Debug#

Use the Debug tool to view the error or state of archived dumps from crashes or running processes in your web browser. The information you see in the Debug tool is dependent on the source of the crash (a script, a minidump file, or the Backtrace proprietary format) and the data available (for example, threads, variables, memory segments, etc.).

Depending on the type of information in the crash report, the Debug tool will show different data. For example, with minidump files, we can list a set of threads in the crash report, the callstack of the selected thread, attributes, environment information, modules loaded, and missing symbol details.

For Backtrace core dump files (BTT), we add automated security and bug analysis, variable information, and more.

More details#

The Debug tool is organized into several sections as described below.

General information#

This section is present for the Backtrace snapshot format used on UNIX and UNIX-like systems. This includes memory map information, system information, register state, and more. The Process tab includes deep introspection into the global state of the faulting process. It includes things like memory allocator metadata such as recently reclaimed items, and more (depends on the allocator).

Thread#

This section contains a list of all threads in the dump. Threads that have crashed have a red icon next to them. Threads that have an arrow symbol next to them can be expanded to more threads with an identical callstack. Threads are grouped into a tree if they have identical callstacks to ease navigating lots of threads.

Callstack#

This section contains the callstack of the currently selected thread. You can hover over a frame to reveal additional information about it. If a frame has an orange highlight, it’s more likely to be relevant to the crash.

Attributes#

This section is present for dump formats such as minidump. It contains a list of all attributes extracted from the dump and supplied during dump submission. Some of these attributes may already be indexed.

Global annotations#

This section is present for dump formats such as minidump. This contains a tree list of other interesting data derived from the dump. This can include clues to the root cause of the crash, the list of loaded libraries, missing debug symbols, and more.

Global variables#

This section is present for the Backtrace snapshot format used on UNIX and UNIX-like systems. It contains the values of any global variables that have been serialized.

Variables#

This section is present for the Backtrace snapshot format used on UNIX and UNIX-like systems. Variables with a red box are currently freed. Variables with a green box are currently allocated. Variables with a red circle have warnings attached to them; click on the variable to expand it and see any potential warnings.

Registers#

This section is present for dump formats such as minidump. It contains the register values for the currently selected frame.

Warnings#

This pane is present for the Backtrace snapshot format used on UNIX and UNIX-like systems. Use the previous and next button to browse warnings. You can also use Select to jump to a warning. Alternatively, check the Autoselect variable button to automatically jump to a variable that has a warning attached to it. Warnings include things like invalid memory allocator state, automated detection of variables accessed when the crash occurred, and more.