I am trying to debug a crashed (or hanging) app. How do I get the diagnostic files from the crash?
Individual crash reports are stored in ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter but there is a system wide log collection tool called sysdiagnose.
Once you start experiencing the issue, hold down the 4 control keys and then press the period "." key. shift+control+option+command+.
After about 15 seconds, a Finder window will open with a sysdiagnose file highlighted.
This shortcut simply executes the
This shell script(on 10.8 and lower) and executable program by the same name on 10.9:
Preparing for the keyboard-only approach to sysdiagnose
In Terminal, run the following command.
Take a written note of the following key chord, you'll need it later:
Diagnosis by the system
When an issue occurs:
In rare cases, an issue may prevent sysdiagnose from completing (I have made improvement suggestions to Apple). If this happens – if you're sure that you have waited long enough – it may be sensible to restart the Mac. Then:
Without the key chord, you can run sysdiagnose from the command line (see below, Apple manual page). But it's often more useful, or necessary, to use the chord – so be prepared.
Whilst I don't encourage carelessness, you can be a little careless with Control-Option-Command-Shift-. … if you struggle to avoid the fn key on your laptop, don't worry; including it by accident should not prevent the run of
Human analysis of diagnosis by the system
Hint: someone might like to ask a separate question about analysing the results of
If sysdiagnose_… from the