Customizing error reports

In order to quickly reproduce and fix errors, it is often helpful to send additional application-specific diagnostic data to your BugSnag dashboard to provide a rich context that is also available for searching and filtering.

You can also amend the events captured by BugSnag to adjust the information shown on the dashboard and even choose not to send the event at all.

This documentation is for version 5+ of the BugSnag Android notifier. If you are using older versions, we recommend upgrading to the latest release using our Upgrade guide. Documentation for the previous release can be found on our legacy pages.

Updating events using callbacks

If you’d like to add diagnostic data to reports, or adjust event data conditionally, you can use an OnErrorCallback, which will be run immediately after an error is captured or reported:

Configuration config = Configuration.load(this);
config.addOnError(new OnErrorCallback() {
    @Override
    public boolean onError(Event event) {
        event.addMetadata("account", "name", "Acme Co.");
        event.addMetadata("account", "paying_customer", true);

        // Return `false` if you'd like to stop this error being reported
        return true;
    }
});
Bugsnag.start(this, config);
Bugsnag.start(this, Configuration.load(this).apply {
  addOnError(OnErrorCallback { event ->
    event.addMetadata("account", "name", "Acme Co.")
    event.addMetadata("account", "paying_customer", true)

    // Return `false` if you'd like to stop this error being reported
    true
  })
})

The callback gives you access to the Event object, so you can inspect and modify the error event which is about to be sent to BugSnag.

OnErrorCallbacks set in Java/Kotlin are executed for handled errors sent from native C/C++ code, but they will not be triggered for native crashes as the system terminates immediately in that case.

See the expandable sections immediately below for details on how to add a delivery time callback function that will be run for all errors, and for details on how to add a C/C++ callback function for unhandled native errors only.

Delivery time callbacks

You can use an OnSendCallback to modify or discard error events where callbacks cannot be invoked at the time of the error:

Configuration config = Configuration.load(this);
config.addOnSend(new OnSendCallback() {
    @Override
    public boolean onSend(Event event) {
        event.addMetadata("account", "name", "Acme Co.");
        event.addMetadata("account", "paying_customer", true);

        // Return `false` if you'd like to stop this error being reported
        return true;
    }
});
Bugsnag.start(this, config);
Bugsnag.start(this, Configuration.load(this).apply {
  addOnSend(OnSendCallback { event ->
    event.addMetadata("account", "name", "Acme Co.")
    event.addMetadata("account", "paying_customer", true)

    // Return `false` if you'd like to stop this error being reported
    true
  })
})

For native crashes or errors that occur when the app is offline, the error will usually be sent when the app next launches. To avoid misleading error reports, avoid using this callback to attach transient information.

Changing an event’s isUnhandled property in an OnSendCallback will not affect the unhandled event count against the session and therefore will not have the expected impact on stability. An OnErrorCallback should be used instead when changing the isUnhandled property.

Callbacks for native crashes

Due to the limitations on the code that can be run when handling a crash signal on the NDK layer, unhandled events from the NDK layer are always serialised to disk and sent when the app next launches.

In order to register a callback that executes at the time of the crash, use the bugsnag_add_on_error method to pass in a callback function:

bool custom_on_error_callback(void *event) {
    bugsnag_event_add_metadata_string(event, "account", "name", "Acme Co.");
    bugsnag_event_add_metadata_bool(event, "account", "paying_customer", true);

    // Return `false` if you'd like to stop this error being reported
    return true;
}
bugsnag_add_on_error(&custom_on_error_callback);

Care must be taken to ensure that the callback function provided is async-signal safe. The code will be executed in an asynchronous signal handler and so must not call any functions that are not Async-Signal-Safe. Further information can be found here.

Most of the fields in the Event class in the JVM are available in this callback using a set of functions (see event.h) that take the event pointer argument and either return data from the event or allow you to set it. Examples are given alongside the Event class field below.

Adding and removing callbacks

We recommend adding callbacks through the addOnError configuration option to ensure that it is registered as soon as BugSnag starts. However, the following methods are provided to allow callbacks to be added and removed whilst the application is running:

OnErrorCallback cb = new OnErrorCallback() { /* ... */ };
Bugsnag.addOnError(cb);
// ...
Bugsnag.removeOnError(cb);
val cb = OnErrorCallback { /* ... */ }
Bugsnag.addOnError(cb)
// ...
Bugsnag.removeOnError(cb)
bugsnag_add_on_error(&custom_on_error_callback);
bugsnag_remove_on_error();

Discarding events

If you want to prevent an event from being sent to BugSnag, you can return false within an onError. This would allow for users to opt out of sending error reports, for example:

Configuration config = Configuration.load(this);
config.addOnError(new OnErrorCallback() {
    @Override
    public boolean onError(Event event) {
        return !userHasOptedOut();
    }
});
Bugsnag.start(this, config);
val config = Configuration.load(this)
config.addOnError(OnErrorCallback { event ->
    !userHasOptedOut()
}
Bugsnag.start(this, config)
bool custom_on_error_callback(void *event) {
    return !userHasOptedOut();
}
bugsnag_add_on_error(&custom_on_error_callback);

Global metadata

If you have metadata that is applicable to all captured events, it can be set globally on the Bugsnag client and will be set on all subsequently generated events. To ensure that events contain metadata as soon as BugSnag starts capturing events, use the addMetadata functions on the Configuration class.

Data is added to a specified “section”, which is displayed as a tab in the BugSnag dashboard, and can either be added individually or as a map of key-value pairs:

Configuration config = Configuration.load(this);
config.addMetadata("account", "name", "Acme Co.");
config.addMetadata("basket", new HashMap<String, Object>() {{
  put("delivery", "express");
  put("sale", "spring");
}});
Bugsnag.start(this, config);
Bugsnag.start(this, Configuration.load(this).apply {
  addMetadata("account", "name", "Acme Co.")
  addMetadata("basket", hashMapOf(
    "delivery" to "express",
    "sale" to "spring"
  ))
})
// There is no equivalent operation for adding global metadata in C/C++.
// Metadata can be added through the on_error callback for each event or
// added to the `Bugsnag` client.

Metadata can also be managed whilst your application is running using addMetadata and clearMetadata on the Bugsnag client:

Bugsnag.addMetadata("account", "name", "Acme Co.");
// ...
Bugsnag.clearMetadata("account");
Bugsnag.addMetadata("account", "name", "Acme Co.")
// ...
Bugsnag.clearMetadata("account");
// There is no equivalent operation for adding global metadata in C/C++.
// Metadata can be added through the on_error callback for each event or
// added to the `Bugsnag` client.

For NDK errors, the event metadata and the metadata on each breadcrumb will be restricted to 128 entries and 63-character keys. Any additional data will be truncated.

Adding user data

Information about the user affected by errors can be added to events sent to your BugSnag dashboard by setting an initial user ID, email and name in Configuration when BugSnag starts:

Configuration config = Configuration.load(this);
config.setUser("3", "bugs.nag@bugsnag.com", "Bugs Nag");
Bugsnag.start(this, config);
Bugsnag.start(this, Configuration.load(this).apply {
  setUser("3", "bugs.nag@bugsnag.com", "Bugs Nag")
})

When the persistUser configuration option is set to true, this user information will also be set in subsequent application launches.

If the user changes whilst the application is running, for example if a user signs in, you can update the user data on the BugSnag client for all subsequent events:

Bugsnag.setUser("3", "bugs.nag@bugsnag.com", "Bugs Nag");
Bugsnag.setUser("3", "bugs.nag@bugsnag.com", "Bugs Nag")
bugsnag_set_user_env(env, "3", "bugs.nag@bugsnag.com", "Bugs Nag");

Alternatively, you can set the user for each event through an OnErrorCallback:

Configuration config = Configuration.load(this);
config.addOnError(new OnErrorCallback() {
    @Override
    public boolean onError(Event event) {
        event.setUser("3", "bugs.nag@bugsnag.com", "Bugs Nag");
        return true;
    }
});
Bugsnag.start(this, config);
val config = Configuration.load(this)
config.addOnError(OnErrorCallback { event ->
    event.setUser("3", "bugs.nag@bugsnag.com", "Bugs Nag")
    true
}
Bugsnag.start(this, config)
bool custom_on_error_callback(void *event) {
    bugsnag_event_set_user(event, "3", "bugs.nag@bugsnag.com", "Bugs Nag")
    return true;
}
bugsnag_add_on_error(&custom_on_error_callback);

You can use metadata to add additional user information to the “user” section.

Setting context

BugSnag uses the concept of “contexts” to help display and group your errors. The context represents what was happening in your application at the time an error occurs and is given high visual prominence in the dashboard.

By default this is set this to the foreground Activity. If you would like to set this value manually, you can set an initial value in Configuration when BugSnag starts:

Configuration config = Configuration.load(this);
config.setContext("InitialTutorialStep");
Bugsnag.start(this, config);
Bugsnag.start(this, Configuration.load(this).apply {
  context = "InitialTutorialStep"
})

The context can then be amended on the Bugsnag client as/when it changes for all subsequent events:

Bugsnag.setContext("SecondTutorialStep");
Bugsnag.setContext("SecondTutorialStep")
// There is no equivalent operation for adding global context in C/C++.
// Context can be added through the on_error callback for each event or
// added to the `Bugsnag` client.

Context added to the Bugsnag client is synchronized with the NDK layer and so will also appear in native crash reports.

Alternatively, the context can be amended for each event using an OnErrorCallback:

Configuration config = Configuration.load(this);
config.addOnError(new OnErrorCallback() {
    @Override
    public boolean onError(Event event) {
        event.setContext("SecondTutorialStep");
        return true;
    }
});
Bugsnag.start(this, config);
val config = Configuration.load(this)
config.addOnError(OnErrorCallback { event ->
    event.context = "SecondTutorialStep"
    true
}
Bugsnag.start(this, config)
bool custom_on_error_callback(void *event) {
    bugsnag_event_set_context(event, "SecondTutorialStep");
    return true;
}
bugsnag_add_on_error(&custom_on_error_callback);

The Event class

An Event object represents an error captured by BugSnag and is available as a parameter on an OnErrorCallback. The following properties and methods are available on an Event for you to query and update the captured data — see the Javadoc for full documentation.

Unhandled events from the NDK layer can also access and amend event data via an on_error callback. The methods available to access and change this data are shown below and see the event.h for a full listing.

addFeatureFlag

Declare a single feature flag or experiment with variant as an optional second parameter.

event.addFeatureFlag("Checkout button color", "Blue");
event.addFeatureFlag("New checkout flow");
event.addFeatureFlag("Checkout button color", "Blue")
event.addFeatureFlag("New checkout flow")
// There is no equivalent operation in C/C++

For more information, see Feature flags & experiments.

addFeatureFlags

Declare multiple feature flags or experiments.

event.addFeatureFlags(Arrays.asList(
  new FeatureFlag("Checkout button color", "Blue"),
  new FeatureFlag("Special offer", "Free Coffee"),
  new FeatureFlag("New checkout flow")
));
event.addFeatureFlags(listOf(
  FeatureFlag("Checkout button color", "Blue"),
  FeatureFlag("Special offer", "Free Coffee"),
  FeatureFlag("New checkout flow")
))
// There is no equivalent operation in C/C++

For more information, see Feature flags & experiments.

addMetadata

Adds the specified key and value in the specified section, which is shown as a tab on the BugSnag dashboard.

Data can be added key-by-key with a value that is a primitive type or a collection such as a map, set or array:

event.addMetadata("account", "name", "Acme Co.");
event.addMetadata("account", "paying_customer", true);
event.addMetadata("account", "roles", new HashSet<String>() {{
  add("basic");
  add("admin");
}});
event.addMetadata("account", "name", "Acme Co.")
event.addMetadata("account", "paying_customer", true)
event.addMetadata("account", "roles", setOf("basic", "admin"))
bugsnag_event_add_metadata_string(event, "account", "name", "Acme Co.");

Alternatively a whole map of key-value pairs can be added for a section:

event.addMetadata("basket", new HashMap<String, Object>() {{
  put("delivery", "express");
  put("sale", "spring");
}});
event.addMetadata("basket", mapOf(
  "delivery" to "express",
  "sale" to "spring"
))
// There is no equivalent operation in C/C++

Metadata set on the event will be combined with global metadata set on the Bugsnag client, with properties on the Event taking precedence.

For NDK errors, the event metadata and the metadata on each breadcrumb will be restricted to 128 entries and 63-character keys. Any additional data will be truncated.

apiKey

The API key used for events sent to BugSnag. Even though the API key is set when BugSnag is initialized, you may choose to send certain events to a different BugSnag project:

String apiKey = event.getApiKey();
var apiKey = event.apiKey
// There is no equivalent operation in C/C++

app

Information set by the notifier about your app can be found in the app object:

property type description
binaryArch String The architecture of the running application binary
buildUuid String The unique identifier for the build of the application set in Configuration
codeBundleId String The revision ID from the manifest (React Native apps only)
duration Number The number of milliseconds the application was running before the event occurred
durationInForeground Number The number of milliseconds the application was running in the foreground before the event occurred
id String The package name of the application
inForeground Boolean Whether the application was in the foreground when the event occurred
isLaunching Boolean Whether the application was still launching when the event occurred
releaseStage String The release stage set in Configuration
type String The application type set in Configuration
version String The version of the application set in Configuration
versionCode Number The version code of the application set in Configuration

These values can be accessed and amended if necessary:

event.getApp().setBuildUuid(getBuildNumber());
event.app.buildUuid = getBuildNumber()
bugsnag_app_set_build_uuid(event, getBuildNumber());

A list of breadcrumbs leading up to the event can be found in event.breadcrumbs. See the Breadcrumb class for details of the data available.

These values can be accessed and amended if necessary:

event.getBreadcrumbs().get(0).setMessage("Left home screen");
event.breadcrumbs[0].message = "Left home screen";
// There is no equivalent operation in C/C++

clearFeatureFlag

Remove a single feature flag or experiment.

event.clearFeatureFlag("Checkout button color");
event.clearFeatureFlag("Checkout button color")
// There is no equivalent operation in C/C++

For more information, see Feature flags & experiments.

clearFeatureFlags

Remove all feature flags and experiments.

event.clearFeatureFlags();
event.clearFeatureFlags()
// There is no equivalent operation in C/C++

For more information, see Feature flags & experiments.

clearMetadata

Removes all the data from the specified section or from a key in the section:

event.clearMetadata("account");
// or
event.clearMetadata("account", "name");
event.clearMetadata("account")
// or
event.clearMetadata("account", "name")
bugsnag_event_clear_metadata(event, "account", "name");
// or
bugsnag_event_clear_metadata_section(event, "account");

context

The context represents what was happening in your application at the time an error occurs.

event.setContext("User settings");
event.context = "User settings"
bugsnag_event_set_context(event, "User settings");

See Setting context for more information.

device

Information set by the notifier about the device on which the event occurred can be found in event.device:

property type description
cpuAbi String[] The Application Binary Interface used
freeDisk Number The number of free bytes of storage available on the device
freeMemory Number The available RAM on the device (in bytes)
id String A UUID generated by BugSnag and used for the individual application on a device
jailbroken String Whether the device has been jailbroken
locale String The IETF language tag of the locale used
manufacturer String The manufacturer of the device used
model String The model name of the device used
orientation String The orientation of the device when the event occurred: either portrait or landscape
osName String The name of the operating system running on the device used
osVersion String The version of the operating system running on the device used
runtimeVersions Map A collection of names and their versions of the primary languages, frameworks or runtimes that the application is running on
time String The timestamp on the device when the event occurred
totalMemory Number The total RAM size of the device (in bytes)

These values can be accessed and amended if necessary:

event.getDevice().setLocale("de-DE");
event.device.locale = "de-DE"
bugsnag_device_set_locale(event, "de-DE");

errors

event.errors is an array of one or more Error objects. The first item in the list represents the thrown object. Each subsequent item represents the exception that caused the preceding one.

A reference to the actual Throwable object that caused the event is available through event.originalError.

An Error object contains the following information:

property type description
errorClass String The fully-qualified class name of the Throwable
errorMessage String The message string from the Throwable
stacktrace List<Stackframe> A representation of the stacktrace
type Error.Type The type of error based on the originating platform
event.getErrors().get(0).setErrorClass("MyError");
event.errors[0].errorClass = "MyError"
bugsnag_error_set_error_class(event, "MyError");

In an Error object, the stacktrace is a list of the following Stackframe objects:

property type description
file String The location of the source file
inProject Boolean Whether the package is considered to be in your project for the purposes of grouping and readability on the BugSnag dashboard. Project package names can be set in Configuration.
lineNumber Number The line number within the source file this stackframe refers to
method String The name of the method that was being executed

It is therefore possible to modify the stacktrace that is associated with the Event object in the following way:

for (Stackframe frame : event.getErrors().get(0).getStacktrace()) {
    // Your code here: e.g. frame.setInProject(true)
}
for (frame in event.errors[0].stacktrace) {
    // Your code here: e.g. frame.inProject = true
}
for (int i = 0; i < bugsnag_event_get_stacktrace_size(event); i++) {
    bugsnag_stackframe *frame = bugsnag_event_get_stackframe(event, i);
    // Your code here: e.g. frame->line_number -= 1;
}

getFeatureFlags

Returns a list of feature flags active at the time of the event.

List<FeatureFlag> features = event.getFeatureFlags();
val features = event.getFeatureFlags()
// There is no equivalent operation in C/C++

For more information, see Feature flags & experiments.

getMetadata

Returns a map of data in the specified section and optionally key:

Map<String, Object> metadata = event.getMetadata("account");
// or
String accountName = (String) event.getMetadata("account", "name");
val metadata = event.getMetadata("account")
// or
val accountName: String? = event.getMetadata("account", "name") as? String
char *account_name = bugsnag_event_get_metadata_string(event, "account", "name");

getUser

Returns the current user information.

String userId = event.getUser().getId();
String userEmail = event.getUser().getEmail();
String userName = event.getUser().getName();
val userId = event.getUser().id
val userEmail = event.getUser().email
val userName = event.getUser().name
char *userId = bugsnag_event_get_user(event).id;
char *userEmail = bugsnag_event_get_user(event).email;
char *userName = bugsnag_event_get_user(event).name;

groupingHash

The grouping hash of the event to override the default grouping on the dashboard. All events with the same grouping hash will be grouped together into one error. This is an advanced usage of the library and mis-using it will cause your events not to group properly in your dashboard.

As the name implies, this option accepts a hash of sorts.

// ... generate the hash
String groupingHash = "f8803769f3e293dfcabdb6dec5100b8c52c6ae6b";
event.setGroupingHash(groupingHash);
// ... generate the hash
val groupingHash = "f8803769f3e293dfcabdb6dec5100b8c52c6ae6b"
event.groupingHash = groupingHash
// ... generate the hash
char *groupingHash = "f8803769f3e293dfcabdb6dec5100b8c52c6ae6b";
bugsnag_event_set_grouping_hash(event, groupingHash);

isUnhandled

By default this is true if the event was automatically detected by BugSnag and false if it was reported manually via Bugsnag.notify. See our product pages for more information on handled vs unhandled events.

event.setUnhandled(false);
event.isUnhandled = false
bugsnag_event_set_unhandled(event, false);

Changing the unhandled flag for an event will affect how it contributes to your application’s stability score.

originalError

The Throwable object that caused the event in your application.

Manipulating event.originalError does not affect the error information reported to the BugSnag dashboard. Use event.errors to access and amend the representation of the error that will be sent.

if (event.getOriginalError() instanceof CustomApplicationException) // ...
if (event.originalError is CustomApplicationException) // ...
// There is no equivalent operation in C/C++

setUser

Sets the current user information.

event.setUser("3", "bugs.nag@bugsnag.com", "Bugs Nag");
event.setUser("3", "bugs.nag@bugsnag.com", "Bugs Nag")
bugsnag_event_set_user(event, "3", "bugs.nag@bugsnag.com", "Bugs Nag");

null can be used as a parameter value to clear the user attribute.

severity

The severity of the event. By default, unhandled exceptions will be Severity.ERROR and handled exceptions sent with Bugsnag.notify will be Severity.WARNING.

event.setSeverity(Severity.WARNING);
event.severity = Severity.WARNING
bugsnag_event_set_severity(event, BSG_SEVERITY_ERR);

threads

If thread state is being captured along with the event, event.threads will contain a list of Thread objects as follows:

property type description
id String The unique ID of the thread (from java.lang.Thread)
isErrorReportingThread Boolean Whether the thread was the thread that caused the event
name String The name of the thread (from java.lang.Thread)
stacktrace List<Stackframe> A representation of the stacktrace when the event occurred
state Thread.State The state of the thread when the event occurred
type ErrorType The type of thread based on the originating platform
event.getThreads().get(0).setName("New name");
event.threads[0].name = "New name"
// There is no equivalent operation in C/C++

id and type changed types in v6.x of the SDK. In v5 they were int and ThreadType respectively.