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      1 # Bugreport file format
      2 
      3 This document specifies the format of the bugreport files generated by the
      4 bugreport services (like `bugreport` and `bugreportplus`) and delivered to the
      5 end user (i.e., it doesnt include other tools like `adb bugreport`).
      6 
      7 A _bugreport_ is initially generated by dumpstate, then processed by **Shell**,
      8 which in turn delivers it to the end user through a `ACTION_SEND_MULTIPLE`
      9 intent; the end user then select which app (like an email client) handles such
     10 intent.
     11 
     12 ## Text file (Pre-M)
     13 Prior to _Android M (Marshmallow)_, `dumpstate` generates a flat .txt file named
     14 _bugreport-DATE.txt_ (where _DATE_ is date the bugreport was generated, in the
     15 format _YYYY-MM-DD-HH-MM-SS_), and Shell simply propagates it as an attachment
     16 in the `ACTION_SEND_MULTIPLE` intent.
     17 
     18 ## Version 0 (Android M)
     19 On _Android M (Marshmallow)_, dumpstate still generates a flat
     20 _bugreport-DATE.txt_ file, but then **Shell** creates a zip file called
     21 _bugreport-DATE.zip_ containing a _bugreport-DATE.txt_ entry and sends that
     22 file as the `ACTION_SEND_MULTIPLE` attachment.
     23 
     24 ## Version 1.0 (Android N)
     25 On _Android N (TBD)_, `dumpstate` generates a zip file directly (unless there
     26 is a failure, in which case it reverts to the flat file that is zipped by
     27 **Shell** and hence the end result is the _v0_ format).
     28 
     29 The zip file is by default called _bugreport-BUILD_ID-DATE.zip_ and it contains a
     30 _bugreport-BUILD_ID-DATE.txt_ entry, although the end user can change the name (through
     31 **Shell**), in which case they would be called _bugreport-BUILD_ID-NEW_NAME.zip_ and
     32 _bugreport-BUILD_ID-NEW_NAME.txt_ respectively.
     33 
     34 The zip file also contains 2 metadata entries generated by `dumpstate`:
     35 
     36 - `version.txt`:  whose value is **1.0**.
     37 - `main-entry.txt`: whose value is the name of the flat text entry (i.e.,
     38   _bugreport-BUILD_ID-DATE.txt_ or _bugreport-NEW_NAME.txt_).
     39 
     40 `dumpstate` can also copy files from the devices filesystem into the zip file
     41 under the `FS` folder. For example, a `/dirA/dirB/fileC` file in the device
     42 would generate a `FS/dirA/dirB/fileC` entry in the zip file.
     43 
     44 When systrace is enabled, the zip file will contain a `systrace.txt` file as well.
     45 
     46 The flat file also has some minor changes:
     47 
     48 - Tombstone files were removed and added to the zip file.
     49 - The duration of each section is printed in the report.
     50 - Some dumpsys sections (memory and cpuinfo) are reported earlier in the file.
     51 
     52 Besides the files generated by `dumpstate`, **Shell** can also add 2 other
     53 files upon the end users request:
     54 
     55 - `title.txt`: whose value is a single-line summary of the problem.
     56 - `description.txt`: whose value is a multi-line, detailed description of the problem.
     57 
     58 ## Intermediate versions
     59 During development, the versions will be suffixed with _-devX_ or
     60 _-devX-EXPERIMENTAL_FEATURE_, where _X_ is a number that increases as the
     61 changes become stable.
     62 
     63 For example, the initial version during _Android N_ development was
     64 **1.0-dev1**. When `dumpsys` was split in 2 sections but not all tools were
     65 ready to parse that format, the version was named **1.0-dev2**,
     66 which had to be passed do `dumpsys` explicitly (i.e., trhough a
     67 `-V 1.0-dev2` argument). Once that format became stable and tools
     68 knew how to parse it, the default version became **1.0-dev2**.
     69 
     70 Similarly, if changes in the file format are made after the initial release of
     71 Android defining that format, then a new _sub-version_ will be used.
     72 For example, if after _Android N_ launches changes are made for the next _N_
     73 release, the version will be called **1.1** or something like that.
     74 
     75 Determining version and main entry
     76 -----------------------------------------------
     77 
     78 Tools parsing the zipped bugreport file can use the following algorithm to
     79 determine the bugreport format version and its main entry:
     80 
     81 ```
     82 If [entries contain "version.txt"]
     83    version = read("version.txt")
     84    main_entry = read("main_entry.txt")
     85 else
     86    version = 0
     87    main_entry = entries[0]
     88 fi
     89 ```
     90