Log file/Advanced: Difference between revisions
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==So what do I do with this thing?== | ==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 XBMC to truncate the file, recreate the problem in as few steps as possible, then stop XBMC and try again. If it is still too large, try disabling features such as "scan library on startup", which | 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 XBMC to truncate the file, recreate the problem in as few steps as possible, then stop XBMC 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 ;)). | ||
<big>'''*Always include the whole log.'''</big> | <big>'''*Always include the whole log.'''</big> | ||
:{{highlight|'''Note:'''|bordered=yes|color= | :{{highlight|'''Note:'''|bordered=yes|color=#BEF781}} Only a log with [[#Enable_Debugging|debugging enabled]] is useful to others (especially developers!). Please ensure your log is a debug log when you are inquiring about problems or creating bug reports. We're just going to ask you for another one if you don't. | ||
===In The Forums and IRC=== | ===In The Forums and IRC=== | ||
Revision as of 23:38, 29 November 2012
Template:Advanced
Template:XBMC wiki toc
At some point during your foray into XBMC, 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. XBMC 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.
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WARNING - Exposed passwords: For those who are posting logs to the Internet: if you password protect any of your media shares then that password can be exposed in your log file and you won't want that just hanging out on the internet. If this applies to you then you will want to replace any mention of your passwords with asterisks or something so that we still know you are using a password (since that in itself is information that may or may not be important), but without exposing it to the public. |
Enable Debugging
There are two ways to control log output:
- GUI Settings
- most common method
- In Settings -> System -> Debugging toggle the Enable debug logging setting.
- advancedSettings.xml
- You can set any of the five log levels using the <loglevel> tag in advancedsettings.xml. This is especially useful if XBMC is crashing during start-up and you are unable to turn debugging on via the GUI. See here for details. Setting debug level like this will hide the GUI setting.
After you have enabled debug logging, please restart xbmc so that the log contains full start-up information.
Debug log add-on
You can also use the XBMC 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.
- Note: Don't forget to Enable Debugging
sudo apt-get install pastebinit -y cat $HOME/.xbmc/temp/xbmc.log | pastebinit
Submit the link you get in any forums discussion where you post about any problem.
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 XBMC to truncate the file, recreate the problem in as few steps as possible, then stop XBMC 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 ;)).
*Always include the whole log.
- Note: Only a log with debugging enabled is useful to others (especially developers!). Please ensure your log is a debug log when you are inquiring about problems or creating bug reports. We're just going to ask you for another one if you don't.
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. It's great.
Log Files
- xbmc.log - This is the log file of most recent (or currently running) XBMC session.
- xbmc.old.log - This is the log file from the last XBMC session. If XBMC crashes AND you have restarted it before viewing the log, this is the one you want.
- Template:Frodo note
Location
xbmc.log and xbmc.old.log are located here, depending on your platform:
| Android | external storage/sdcard at: Android/data/org.xbmc.xbmc/files/.xbmc/temp/ |
| iOS (ATV2/iPad/iPhone) | /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/xbmc.log |
| Linux | /home/<username>/.xbmc/temp/ |
| Mac OS X | /Users/<username>/Library/Logs/ |
| Windows | %APPDATA%\XBMC\ |
Layout
Each event is logged to one line of the XBMC 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 XBMC log. The first is the severity of event that has occurred. The second controls which severity levels are actually printed out to the log.
Severity Levels
In order from least to most severe...
- DEBUG - In depth information about the status of XBMC. This information can pretty much only be deciphered by a developer or long time XBMC 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 XBMC 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. XBMC is about to crash.
Log File Control Levels
In order from least to most information provided...
- None - No logging will occur. xbmc.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.