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Linux *READ THIS BEFORE POSTING* FAQs, HOW-TO post about a problem in a useful manner - Printable Version

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*READ THIS BEFORE POSTING* FAQs, HOW-TO post about a problem in a useful manner - un1versal - 2015-07-27

See: Linux FAQ (wiki) - All platforms FAQ (wiki) - Migration from XBMC to Kodi (wiki) - HOW-TO:Install Kodi for Linux (wiki) - MySQL/Upgrading (wiki)

Things we want from EVERY report: checklist
  1. Complete Debug log (wiki) (Use your favourite paste site! See below.) << NOT OPTIONAL!
  2. If you can, get screenshots to illustrate problems (See below)
  3. Latest is not a revision, of anything! (See below)
  4. Linux Distribution and version (See below)
  5. Hardware (e.g.. i686, x86_64, GPU (See below)
  6. Install Method (PPA, RPM, build.sh, manual, other)
  7. Determining GIT revision (See below.)
  8. Troubleshooting 101 - Determining if a addon or skin is causing the issue (See below)
  9. Detailed instructions to reproduce the problem (The more specific the better.)
  10. Backtrace (Only attainable if Kodi has crashed. See below.)
  11. Compiler output (Only useful if Kodi doesn't build. See below.)
GUI problems (navigation, finding options, setup, labels, etc):
  • Skin name
Playback problems:
  • Video codec and container.
  • Audio codec and container.
  • You may also be asked for a sample. << Use sites like Dropbox, Mediafire or your favourite hosting site and do not post copyrighted materials.
The hardware is a very important detail:
  • System hardware specs (CPU, GPU, Chipset, etc.)
  • Kernel Version
"Latest" is a completely useless version!

When referring to the version of something, always be as detailed as possible. Saying you're using the latest version of something is wrong the second it is updated, and completely useless to someone looking for help on a similar problem in the future. (NOTE: It is perfectly fine to tell someone to upgrade to the latest version of something as this is nearly always a good idea.) Some good examples:
  • Ubuntu 16.04.6
  • Kodi for OSX v15.1
  • libsmbclient 3.0.27
How do I find my architecture?
Code:
uname -m

How do I find my GIT revision number?

From home screen in default Estuary skin... (also in any kodi.log)
  • Navigate to SYSTEM
  • Choose "System Info" (submenu item)
  • GIT Revision is at the bottom of each page (Kodi 16.0-"tag" Git:20130104-de8789a)

Troubleshooting 101 - Determining if a addon or skin is causing the issue

Sometimes Kodi issues are directly or indirectly related to a particular skin or addon. A fast way to rule out such issues is to rename the addons folder and userdata (wiki) folder and restart kodi. (same as a fresh installation)
Alternative solution is to disable all 3rd party addons / skins (including ones in default repository) and use default skin, if issue persists you have likely found a bug with Kodi.
If you already taken this step or reinstalled Kodi and are using a clean install, say so
  • Disable any addons (if a addon is part of a skin dependency you have to disable the skin first and then disable the addon)
  • Disable the skin (in case you're using a 3rd party skin and the issue is not skin related)
  • Try to duplicate issue if issue persists you found a Kodi bug. Else enable one addon at a time and try to duplicate the issue, when issue reappears you found the causing addon.
There are also specific addon / skin threads for reporting issues with a specific addon / skin. Try to use such threads wherever possible, you are more likely to have a solution or reach the developer of said addon / skin directly.

Where is my debug log?
  • Read debug_Log (wiki) thoroughly.
  • Don't forget to enable debugging! (Try to obtain a clean debug log, enable debugging, restart Kodi, duplicate issue and finally pastebin the complete debug log)
  • Don't forget to use a paste site!
  • Code:
    sudo apt-get install pastebinit -y
    cat $HOME/.kodi/temp/kodi.log | pastebinit
How do I obtain a backtrace? (Only obtainable if Kodi has crashed out completely to the desktop or terminal)

This is also available and automatically appended together in a Kodi crashlog when gdb is already installed and you allow stack traces to be generated. In that case pastebin the crashlog directly.
  • Open terminal
  • Run "ulimit -c unlimited" (You only need to do this if no core file is created automatically)
  • Run "kodi"
  • Reproduce the crash.
  • Install gdb if you don't have it "sudo apt-get install gdb"
  • Run "gdb /path/to/kodi.bin /path/to/core" (kodi.bin path is in the debug log (see above), core file should be in the current directory (may have the process ID number appended))
  • Once gdb has loaded up type "thread apply all bt" and press enter.
  • Press return until you're back at the prompt then copy and paste the output to your favourite paste site.
  • Type "q" then enter to quit gdb.
  • Delete the core file to avoid confusion later.
How do I obtain useful compiler output?

First things first, wait 24hrs. Just as the police don't care if your kids are missing, we don't care if you can't compile! Kodi is in a constant state of flux and it is very likely that any compile errors will be resolved in a much shorter time than this. That being said, what not to post. "make: *** [some target] Error #", I'm sure we can all agree that this tells us nothing other than something bad happened while building "some target", so don't waste your time posting it.
Now, there probably isn't actually a problem. Try this from a terminal.
  • Code:
    git clean -xfd && git reset --hard && git pull --rebase
    # This will ensure your "problem" isn't due to stray object files
  • Code:
    ./configure
    # This will ensure your problem isn't do to build system changes.
  • Code:
    make
    # This will most likely succeed. Note: You can pass -jN (N is the number of jobs make should run at the same time) to speed things up.
If the failure occurs again (and the 24-hr wait period is up!), run "make" and only "make" (no -j# option especially), and paste this output to your favourite paste site.
It is also helpful to pastebin the config.log with any compile issue reports especially where dependency issues are reported. Again full logs only with refrence to specific lines or output with report.

Paste sites:
Screenshot sites: File Hosting sites:

RE: *READ THIS BEFORE POSTING* FAQs, HOW-TO post about a problem in a useful manner - Preacher - 2018-06-16

Can I also add this here?  Asking Questions The Smart Way - what everyone needs to read...