BASHBUG

Section: User Commands (1)
Updated: 2020 August 1
Page Index

NAME

bashbug - report a bug in bash

SYNOPSIS

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

DESCRIPTION

bashbug is a shell script to help the user compose and mail bug reports concerning bash in a standard format. bashbug invokes the editor specified by the environment variable EDITOR on a temporary copy of the bug report format outline. The user must fill in the appropriate fields and exit the editor. bashbug then mails the completed report to bug-bash@gnu.org, or email-address. If the report cannot be mailed, it is saved in the file dead.bashbug in the invoking user's home directory.

The bug report format outline consists of several sections. The first section provides information about the machine, operating system, the bash version, and the compilation environment. The second section should be filled in with a description of the bug. The third section should be a description of how to reproduce the bug. The optional fourth section is for a proposed fix. Fixes are encouraged.

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. If bashbug cannot locate any of the alternative editors, it attempts to execute vi.
HOME: Directory in which the failed bug report is saved if the mail fails.
TMPDIR: Directory in which to create temporary files and directories.

AUTHORS

Brian Fox, Free Software Foundation
bfox@gnu.org

Chet Ramey, Case Western Reserve University
chet@po.cwru.edu