abrt

ABRT, short for Automatic Bug Reporting Tool, is an open-source software framework designed to automatically detect, gather data for, and report software defects on Linux systems. It is used by several major distributions, notably Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, to help developers triage and fix issues more efficiently.

The ABRT toolset centers on a background daemon called abrtd, along with a collection and analysis pipeline and user-facing interfaces. When enabled, ABRT monitors applications for crashes, unhandled exceptions, and major system errors. On detecting an event, it collects a crash report that typically includes a stack trace, a core dump (if permitted), package versions, kernel information, system logs, and environment details. The report is analyzed to classify the problem and prepare data suitable for bug filing.

Users and developers interact via command line, a GUI applet, or optional integration with bug trackers. ABRT can file a bug automatically or help the user submit a report manually, attaching the generated crash data to the ticket. In Fedora and Red Hat environments, reports can be routed to Bugzilla or other bug-tracking services through configured submission pipelines.

The architecture comprises the abrtd daemon, various plugins and analyzers (including backtrace analyzers for C/C++), and client utilities such as abrt-cli and GUI components. Crash data is stored locally in a staging area (commonly under /var/spool/abrt) and can be uploaded to a central bug-tracking service according to policy.

ABRT emphasizes privacy and security controls, offering options to redact sensitive data and to require explicit user consent before submission. It remains a core component in fault-analysis workflows on supported Linux distributions and is adaptable through plugins and integration with bug-tracking systems.