Attach the logs to the bug ticket

This article Article description::explains how to attach logs to a bug ticket.

Use the Add an attachment button below the description text box in order to attach files in Bugzilla.

• Paste the output of
  user $emerge --info <category/packagename>
  to the comment box.
• Attach the log file in /var/tmp/portage/<category>/<packagename>/temp/build.log
• Compress large log files:
  user $xz -9 /var/tmp/portage/<category>/<packagename>/temp/build.log
  and upload the file build.log.xz. Attachments are limited to 1 MB per file. Ask developers how to proceed, if the compressed file is larger.

Bugs may be reported using an online form at https://bugs.gentoo.org/ or with www-client/pybugz and attaching log files with bugz on the command line.

One can see immediately that the required log is provided. The attachments are easy to access and do not clutter the comment fields.

• Do not paste files into comments, because the ticket gets difficult to read. Developers often use tools to handle attachments.
• Do not upload files to pastebins. It is often important to read about a bug some years later. Links to external pages are not archived by Gentoo and the information is lost. Some developers use tools to work on bugs and cannot open external websites easily.

FAQ

Q: I think you will not need the build.log or the emerge --info for my bug. It takes me additional 30 seconds to add it! Why should I add this information?

A: Because we have to work efficiently with our limited developer resources. Between 2018-01-01 and 2018-12-31 we received and assigned 15640 bugs. Each ticket has to be read by at least one person who tries to find out what the ticket is about and which developers can help. The developers read the ticket again and try to find out what is going on. If information is missing they cannot fix it and have to ask the poster again and wait for an answer. Sometimes they wait several weeks for the answer and many do never reply. All time was wasted if they do not reply at all. If they reply, we start again with reading, what the bug was about and start again. The person who assigns the ticket does probably not know the package, but has to ensure that the report is complete and will not waste developers' time. Please take your time to write a well prepared report.

Q: Why shouldn't I just copy and paste the snippets of my log which I found important?

A: Because the people who assign tickets don't know if it's sufficient for the maintainer, and it takes much longer to check. We are more productive if all tickets have the same structure.

Q: Why should I attach the build.log, if there is an error at runtime, but no error during compilation?

A: Because we can often see additional information in the log. Some warnings during compile time are precursors for problems at runtime.