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How to Report a Linux App Bug: Useful Logs and System Details

A useful Linux bug report includes repeatable steps, app and system versions, focused diagnostic logs, and the correct route for the package or project.

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To report a Linux app bug effectively, describe how to reproduce it, identify the app and environment, attach logs tied to the failure, and send the report to the team responsible for the version you use. Check the app’s own reporting instructions first: Ubuntu packages, Ubuntu snaps, upstream applications, and Linux kernel issues can use different routes.

What to include in a Linux app bug report

Give maintainers enough information to reproduce the failure without making them guess which software or environment you used. Keep one unrelated problem per report, and follow the target project’s requested format if it differs from this template.

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Copy-and-adapt report template

Title: [App] [short observable failure] on [distribution/release]

Application and version:
Distribution and release:
Install source/package type and package version:
Desktop/session and relevant hardware:
Steps to reproduce:
1.
2.
3.
Expected result:
Actual result:
Frequency and first known occurrence:
Recent updates or configuration changes:
Relevant log excerpt or attached crash report:
Existing reports searched / related issue:

Include only fields that apply. For reproduction steps, write short, ordered actions and distinguish what you expected from what actually happened. Note whether the problem happens every time or intermittently. The Linux kernel’s issue-reporting guidance likewise calls for relevant kernel and distribution details; its bug-hunting guide discusses reproduction and finding the appropriate reporting channel.

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Which logs and system details are useful?

Start by reproducing the failure once, recording the steps and approximate time. Look for the application’s own help, bug-reporting menu, or crash reporter; use its preferred collection process when available. For an application crash, explain what you were doing immediately before it happened and include the reporter’s output or a relevant stack trace if requested.

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For kernel-related failures

The kernel project’s reporting guide identifies dmesg output and the kernel build configuration as useful material for relevant issues. If early boot messages are no longer available in dmesg, it suggests journalctl -b 0 -k. Include the kernel version and distribution, and follow the responsible subsystem’s instructions. Large files may be better placed somewhere accessible and linked rather than sent as email attachments.

For Ubuntu package and crash reports

For supported Ubuntu package reports, ubuntu-bug (also called apport-bug or apport-collect) gathers system and package information and opens the reporting flow. Ubuntu documents snap report-issue for snaps. See Ubuntu’s bug-reporting instructions and Apport command documentation for the applicable path.

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A log helps most when it is tied to the reproduction and affected component. Prefer a relevant excerpt or focused time range over an entire system journal unless the project requests the full log. Exact commands and requested files depend on the app and distribution.

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Where should you send the report?

First check the app’s official reporting instructions and search its issue tracker or the distribution’s tracker for duplicates. The right destination depends on who maintains the software and how it was installed.

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Situation Usual route Important detail
Ubuntu application installed as a .deb package Ubuntu documents ubuntu-bug / Apport as its primary report tool. Search Launchpad for an existing report first; Ubuntu distinguishes bugs from support requests and feature or policy discussions. Ubuntu reporting guide
Ubuntu snap Use the documented snap report-issue route. Check the snap’s page for its issue tracker. Ubuntu reporting guide
Upstream Linux kernel Identify the responsible subsystem and follow its MAINTAINERS instructions; reports commonly go to maintainers and public development lists. Search mailing-list archives before sending a new report. Kernel issue-reporting guide
Other distribution package or upstream app Use the application’s official issue tracker or the distribution’s bug-reporting guide. Ubuntu and kernel instructions do not establish one universal command for every Linux system.

If the failure occurs only in a distribution-modified package, report it to that distribution unless its guidance says otherwise. If it also occurs in an upstream version, provide that exact version and the reproduction steps. This helps the receiving team investigate the environment it maintains.

Special cases: crashes, regressions, and security issues

Crashes

Preserve the crash reporter’s output and describe the actions immediately before the crash. Ubuntu’s Apport documentation explains that reports can collect crash and operating-system information. If a report is stored on a machine without internet access, Ubuntu Server documents carrying it to a connected Ubuntu machine and submitting it with apport-cli: How to report a bug.

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Kernel regressions

If a kernel update introduced the problem, use the kernel project’s regression-reporting guidance in addition to its general reporting process. Include the versions involved and the steps that demonstrate the changed behavior.

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Kernel security vulnerabilities

Do not begin by posting a suspected kernel security vulnerability publicly. The kernel project’s security-bug guidance recommends a private initial report to the affected subsystem maintainers and security team. Other projects may define different security channels, so consult their own instructions.

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Review logs and crash reports for private data

Inspect files before attaching or linking them. Ubuntu warns that Apport can collect core dumps, stack traces, and logs; these may expose user data or secrets. Remove passwords, access tokens, personal documents, and unrelated data where feasible, while preserving the context needed to diagnose the failure. If redaction changes information relevant to reproduction, say so in the report.

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