Crash reporting¶

When something goes wrong inside CroStream, the developer can only fix it if they know about it. Crash reporting sends them the error, so a bug you hit gets found without you writing it up. It is off in released versions until you turn it on, you decide how much to share, and anything private is removed on your computer before it leaves. Everything about it is in Settings → Crash reporting.

Turn it on¶

1. Open Settings and scroll to Crash reporting, below Updates.
2. Switch on Send crash reports and logs to the developer.

That's all. It applies at once, with no restart, and the panel then says who reports are sent as, for example Reports are sent as crothers (crothers@example.com).

To stop, switch it off again. Nothing more is sent from that moment.

The options¶

Performance tracing and Session replay only work while the main switch is on. With it off they are greyed out, and turning the main switch off stops them too. Both are off by default, in development builds as well.

The service behind all this is Sentry. The reference page lists each of its features CroStream uses and every removal rule in detail.

What is sent¶

To avoid flooding, CroStream sends the same error once a minute at most, and holds back bursts of errors.

What is never sent¶

Before anything leaves your computer, CroStream removes:

The only personal details that are sent are the Twitch account described next, on purpose. The same removal applies to the CroStream window's reports and to its recordings (which are masked, see above).

Your Twitch account¶

Reports are sent as the Twitch account you are logged in as: its ID, login, display name and email. This is so the developer can tell reports apart and get back to you about a bug you hit. If you aren't logged in to Twitch, reports are sent without a name.

The email is new. To read it CroStream asks Twitch for one more permission, user:read:email, so Twitch's login page now also asks to read your account's email address. CroStream treats it as optional:

• Until your next Twitch login, reports carry your ID, login and name without the email. You are not asked to log in again, and nothing in CroStream stops working.
• If you already opted in, the email starts being included after the next time you log in, whenever that is.
• It is used for crash reports only. See Twitch permissions.

The panel always shows what is being used: Reports are sent as name (email).

Report a problem¶

Report a problem… lets you tell the developer what happened, in your own words, with the technical detail attached.

Where to find it:

• Settings → Crash reporting → Report a problem…, in the desktop app and in browser mode.
• Report a problem… in the tray icon's menu, on every system (the menu bar icon on macOS).
• Help → Report a problem… in the menu bar on macOS.

Describe what you were doing, what you expected and what happened instead, then click Send. The box only says Sent. Thank you, the developer will see it. once the report has really arrived. Otherwise it tells you why, and Send becomes Try again:

The text is required: Send stays greyed out until you write something.

The box tells you exactly what goes with your text: who it is sent as, the recent activity (log lines and event types, no chat), and either a recording of this window with all text masked (if Session replay is on) or no screen recording. The wording of your message is kept as you wrote it, apart from the removal of tokens and web address queries.

Development builds¶

A development build is any build that isn't a published release: a test build the developer hands out, or one you made yourself from the source. Its version looks like 1.5.0-dev.3, and Settings → Updates marks it with a Development build tag.

Development builds always report. In the panel the main switch shows on and greyed out, with Development build: crash reporting is always on. above it. This is deliberate: test builds exist to find problems before a release, and reports are how the developer finds them. A released version never does this; only you can turn reporting on there.

Performance tracing and Session replay stay off in a development build until you switch them on. Updates work differently too: see Development builds in Updates. To leave reporting behind, install a released version.

People who run CroStream in automated tests can turn reporting off for such runs with an environment variable. See Command line.

If CroStream hits an error¶

CroStream is built so one failing part doesn't take the rest down. If a part of the app fails, it is written to the log, reported (when reporting is on), and that part starts again by itself, instead of the whole app closing. You may see nothing, or a feature that briefly stops and comes back.

This isn't absolute. A failure deep inside the audio, hotkey or window libraries that CroStream relies on, or in the app's very core, can still close it. If CroStream closes unexpectedly, start it again and, with reporting on, consider using Report a problem to say what you were doing.

Troubleshooting¶

What the three unusual states look like. In a development build the main switch is locked on, as shown above. In a build with no crash reporting, and when the environment variable is set, everything is greyed out and the panel says why:

If Report a problem… can't reach the service, the box keeps your text and shows Try again:

Related¶

• Settings
• Updates
• Sentry reference: the service behind it, every feature used, and every scrubbing rule
• Privacy policy
• Twitch permissions
• Troubleshooting