BASHBUG(1)

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version 5.3.20 · 2 versions
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💖 BASHBUG — report a bug in bash 💖

okay bestie, listen. you found a bug in bash (iconic of you honestly, very main character) and now you need to tell the actual bash people about it. this little manual is literally the whole page for bashbug, the general commands manual entry. let's get into it ✨

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

bashbug [--version] [--help] [email-address]

🎀 DESCRIPTION 🎀

so bashbug is a shell script, and its whole job is to help you, the user, compose and mail bug reports about bash in a standard format. no cap. 🫶

here's the vibe: bashbug invokes the editor specified by the environment variable EDITOR on a temporary copy of the bug report format outline. you — yes you, bestie — must fill in the appropriate fields and then exit the editor. then bashbug mails the completed report to bug-bash@gnu.org, or to email-address if you gave one.

and if the report cannot be mailed? 😭 it gets saved in the file dead.bashbug in the invoking user's home directory. rip to your report, but at least it's not lost forever. slay.

the bug report format outline consists of several sections, and honestly each one is its own little moment:

  1. the first section provides information about the machine, operating system, the bash version, and the compilation environment. (it fills this part in for you, queen behavior 💅)
  2. the second section should be filled in with a description of the bug.
  3. the third section should be a description of how to reproduce the bug.
  4. the optional fourth section is for a proposed fix. and btw, fixes are encouraged — they want your ideas, periodt. 🔥

🦋 ENVIRONMENT 🦋

bashbug will utilize the following environment variables if they exist:

  • EDITOR — Specifies the preferred editor. If EDITOR is not set, bashbug attempts to locate a number of alternative editors, including emacs. And if bashbug cannot locate any of the alternative editors, it attempts to execute vi. so like, one way or another, an editor is happening. 🙈
  • HOME — Directory in which the failed bug report is saved if the mail fails.
  • TMPDIR — Directory in which to create temporary files and directories.

💜 SEE ALSO 💜

👑 AUTHORS 👑

  • Brian Fox, Free Software Foundation bfox@gnu.org
  • Chet Ramey, Case Western Reserve University chet@po.cwru.edu

🌈 a lil sign-off 🌈

this was GNU Bash 5.1, dated 2020 August 1 — the source/version and date of the BASHBUG(1) page itself. go forth and file that bug report, bestie, you're gonna ate 💅✨🦋💖

📦 where this page comes from