live-build/docs/BUGS

How to report a bug in Debian Live
==================================

"No software is perfect... we need your help!"

Debian Live is far from being perfect, but we want to make it as close as
possible to perfect - with your help.

As such, do not hesitate to report a bug: it is better to fill a report twice or
even to report a potential non-bug than no bug at all.

However, here are some recommendations how to file good bug reports so that they
are the most effective.

For the impatient:

  * Do always reproduce with the most current version of live-helper and
    live-initramfs before submitting a bugreport.

  * Do always try to give as *specific* as possible information about the bug.
    This not just includes the version of live-helper and live-initramfs used,
    the distribution of the live system you are building.


1. Where does the bug appear?
-----------------------------

...at build time while bootstrapping?

live-helper first bootstraps a basic Debian system with debootstrap(8) or
cdebootstrap(1). Depending on both debootstrap/cdebootstrap and the Debian
distribution it is bootstrapping, it runs sucessful or not. If a bug appears
here, check if the error is related to a specific Debian package (most likely),
or if it is related to debootstrap/cdebootstrap itself. Running lh_bootstrap
with --debug gives you more information.

Also, if you are using a local mirror or any of sort of (package) proxy and you
are experiencing a problem with bootstrapping, always reproduce it first by
bootstrapping from an official Debian mirror.

In all cases above, these are not a bug in live-helper, but rather in Debian
itself. We can not fix this directly. Instead, report such a bug against the
failing package, or in case of a bug in the bootstrapping tool, against
debootstrap or cdebootstrap, or the (package) proxy software you are using.


...at build time while installing packages?

live-helper installs additional packages from the Debian archive. Depending on
the Debian distribution used and the daily archive state, it can fail. If a bug
appears here, check if the error is also reproducible on a normal installed
(non-live) system.

Also, if you are including any sort of unofficial package to your live system
and you are experiencing problems, rebuild without those before filling a bug
to make sure that they are not the cause of the failure.

In all cases above, these are not a bug in live-helper, but rather in Debian
again. Report it against the failing package(s).


...at boot time?

If your image does not boot, please report it to the mailing list together with
the information requested in 2. Do not forget to mention, how/when the image
failed, in qemu, vmware or real hardware. If you are using a virtualization
technology of any kind, do always run it on real hardware before reporting a
bug. Nevertheless, providing a screenshot of the failure is also very helpfull.


...at run time?

If a package was successfully installed, but fails while actually running the
Live system, this is probably a bug in Debian Live and you are welcome to report
it to us.


2. Where to send the bug report?
--------------------------------

Report error logs of build time errors to live-helper and run time errors to
live-initramfs in the Debian Bug Tracking System. If you are unsure or need more
help before submitting a bug report, you can always send a message to
<debian-devel-live@lists.alioth.debian.org>. We will help you to figure it out.

To make the most out of your bug report, we require at least the following
information:

	* Architecture of the host system
	* Version of live-helper on the host system
	* Version of live-initramfs on the live system
	* Version of debootstrap and/or cdebootstrap on the host system

	* Architecture of the live system
	* Distribution of the live system
	* Version of the kernel on the live system

Additionally, to rule out other errors, it is always a good idea to tar up your
config directory and upload it somewhere (do *not* send it as an attachment to
the mailinglist), so that we can try to reproduce the errors you encountered.