Mozilla Crash Reporter: Difference between revisions
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To view the crash report for a given ID, you can open the file for the submitted crash report and go to the URL listed in the file. | To view the crash report for a given ID, you can open the file for the submitted crash report and go to the URL listed in the file. | ||
Or you can use '''about:crashes''' to view a list of submitted reports (see below). To get to the report, in: | |||
* Firefox type about:crashes in the location bar | |||
* Thunderibird put '''openDialog("about:crashes");''' in the '''Code:''' line of the error console, and to the right click Evaluate | |||
Click on a Report ID to view the crash data. | |||
::[[Image:Aboutcrashes.png]] | ::[[Image:Aboutcrashes.png]] | ||
Revision as of 14:10, 10 September 2008
This article describes the new Mozilla crash reporting system that will be included with future Mozilla applications, including Firefox 3, Thunderbird 3, and SeaMonkey 2.
A new, open source crash reporting system will be used in Firefox 3 Thunderbird 3 and SeaMonkey 2, replacing the older, proprietary Quality Feedback Agent (aka "Talkback") used in previous Mozilla applications. The new system, commonly called "Breakpad", incorporates the Breakpad crash reporting tool developed by Google engineers along with the Socorro web server for processing Breakpad crash report data, using a new user interface called the Mozilla Crash Reporter.
Mozilla Crash Reporter
Unlike the old "Talkback" crash reporting tool that installed as a global extension and which could be optionally deselected during a custom Windows installation, the new crash reporting system will be a core part of the Firefox 3, Thunderbird 3, and SeaMonkey 2 program installation. [1] The new crash reporting tool already ships with testing builds of these applications, which now include "crashreporter.exe" (Windows), "crashreporter.app" (Mac OS) or "crashreporter" (Linux) in the program installation directory.
When your Mozilla application crashes, Breakpad saves a binary "dump" file and you will see a notification, similar to the one shown here, which allows you to submit a crash data report to a web server that gathers and processes Mozilla crash reports. Socorro, a web server application for searching and viewing crash report data, is located at crash-stats.mozilla.com.
The Mozilla Crash Reporter will be enabled by default and there is currently no user interface to disable it. Advanced users who prefer the standard application error notifications (e.g., the Windows error dialog "<application> has encountered a problem and needs to close" and Event Viewer record) can disable the Mozilla Crash Reporter by setting the environment variable MOZ_CRASHREPORTER_DISABLE to 1. [2]. You can also disable the Mozilla Crash Reporter by opening the "application.ini" file in the installation directory, finding the entry [Crash Reporter] Enabled=1 and changing the 1 to 0 (you will need to repeat the edit if an application update replaces the file).
Location of crash reports
Crash reports are stored in the the following locations, using Firefox as an example:
- Windows 2000/XP: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Crash Reports\
- Windows Vista: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Crash Reports\
- Mac OS: /Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Crash Reports/
- Linux: /home/<username>/.mozilla/firefox/Crash Reports/
Note: On Windows and Linux, these locations are hidden by default so you will need to show hidden files and folders.
There will be two folders in the "Crash Reports" directory: "pending" and "submitted". The pending directory will have crash reports that haven't been submitted to the server yet and the submitted directory will have reports that have been sent.
Viewing reports
Each submitted crash report is is stored as a text file, located in the "Crash Reports" folder within the "submitted" subfolder, and is named with a unique GUID. This GUID will function as the report's ID.
To view the crash report for a given ID, you can open the file for the submitted crash report and go to the URL listed in the file.
Or you can use about:crashes to view a list of submitted reports (see below). To get to the report, in:
- Firefox type about:crashes in the location bar
- Thunderibird put openDialog("about:crashes"); in the Code: line of the error console, and to the right click Evaluate
Click on a Report ID to view the crash data.
See also
External links
- Mozilla Crash Reporter (Firefox Support)
- Breakpad - MozillaWiki
- Crash reporting - MDC
- Breakpad development and server operation
