How to report a Problem

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Released versions problem reports

1. First check for patches and notes regarding the release.
2. Next find out if there is a newer release available.
3. The last thing to check is for changes made between OpenBSD versions.

If nothing looks like it addresses your problem, then please become acquainted with sendbug(1) before submitting a bug report.

Read further down for the types of bug reports desired.

Current version problem reports

1. Test the problem at least twice, with source updated a few days apart.
2. Do not report source tree compilation problems, unless they persist. They are almost always your mistake or they are being worked on as you encounter them. People working on the project are doing make build at least once per day, and usually several times per day with different architectures.
3. Remember that the anoncvs servers are updated significantly behind the actual working source tree.
4. Check for changes made between OpenBSD versions to see if the problem has been addressed.
5. Much care is made in creating snapshots. Sometimes mistakes are made, and our apologies are extended. Reading/writing the e-mail lists is more appropriate than sending in a bug report.

How to create a problem report

Please don't start fixing problems that require significant work until you are sure you understand them, especially during our release periods when we must not change major sections of code. If you are going to write significant amounts of code, check various forums to make sure that someone else is not working on the problem (saving duplication of effort).

The following items should be contained in every bug report:

1. The exact sequence of steps from startup necessary to reproduce the problem. This should be self-contained; it is not enough to send in a bare command without the arguments and other data you supplied to it. If a bug requires a particular sequence of events, please list those. You are encouraged to minimize the size of your example, but this is not absolutely necessary. If the bug is reproducible, we'll find it either way.

2. The output you got. Please do not say that it "didn't work" or "failed". If there is an error message, show it, even if you don't understand it. If OpenBSD panics with a particular error, say which. If nothing at all happens, say so. Even if the result of your test case is a program crash or otherwise obvious it might not happen in our testing. The easiest thing is to copy the output from the terminal, if possible.

   Note: In case of fatal errors, the error message provided might not contain all the information available. In that case, also look at the output in the system log files, such as those stored in /var/log. Also, if you are dealing with an application that has its own log files, such as httpd, check for errors where it keeps its logs (in the case of httpd, this is /var/www/logs).

3. The OpenBSD kernel output. You can get this with the dmesg command, but it is possible that your dmesg output does not contain all the information that is captured in /var/run/dmesg.boot. If this is the case, include information from both. Please include this in all bug reports.

4. If you run third-party software which has to do with your bug, say so, including any subversion that software may have. If you are talking about a CVS or FTP snapshot, mention that, including its date and time.

5. A traceback from your kernel panic. If your kernel panic'ed, and you are at a ddb> prompt where you can type traceback, then please do so. Submit the traceback output in your bug report. This is essential whenever possible.

Do not be afraid if your bug report becomes rather lengthy. That is a fact of life. It's better to report everything the first time than us having to squeeze the facts out of you. On the other hand, if your input files are huge, it is fair to ask first whether somebody is interested in looking into it.

Finally, when writing a bug report, please choose non-confusing terminology.

Sending in bug reports

If possible, use the sendbug(1) command to get the bug into our tracking system. You can follow the tracking system at this web page. Sendbug requires that your system can properly send Internet email. If you cannot use sendbug on a functional OpenBSD machine, please send your bug report to bugs@openbsd.org.

Perhaps what you are sending in is a feature request, not necessarily a bug. New features are accepted, especially with code that implements your suggested new feature. If someone else writes code for your new feature, the chances are that it will be misunderstood and created so that you will not recognize it.

For debugging some problems, we must have the hardware that has the problem. Please remember that projects resources are limited. You could donate some hardware.

Types of bug reports in order of desirability:

1. Repeatable problems with source fixes are the best.
2. Repeatable problems that are not specific to your hardware/software layout.
3. Repeatable problems specific to your software layout.
4. Repeatable problems specific to your hardware layout.
5. Non-repeatable problems -- or problems you do not wish to repeat.