Reporting a problem

Problems with b4 are reported as issues on GitHub. The bug report form there asks for the b4 version, the platform, the System Info report and a log trace. A trace recorded while the problem happens shows what b4 did with the traffic.

What to collect

Item	Where
The b4 version	At the bottom of the side menu
System Info	System Info under Settings > System > Service, then Copy JSON in the System Diagnostics dialog, see System Info
A log trace	The Logs page, see Recording a trace
The set involved	Copy JSON on the set's Import/Export tab, see Import/Export
The configuration, when asked for	Download safe copy under Settings > System > Backup, see Safe copy

The text of the report says what was expected and what happened instead, which set, device or app is involved, and how often the problem occurs: every time, only on some sites, or only after b4 has run for a while.

Recording a trace

A trace holds only the lines of the current log level, so the level goes up first.

1. Under Settings > System > Service, set Log Level to Debug and click Save Changes.
2. On the Logs page, click Start trace.
3. Reproduce the problem, for example open the site that fails.
4. Click Stop & save. The browser downloads the trace file, and Download last trace downloads it again.
5. Set Log Level back to Info.

A trace stops by itself after 15 minutes. The file is described under Recording a trace on the Logs page.

When the web interface does not open

Over SSH, the installer prints the system, the installed version and the state of the kernel modules, see Diagnostics:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DanielLavrushin/b4/main/install.sh | sh -s -- --sysinfo

With file logging on, errors.log in the log directory, /var/log/b4 by default, keeps b4's errors and start-up warnings. Router platforms gives the log commands of OpenWrt and MikroTik.

What can be private

Issues on GitHub are public. The items above hold details of the router and the network:

Item	What it holds
System Info	The host name, the addresses and MAC addresses of the interfaces, the firewall rules, and the proxy address of each proxy set. It is not masked.
Log trace	The System Info report, the enabled sets with up to eight of their domains each, and the log lines. The lines name the sites the devices open, with the devices' IP and MAC addresses. A proxy set's proxy address is listed, its login is not.
Set JSON	The set's domains and addresses. For a proxy set, also the proxy's address, username and password.
Safe copy	The sets with their domains and the proxy address of each proxy set, the devices with their names and MAC addresses, the interfaces and the ports. Passwords, tokens, secrets and the host names of the router and of the owner's relays are masked.
Installer output	The host name.

Each item is plain text, and a text editor shows what it holds before it is shared. A name or an address that has to stay private can be replaced with a placeholder, the same one wherever it appears.