HOW-TO:Submit a bug report

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Revision as of 23:08, 5 September 2009 by >Dandar3 (Small formatting changes on "Collecting" section.)
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Collecting an XBMC debug log

To an XBMC developer, the most valuable piece of information you can provide is a debug log from a session where you are having the problem you are trying to get help with.

IMPORTANT! The normal XBMC log IS NOT a debug log, to enable debug logging you must toggle it on in System Settings.

The log (xbmc.log) can be found in the same location as the XBMC executable (like on the Xbox or Windows in Platform mode), OR

  • "~/.xbmc/temp/" for Linux
  • "~/Library/Logs/" on the Mac
  • "/mnt/Scratch/Users/frontrow/Library/Logs/" on Apple TV
  • "%APPDATA%\XBMC\" on Windows.

Note! Please do not cut and paste logs into a post on the XBMC Community Forum, instead use one of the many pasting websites such as pastebin.com or pastebin.ca to upload your entire log and then only post the link to that web page. Thank you in advance for not cluttering the XBMC Community Forum with logs.

How to submit a bug report

  1. First check whether or not there has been a bug reported before, as your bug may already have been fixed or may be in the process of being fixed. Do that by searching on Trac (our tracker-system) to see whether a similar bug report have already been filed or not, (if an existing ticket already exist as is open then add your experiences and logs to that bug report instead of creating a new report). You may also try searching in the XBMC Community Forum to see whether others are having the same problems.

  2. If you're not sure whether it is a legitimate bug then please post on the forums and give as much information as you can, including a debug log.

  3. If you are sure that it is a genuine bug (or the issue have been confirmed by others) then please post a bug report on Trac (our tracker-system). The following information is always essential:
    1. Information as to which platform (operating-system/hardware) and version of XBMC (exact SVN revision) you are running.
    2. Clear steps as to how someone else can reproduce the problem that you see (very few bugs are truly "random", and getting it reproducible by others is 90% on the way to fixing it).
    3. A full _debug log_ of when the error occurs.
    4. Anything else that may be of assistance to developers (eg. screenshots, the skin you are using if not the default PMIII and so on).

  4. Make sure you follow up the bug report with any information that is requested by a developer as soon as possible.

Getting a Stack Trace (backtrace)

You probably got to this page because someone asked you for additional information in a bug report that you filed. This extra bit of information they asked for is a stack trace (also known as a backtrace), and it is important for developers that the stack trace you obtain contains certain details (called debugging symbols). Below are listed all the steps we would like you to take to provide us with the helpful information. It should only take 10-15 minutes of your time, and it will help us tremendously to improve the software you are using.

Installing debugging information packages

You need to install debug packages for the program that crashed. These debug packages are additional packages that do not affect your existing program, but provide extra information (debugging symbols) needed by developers. This makes it a lot easier to find the exact place in the program code where that problem occurs, and to fix it. We ask you to also install debug packages for some of the program's major dependencies.

Help with Bug Reports and Quality Assurance

You can help the XBMC development team keep up with the bug reports by closing duplicates, helping to clarify a reported problem, and confirming that you can reproduce bugs. You can via our tracking system view the entire list of open bugs, or browse XBMC bugs by various attributes (ones with unreviewed patches, etc). You may not have permissions to do much at first except comment - which you should feel free to do.

For more information please read our HOW-TO help with Quality Assurance for tips on how to best help us with the reported bugs.

Tips and tricks on how XBMC tracking-system (Trac) works

Here are some basics explained as well as quick tips and tricks on how to use trac (XBMC tracking-system). Trac may do some things from time to time that help or hinder, so knowing what they are when they happen can be useful.

Trac basics explained

  • Who may submit a new bug ticket?
    • Anyone who have a registed account on XBMC Community Forum may submit a new bug report to Trac (as well as feature requests, and patches).
  • What the reporter can do
    • The reporter of a bug can modify any aspect of their own bug (e.g. close it, reopen it, etc.).
  • Who can add comments
    • Anyone can to anyone else's ticket on Trac, so long as they have created a XBMC Community Forum account.

Exploiting Trac in order to increase your productivity

  • Custom bookmarks
    • Custom keywords allow you to jump to a known bug ID without having to browse to Trac first.
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