Provided by: reportbug_7.1.8ubuntu1_all bug

NAME

       reportbug - reports a bug to a debbugs server

SYNOPSIS

       reportbug [options] <package | pseudo-package | absolute-pathname>

DESCRIPTION

       reportbug  is primarily designed to report bugs in the Debian distribution; by default, it
       creates an email  to  the  Debian  bug  tracking  system  at  submit@bugs.debian.org  with
       information  about  the bug you've found, and makes a carbon copy of the report for you as
       well.

       Using the --bts option, you can also report bugs to other servers that use the Debian  bug
       tracking system, debbugs.

       You may specify either a package name or a filename; if you use a filename, it must either
       be an absolute filename (so beginning with a /) or if you want  reportbug  to  search  the
       system  for  a  filename,  see the --filename and --path options below. If installed, also
       dlocate is used to identify the filename location and thus the package containing it.

       You can also specify a pseudo-package; these are used in the Debian bug tracking system to
       track  issues  that  are  not  related to one specific package.  Run reportbug without any
       arguments, then enter other at the package prompt, to see a list of the most commonly-used
       pseudo-packages.

OPTIONS

       The program follows the usual GNU command line syntax, with long options starting with two
       dashes (`--').  A summary of options are included below.

       -h, --help
              Show summary of options.

       --version
              Show the version of reportbug and exit.

       -A FILENAME, --attach=FILENAME
              Attach a file to the bug report; both text and binary files  are  acceptable;  this
              option  can be specified multiple times to attach several files.  This routine will
              create a MIME attachment with the  file  included;  in  some  cases  (usually  text
              files),  it  is  probably  better  to  use  -i/--include option.  (Please note that
              Debian's bug tracking system has limited support for MIME attachments.)

              This option supports also globbing (i.e. names with  wildcards,  like  file.*)  but
              remember  to  include  them  between  single  quotes (the previous example becomes:
              'file.*') else the shell would expand it before calling  reportbug  leading  to  an
              error.

              Be  aware  that  when using an external MUA to send the message (such as mutt), the
              attachment feature is not available and no file will be attached at  all:  the  MUA
              feature to attach files must be used instead (so from within the MUA).

       -b, --no-query-bts
              Don't  check the Debian bug tracking system to see if this problem has already been
              reported; useful for offline use or if you're really sure it's a bug.

       --query-bts
              Check the Debian bug tracking system to  see  if  this  problem  has  already  been
              reported (default).

       -B SYSTEM, --bts=SYSTEM
              Instead   of   the   Debian   bug   server   (or   the   bug  server  specified  in
              /etc/reportbug.conf, use the server specified by SYSTEM.

       --body=BODY
              Use the specified BODY as the body of the message.  The body text will  be  wrapped
              at  70  columns,  and  the  normal  reportbug  headers and footers will be added as
              appropriate.  The editor prompt and any "special" prompting will be bypassed.

       --body-file=BODYFILE, --bodyfile=BODYFILE
              The contents of the (assumed to be) text file BODYFILE will be used as the  message
              body.  This file is assumed to be properly formatted (i.e. reasonable line lengths,
              etc.).  The usual headers and footers will  be  added,  and  the  editor  step  and
              "special"  prompts  will  be  skipped.  (BODYFILE may also be a named pipe; using a
              device special file may lead to unusual results.)

       -c, --no-config-files
              Omit configuration files from the bug report without asking.  By default,  you  are
              asked  if  you  want  to  include them; in some cases, doing so may cause sensitive
              information to be sent via email.

       -C CLASS, --class=CLASS
              Specify report class for GNATS BTSes.

       --configure
              Rerun  the  reportbug  first  time  configuration  routine,   and   write   a   new
              $HOME/.reportbugrc  file.   This  will erase any pre-existing settings in the file;
              however, a backup will be written as $HOME/.reportbugrc~.

       --check-available
              Check for newer releases of  the  package  at  packages.debian.org  (default).   In
              advanced    and    expert   mode,   check   incoming.debian.org   and   http://ftp-
              master.debian.org/new.html too.

       --no-check-available
              Do not check for newer releases of the package at packages.debian.org.

       --debconf
              Include debconf settings in your report.

       --no-debconf
              Do not include debconf settings from your report.

       -d, --debug
              Don't send a real bug report to Debian; send  it  to  yourself  instead.   This  is
              primarily used for testing by the maintainer.

       --test Operate in test mode (maintainer use only).

       --draftpath=DRAFTPATH
              Save  the  draft (for example, when exiting and saving the report without reporting
              it) into DRAFTPATH directory.

       -e EDITOR, --editor=EDITOR
              Specify the editor to use, overriding any EDITOR  or  VISUAL  environment  variable
              setting.

       --email=ADDRESS
              Set  the  email address your report should appear to be sent from (i.e. the address
              that appears in the From header).  This should be the actual Internet email address
              on  its own (i.e. without a real name or comment part, like foo@example.com).  This
              setting will override  the  EMAIL  and  DEBEMAIL  environment  variables,  but  not
              REPORTBUGEMAIL.

       --envelope-from
              Specify  the Envelope From mail header (also known as Return-path); by default it's
              the From address but it can be selected a different one in  case  the  MTA  doesn't
              canonicalize local users to public addresses.

       --mbox-reader-cmd=MBOX_READER_CMD
              Specify  a  command to open the bug reports mbox file. You can use %s to substitute
              the mbox file to be used, and %% to insert a literal percent  sign.  If  no  %s  is
              specified, the mbox file name is supplied at the end of the argument list.

       --exit-prompt
              Display  a prompt before exiting; this is useful if reportbug is run in a transient
              terminal (i.e. from its Debian menu entry).

       -f FILENAME, --filename=FILENAME
              Report a bug in the package containing FILENAME so you don't  have  to  figure  out
              what  package the file belongs to.  The path will be searched for an exact path for
              FILENAME before attempting to broaden the  search  to  all  files.  If  dlocate  is
              installed, FILENAME is actually a regular expression.

       --from-buildd=BUILDD_FORMAT
              This  options  is  a shortcut for buildd admins to report bugs from buildd log; the
              option expects a value in the format  of  $source_$version  where  $source  is  the
              source package the bug will be reported against and $version is its version.

       --path If  the  -f/--filename  option  is  also  specified,  only  search the path for the
              specified FILENAME.  Specifying an absolute  path  with  the  -f/--filename  option
              (i.e. one beginning with a /) overrides this behavior.

       -g, --gnupg, --gpg
              Attach  a  digital signature to the bug report using GnuPG (the GNU Privacy Guard).
              (This argument will be ignored if you are using  an  MUA  to  edit  and  send  your
              report.)

       -G, --gnus
              Use  the  Gnus  mail  and  news  reader  to send your report, rather than using the
              editor.

       -H HEADER, --header=HEADER
              Add a custom RFC2822 header to your email; for example, to send a  carbon  copy  of
              the  report  to  debian-68k@lists.linux-m68k.org  you  could  use -H 'X-Debbugs-CC:
              debian-68k@lists.linux-m68k.org'

       -i FILE, --include=FILE
              Include the specified FILE as part of the body of the message to be edited.  Can be
              used  multiple times to add multiple files; text-only please!  From a suggestion by
              Michael Alan Dorman in the bug mailing list.  (See also the -A/--attach option.)

       -I, --no-check-installed
              Do not check whether the package is installed before  filing  a  report.   This  is
              generally  only  useful when filing a report on a package you know is not installed
              on your system.

       --check-installed
              Check if the specified package is installed when  filing  reports.   (This  is  the
              default behavior of reportbug.)

       -j JUSTIFICATION, --justification=JUSTIFICATION
              Bugs  in  Debian that have serious, grave, or critical severities must meet certain
              criteria to be  classified  as  such.   This  option  allows  you  to  specify  the
              justification for a release-critical bug, instead of being prompted for it.

       -k, --kudos
              Send  appreciative  email  to the recorded maintainer address, rather than filing a
              bug report.  (You can  also  send  kudos  to  packagename@packages.debian.org,  for
              packages  in  the  Debian archive; however, this option uses the Maintainer address
              from the control file, so it works with other package sources too.)

       -K KEYID, --keyid=KEYID
              Private key to use for PGP/GnuPG signatures.  If not specified, the  first  key  in
              the secret keyring that matches your email address will be used.

       --latest-first
              Display the bug reports list sorted and with the latest reports at the top.

       --license
              Show reportbug's copyright and license information on standard output.

       --list-cc=ADDRESS
              Send  a  carbon  copy  of the report to the specified list after a report number is
              assigned; this is the equivalent to the option -H  'X-Debbugs-CC:  ADDRESS'.   This
              option will only work as intended with debbugs systems.

       -m, --maintonly
              Only  send the bug to the package maintainer; the bug tracking system will not send
              a copy to the bug report distribution lists.

       --max-attachment-size=MAX_ATTACHMENT_SIZE
              Specify the maximum size any attachment file can have (this also include  the  file
              for  --body-file option). If an attachment file is too big, there could be problems
              in delivering the email (and also to compose it), so we set a limit  to  attachment
              size. By default this is 10 megabytes.

       --mirror=MIRRORS
              Add a BTS mirror.

       --mode=MODE
              Set  the  operating  mode  for  reportbug.   reportbug currently has four operating
              modes: novice (the default), standard, advanced, and expert.

              novice mode is designed to minimize prompting about things  that  "ordinary  users"
              would  be  unlikely  to  know  or  care  about, shifting the triage burden onto the
              maintainer.  Checking for new versions is only done for the stable distribution  in
              this mode.  It is currently the default mode.

              standard  mode includes a relatively large number of prompts and tries to encourage
              users to not file frivolous or duplicate bug reports.

              advanced mode is like standard mode, but may include shortcuts  suitable  for  more
              advanced  users  of  Debian,  without  being  as  close to the metal (and potential
              flamage) as expert mode.  (Currently, the only differences from standard  mode  are
              that  it  assumes familiarity with the "incoming" queue; it allows the reporting of
              bugs on "dependency" packages; and it does not prompt where to  insert  the  report
              text in the editor.)

              expert  mode  is  designed  to  minimize  prompts  that  are designed to discourage
              frivolous or unnecessary bug reports,  "severity  inflation,"  and  the  like.   In
              expert  mode,  reportbug  assumes  the  user  is  thoroughly  familiar  with Debian
              policies.  In practice, this means that reporters are no longer required to justify
              setting  a  high  severity  on  a bug report, and certain automated cleanups of the
              message are bypassed.  Individuals who do not regularly contribute  to  the  Debian
              project  are  highly  discouraged from using expert mode, as it can lead to flamage
              from maintainers when used improperly.

       -M, --mutt
              Instead of spawning an editor to revise the bug report, use the mutt mail reader to
              edit and send it.

       --mta=MTA
              Specify  an  alternate  MTA,  instead  of  /usr/sbin/sendmail  (the  default).  Any
              smtphost setting will override this one.

       --mua=MUA
              Instead of spawning an editor to revise the bug report, use the specified MUA (mail
              user agent) to edit and send it. --mutt and --nmh options are processed.

       -n, --mh, --nmh
              Instead  of spawning an editor to revise the bug report, use the comp command (part
              of the nmh and mh mail systems) to edit and send it.

       -N BUGNUMBER, --bugnumber BUGNUMBER
              Run reportbug against the specified bug report, useful when following-up a bug  and
              its number is already known.

       --no-bug-script
              Do not execute the bug script (if present); this option can be useful together with
              --template to suppress every interactive actions, since some bug  scripts  can  ask
              questions.

       --no-cc-menu
              Don't display the menu to enter additional addresses (CC).

       --no-tags-menu
              Don't display the menu to enter additional tags.

       -o FILE, --output=FILE
              Instead of sending an email, redirect it to the specified filename.

              The  output  file  is a full dump of the email message, so it contains both headers
              and mail body. If you want to use it as a template to create a new bug report, then
              you  have  to  remove  all the headers (mind the Subject one, though) and start the
              report at the Package pseudo-header.

       -O, --offline
              Disable   all   external   queries.    Currently   has   the   same    effect    as
              --no-check-available --no-query-bts.

       -p, --print
              Instead  of  sending  an email, print the bug report to standard output, so you can
              redirect it to a file or pipe it to another program.

              This option only outputs a  template  for  a  bug  report  (but,  differently  from
              --template it's more interactive); you will need to fill in the long description.

       --paranoid
              Show  the  contents  of  the  message  before  it  is  sent, including all headers.
              Automatically disabled if in template mode.

       --no-paranoid
              Don't show the full contents of the message before it is sent (default).

       --pgp  Attach a digital signature to the bug  report  using  PGP  (Pretty  Good  Privacy).
              Please  note,  however,  that  the  Debian project is phasing out the use of PGP in
              favor of GnuPG.  (This argument will be ignored if using an MUA to  edit  and  send
              your report.)

       --proxy=PROXY, --http_proxy=PROXY
              Specify the WWW proxy server to use to handle the query of the bug tracking system.
              You should only need this parameter if  you  are  behind  a  firewall.   The  PROXY
              argument  should  be formatted as a valid HTTP URL, including (if necessary) a port
              number; for example, http://192.168.1.1:3128/.

       -P PSEUDO-HEADER, --pseudo-header=PSEUDO-HEADER
              Add a custom pseudo-header to your report; for example, to add  the  mytag  usertag
              for   the   user   humberto@example.com  to  the  bug,  you  could  use  -P  'User:
              humberto@example.com' -P 'Usertags: mytag'.

       -q, --quiet
              Suppress diagnostic messages to standard error.

       -Q, --query-only
              Do not submit a bug report; just query the BTS.   Option  ignored  if  you  specify
              --no-bts-query.

       --query-source
              Query  on all binary packages built by the same source, not just the binary package
              specified.

       --no-query-source
              Only query on the binary package specified on the command line.

       --realname=NAME
              Set the real name (human-readable name) to use for your report.

       --report-quiet
              Register the bug in the bug tracking system, but don't send a report to the package
              maintainer  or  anyone  else.   Don't  do  this unless you're the maintainer of the
              package in question, or you really know what you are doing.

       --reply-to=ADDRESS, --replyto=ADDRESS
              Set the Reply-To address header in your report.

       -s SUBJECT, --subject=SUBJECT
              Set the subject of the bug report (i.e. a brief explanation of  the  problem,  less
              than 60 characters).  If you do not specify this switch, you will be prompted for a
              subject.

       --security-team
              If the 'security' tag is set, this option  will  explicitly  specify  to  send  the
              report only to the Debian Security Team, as this is an undisclosed vulnerability.

       --no-security-team
              If  the  'security' tag is set, this option will explicitly specify to not send the
              report  only  to  the  Debian  Security  Team,  as  this  is  not  an   undisclosed
              vulnerability.

       -S SEVERITY, --severity=SEVERITY
              Specify  a severity level, from critical, grave, serious, important, normal, minor,
              and wishlist.

       --smtphost=HOST[:PORT]
              Use the mail transport agent (MTA) at HOST to send your  report,  instead  of  your
              local  /usr/sbin/sendmail  program.   This  should generally be your ISP's outgoing
              mail server; you can also use 'localhost' if you have a working mail server running
              on  your  machine.  If the PORT is omitted, the standard port for SMTP, port 25, is
              used.

       --timeout=SECONDS
              Specify the network timeout, the number of  seconds  to  wait  for  a  resource  to
              respond. If nothing is specified, a default timeout of 1 minute is selected.

              In  case  of  a network error, there are chances it's due to a too low timeout: try
              passing the --timeout option with a higher value than default.

       --tls  If using SMTP,  use  Transport  Layer  Security  (TLS)  encryption  to  secure  the
              connection to the mail server.  Some SMTP servers may require this option.

       --smtpuser=USERNAME
              If using SMTP, use the specified USERNAME for authentication.

       --smtppasswd=PASSWORD
              If  using  SMTP,  use  the  specified PASSWORD for authentication.  If the password
              isn't specified on the command line or in the configuration file, a prompt will  be
              displayed asking for it.

              Use  of this option is insecure on multiuser systems.  Instead, you should set this
              option in $HOME/.reportbugrc and ensure it is only readable by your user (e.g. with
              chmod 600 $HOME/.reportbugrc).

       --src, --source
              Specify  to  report  the bug against the source package, and not the binary package
              (default behaviour).  In order for this option to work, you have  to  populate  the
              relevant 'deb-src' lines in /etc/apt/sources.list so that apt cache will know about
              source packages too.

       -t TYPE, --type=TYPE
              Specify the type of report to be  submitted;  currently  accepts  either  gnats  or
              debbugs.

       -T TAG, --tag=TAG
              Specify  a  tag to be filed on this report, for example --tag=patch.  Multiple tags
              can be specified using multiple -T/--tag arguments.

              Alternatively, you can specify the 'tag' none to bypass  the  tags  prompt  without
              specifying any tags; this will also ignore any tags specified on the command line.

       --template
              Output  a template report to standard output. Differently from -p/--print, it tries
              to be not interactive, and presents a template without user's input.

       -u INTERFACE, --interface=INTERFACE, --ui=INTERFACE
              Specify the user interface to use.   Valid  options  are  text,  urwid,  and  gtk2;
              default is taken from the reportbug configuration files.

       -v, --verify
              Verify the integrity of the package (if installed) using debsums before reporting.

       --no-verify
              Do not verify the integrity of the package with debsums.

       -V VERSION, --package-version=VERSION
              Specify the version of the package the problem was found in.  This is probably most
              useful if you are reporting a bug in a package that is not installable or installed
              on a different system.

       -x, --no-cc
              Don't  send  a  blind  carbon  copy  (BCC) of the bug report to the submitter (i.e.
              yourself).

       -z, --no-compress
              Don't compress configuration files by removing comments and blank lines.

EXAMPLES

       reportbug lynx-ssl
              Report a bug in the lynx-ssl package.

       reportbug --path --filename=ls
              Report a bug in the installed package that includes a program in your  path  called
              ls.

CONFIGURATION FILES

       From  version 0.22 on, reportbug has supported a simple run control file syntax.  Commands
       are read from /etc/reportbug.conf and  $HOME/.reportbugrc  with  commands  in  the  latter
       overriding those in the former.

       Commands  are not case sensitive, and currently take 0 or 1 argument; arguments containing
       whitespace must be enclosed in quotes.

       Any line starting with # is taken to be a comment and will be ignored.

       Generally, options corresponding to the long options for reportbug are supported,  without
       leading  --  sequences.   See  reportbug.conf(5)  for  all acceptable options and detailed
       information.

ENVIRONMENT

       VISUAL Editor to use for editing your bug report.

       EDITOR Editor to use for editing the bug report (overridden by VISUAL).

       REPORTBUGEMAIL, DEBEMAIL, EMAIL
              Email address to use as your from  address  (in  this  order).  If  no  environment
              variable exists, the default is taken from your user name and /etc/mailname.

       DEBFULLNAME, DEBNAME, NAME
              Real name to use; default is taken from /etc/passwd.

       REPLYTO
              Address for Reply-To header in outgoing mail.

       MAILCC Use  the  specified  CC address on your email.  Note you can also use the -H option
              for this (and for Bcc's too).

       MAILBCC
              Use the specified BCC address, instead of your email address.  (CC and BCC based on
              suggestions from Herbert Thielen in the bug wishlist).

       http_proxy
              Provides  the  address of a proxy server to handle the BTS query.  This should be a
              valid http URL for a proxy server,  including  any  required  port  number  (simply
              specifying a hostname, or omitting a port other than 80, WILL NOT WORK).

NOTES

       reportbug  should  probably  be  compatible with other bug tracking systems, like bugzilla
       (used by the GNOME and Mozilla projects) and  jitterbug  (used  by  Samba,  AbiSource  and
       FreeCiv) but it isn't.

SEE ALSO

       reportbug.conf(5),    http://www.debian.org/Bugs/Developer#tags    for   available   tags,
       querybts(1)

AUTHOR

       Chris Lawrence <lawrencc@debian.org>, Sandro Tosi <morph@debian.org>.

                                                                                     reportbug(1)