debug logging in the GUI.

In Settings -> System -> Debugging toggle the Enable debug logging setting.

advancedsettings.xml
You can manually enable debug logging directly using an advancedsettings.xml file. This is especially useful if is crashing during start-up and you are unable to turn debugging on via the GUI. The advancedsettings.xml file is simply a plain text document that is saved in the userdata folder and read when first starts up. You can use the following examples to enable debug logging:

advancedsettings.xml for normal debugging
If you want basic debug logging then use this. This the same as enabling logging in the GUI without enabling component-specific logging. Start with this one first if you are not sure which mode to use:

advancedsettings.xml for input devices
Useful as you cannot enable debug logging in the GUI if your input devices don't work.

If you only want debug logging with verbose components for input devices (JSON-RPC, CEC, HTTP, for remotes, smart phone remotes, web remotes, etc) then use this:

advancedsettings.xml for everything
If you want debug logging with all verbose components enabled use this.

Technical notes
Everything except the  tag is actually taken from guisettings.xml, but they can be used in the advancedsettings.xml file as a way to manually enable them.

As one can see from the previous sections, individual component logging is set using the  tag. A complete list of the components and their setting value follows:

Keyboard or remote shortcut
Since v12 a keymap.xml file can map a keyboard shortcut or remote control button to toggle debugging using the value. For example,. See here and keymaps for more information on how to define a keyboard or remote button.

After you have enabled debug logging, please restart so that the log starts fresh and contains full start-up information.

= So what do I do with this thing? =

Whatever you do, please DO NOT paste it directly into IRC, a forum post or ticket on the bug tracker. This not only clutters said text, but the log is nearly impossible to read like this. If your log file is too big for the following methods, please restart to start a clean log file file, recreate the problem in as few steps as possible, then stop  and try again. If it is still too large, try disabling features such as "scan library on startup", which spam's a lot of info to the log (unless of course this is where the problem is).





In the forums and IRC
Use a pastesite such as http://xbmclogs.com, http://pastebin.com , or http://pastebin.ca on when posting on the forums. Simply visit one of these sites, paste or upload your log and hit submit. After a few seconds you'll have a nice short URL to paste in your post. Be sure to select an appropriate time to keep your paste around when submitting!

On the bug tracker
Just upload the log to your ticket as an attachment. DO NOT archive (zip,rar,tar,etc) it in anyway! Trac will let us view it right on the site without downloading.

Watch it locally, perhaps spotting errors you can fix or report
Using 'tail -f {location}' you can watch the log from a cmd/console (better with 2 displays), or better, via ssh (won't distract the gui).

= Log files =
 * kodi.log or xbmc.log - This is the log file of most recent (or currently running) session.
 * kodi.old.log or xbmc.old.log - This is the log file from the last Kodi session. If  crashes AND you have restarted it before viewing the log, this is the one you want.

Location
kodi.log (or xbmc.log) and kodi.old.log (or xbmc.old.log) are located here, depending on your platform:

See Log file/File manager access for how to copy the debug log file using the File manager.

= Easy ways to get and post the log file =

Debug log add-on
You can use the Kodi Log Uploader to make the process of getting your debug log easier.

Automatic pastebin log in Linux via command line
You can generate a debug.log Pastebin link automatically quickly to post anywhere that requires a debug.log.


 * See also: Accessing Kodi via SSH e.g. Putty



sudo apt-get install pastebinit -y

cat $HOME/.kodi/temp/kodi.log | pastebinit (or cat $HOME/.Kodi/temp/kodi.log | pastebinit)

Submit the link you get in any forums discussion where you post about any problem.

= Technical details about log files =

Layout
Each event is logged to one line of the log file which is formatted as follows... [TIMESTAMP] T:[THREADID] M:[FREEMEM] [LEVEL]: [MESSAGE]
 * TIMESTAMP - The wall time at which the event occurred.
 * THREADID - The thread identification number of the thread in which the event occurred.
 * FREEMEM - The amount of memory (in bytes) free at the time of the event.
 * LEVEL - The severity of the event.
 * MESSAGE - A brief description and/or important information about the event.

Log levels
There are two different types levels when talking about the log. The first is the severity of event that has occurred. The second controls which severity levels are actually printed out to the log.

In order from least to most severe...
 * Severity levels
 * DEBUG - In depth information about the status of . This information can pretty much only be deciphered by a developer or long time  power user.
 * INFO - Something has happened. It's not a problem, we just thought you might want to know.  Fairly excessive output that most people won't care about.
 * NOTICE - Similar to INFO but the average Joe might want to know about these events. This level and above are logged by default.
 * WARNING - Something potentially bad has happened. If  did something you didn't expect, this is probably why.  Watch for errors to follow.
 * ERROR - This event is bad. Something has failed.  You likely noticed problems with the application be it skin artifacts, failure of playback a crash, etc.
 * FATAL - We're screwed.  is about to crash.

In order from least to most information provided...
 * Log file control levels
 * None - No logging will occur. kodi.log will likely be created but should remain empty.
 * Normal - The default loglevel. Events with a severity of NOTICE or greater will be logged.
 * Debug - All events are logged. This level (or higher) is all that you should bother someone else with.
 * Debug w/ Visuals - Same printed log as Debug, but free memory and CPU usage are rendered on the screen as well.
 * SMB Debug - Same as Debug w/ Visuals with the addition of ridiculous amounts of Samba debugging info. Use this only if asked.

= See also =
 * HOW-TO:Submit a bug report
 * Bug tracker
 * Troubleshooting