From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from wp530.webpack.hosteurope.de (wp530.webpack.hosteurope.de [80.237.130.52]) (using TLSv1.2 with cipher ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 (256/256 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by smtp.subspace.kernel.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 3DFDB2D97A1; Sun, 26 Oct 2025 12:42:32 +0000 (UTC) Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; arc=none smtp.client-ip=80.237.130.52 ARC-Seal:i=1; a=rsa-sha256; d=subspace.kernel.org; s=arc-20240116; t=1761482555; cv=none; b=OaTv8WjQDcYHn/+pRUVPH6mB0ics6LUtYtLOP5hLo8YAdbpTVlBW5QjFkhpy7PfFGAY1KgVmF5vjpnEoF7b4Ru/i6AB+2p611gEz0/f6K7lTF5rArytXR1kCpAoIAVyn4p7dO2EiOpDQeYPx+cblR78Fd9yNVopBvOs8j7Ho1Ys= ARC-Message-Signature:i=1; a=rsa-sha256; d=subspace.kernel.org; s=arc-20240116; t=1761482555; c=relaxed/simple; bh=v3EcZfTQH9yUaeLOyiACtSLQBw4OfVXYTDSPYRHxRtA=; h=From:To:Cc:Subject:Date:Message-ID:In-Reply-To:References: MIME-Version; b=RUiTxN6uqQSNjEl+H/EonXI7pqEkbzlXudI191M9WCA2ZN8FkDT+GdCQUwqDYgW6Ctg3BeuX7CItlRAECryuPiziySO5awsXX3ci1QrxHjTR4Zpdda+QGwvyTsp8+PNpPJJtRfE/1NEVtoFwMhykagMTJ5Rad8qccVkeW1PDMtI= ARC-Authentication-Results:i=1; smtp.subspace.kernel.org; dmarc=none (p=none dis=none) header.from=leemhuis.info; spf=pass smtp.mailfrom=leemhuis.info; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=leemhuis.info header.i=@leemhuis.info header.b=BsvtbpIR; arc=none smtp.client-ip=80.237.130.52 Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; dmarc=none (p=none dis=none) header.from=leemhuis.info Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; spf=pass smtp.mailfrom=leemhuis.info Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=leemhuis.info header.i=@leemhuis.info header.b="BsvtbpIR" DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; q=dns/txt; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=leemhuis.info; s=he214686; h=Content-Transfer-Encoding:MIME-Version: References:In-Reply-To:Message-ID:Date:Subject:Cc:To:From:From:Sender: Reply-To:Subject:Date:Message-ID:To:Cc:MIME-Version:Content-Type: Content-Transfer-Encoding:Content-ID:Content-Description:In-Reply-To: References; bh=1lpe93ywVbepQX5TMSIxLuqlkD6WIX6nms0KuNBW1jE=; t=1761482552; x=1761914552; b=BsvtbpIRcESSr/nD5yaH/WqU2nrd57K96YrH+cPYJb0Ub2a1Elau5SyfxZPDl QpHqw8Bl0100Cqzl4X0IKXklDQsd/pLvnQrzF83GQktFycsvbeL5K3WLQ8T2Fbkf/OWEDYVKzd9ny PVKG5DNOunRQIssu2C7AIgAo9G763Aej+L7c++WSdtJ0EWqAwvzr1Ok+TCyI4MZlpXYvNlNhMpUeS U9RusVAjfofcsehyIhSwhfPFHZMhzrqE6/SVfKAj09OV0roJQ3sIhqlXx+oZbIJ6PthmNIzfkobjM 4zEi4DwVCh/zzaFv3da10+InGamUVFfZKpgr1MOs3IfwziCSRg==; Received: from [2a02:8108:8984:1d00:a8ad:ebd4:6fc6:160] (helo=luggage.fritz.box); authenticated by wp530.webpack.hosteurope.de running ExIM with esmtpsa (TLS1.3:ECDHE_X25519__RSA_PSS_RSAE_SHA256__AES_256_GCM:256) id 1vD04n-001mXP-1b; Sun, 26 Oct 2025 13:42:25 +0100 From: Thorsten Leemhuis To: Jonathan Corbet Cc: workflows@vger.kernel.org, linux-doc@vger.kernel.org, regressions@lists.linux.dev, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Subject: [PATCH v1 09/30] docs: reporting-issues: tell users to check the kernel log Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2025 13:42:00 +0100 Message-ID: X-Mailer: git-send-email 2.51.0 In-Reply-To: References: Precedence: bulk X-Mailing-List: workflows@vger.kernel.org List-Id: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-bounce-key: webpack.hosteurope.de;linux@leemhuis.info;1761482552;81a32109; X-HE-SMSGID: 1vD04n-001mXP-1b Sometimes what looks like a kernel bug is actually some local problem the kernel's log messages explain, thus it is best if users check it early in the process. Signed-off-by: Thorsten Leemhuis --- .../admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst | 29 +++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 29 insertions(+) diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst index 73b7792d84cdf1..63ce6ae51df266 100644 --- a/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst +++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst @@ -77,6 +77,14 @@ following the others is usually in your own interest. [:ref:`details `] +.. _checklog_repisbs: + +* Skim ``journalctl -k`` (alternatively: ``dmesg``) for failures and warnings, + as maybe there is just something wrong with your setup. + + [:ref:`details `] + + * Perform a rough search for existing reports with your favorite internet search engine; additionally, check the archives of the `Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML) `_. If you find matching reports, @@ -368,6 +376,27 @@ entangled or clearly have the same cause. [:ref:`back to step-by-step guide `] +.. _checklog_repiref: + +Evaluate the logs +----------------- + + *Skim 'journalctl -k' (alternatively: 'dmesg') for failures and warnings, as + maybe there is just something wrong with your setup.* [:ref:`... `] + +Sometimes a bug you face is just a symptom of something going sideways that the +kernel detected and logged -- like a missing firmware file, for example. To rule +such things out, check the kernel's log messages. + +Preferably use 'journalctl' if your distribution supports it, as in contrast to +'dmesg' it always contains all messages since the kernel started. + +Especially look out for messages in bold, yellow, or red, as both tools use such +to set warnings and errors apart. + +[:ref:`back to step-by-step guide `] + + Search for existing reports, first run -------------------------------------- -- 2.51.0