1526475 - Add file logging to the updater

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Toolkit :: Application Update, enhancement)

Description

[Robin Steuber (they/them) [:bytesized]]

Prior to changing around the way the updater works, we would like to make it easier to get information from our users if they are having trouble with updates. These are the steps that we would like to be able to give users to walk them through retrieving troubleshooting data for us:

1. User navigates to about:config
2. User searches for pref app.update.log.file and sets it to true.
3. User attempts to update
4. User navigates to about:support
5. User finds the row labeled "Profile Folder" and clicks "Open Folder"
6. User locates a file named "update_messages.log"
7. User uploads the file to Bugzilla

There is one caveat in the implementation here. We do not want this pref to get left on and generate logs that eventually grow too large. To prevent this, the pref's effects will only last for a single Firefox session.

I'm planning to implement this in the following way: When Firefox starts, the UpdateStub checks if app.update.log.file == true. If it does, it moves "update_messages.log" to "update_messages_old.log" and sets app.update.log.file = false.

Comment 1

[Robin Steuber (they/them) [:bytesized]]

Attachment: Bug 1526475 - Add file logging to the updater r=rstrong

File logging can be turned on by setting app.update.log.file=true. It will log update messages that would normally go to the browser console (assuming app.update.log==true) to a file in the user profile directory called "update_messages.log". File logging will last for a single Firefox session only before it automatically disables itself.

The goal of this is to make it easier to get troubleshooting/debugging information from users that might complain of update problems. This will be especially important when upcoming changes are made to the update mechanism.

Comment 2

[Pulsebot]

Pushed by [e-mail]:
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/autoland/rev/d75868102cea
Add file logging to the updater r=rstrong

Comment 3

[Daniel Varga [:dvarga]]

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/d75868102cea