Chapter 3 Issue Tracking

Base R uses Bugzilla for issue tracking and reporting bugs.

3.1 How to contribute to issue tracking?

Contributors can support issue tracking in R by

  1. Reporting bugs or making feature requests (bug reports filed under the “Wishlist” component in Bugzilla),

  2. Reviewing bug reports to help close reports where no fix is needed or to help narrow down the problem and identify what needs to be fixed, or

  3. Proposing changes to code or documentation that will close an issue.

3.2 How to get a Bugzilla account?

Anyone can browse the bug reports on Bugzilla, but you will need an account to file a bug report, to comment on an existing bug report, or to submit a proposed fix in the form of patch file.

To get a Bugzilla account send an e-mail to bug-report-request@r-project.org from the address you want to use as your Bugzilla login. Briefly explain why you want a Bugzilla account and a volunteer will add you to R’s Bugzilla members. After having successfully logged in to Bugzilla, you are good to go.

3.2.1 Navigating Bugzilla

An image of the existing home page of Bugzilla is shared below:

Screenshot of the existing home page of Bugzilla.

On the home page of Bugzilla, there are various buttons and links. There are four square buttons called as:

Screenshot of the four square buttons on the home page of Bugzilla.

  1. File a bug: You will have to log in to Bugzilla to file a bug using this button

  2. Search: When you click this button you will get a page with ‘Simple Search’ and ‘Advanced Search’ options. Either of the search options could be used depending on what you are looking for.

  3. Log In: Provide the appropriate email address and password here to log in to Bugzilla.

  4. Documentation: Provides a user guide for R's Bugzilla.

Several useful shortcuts are available from the landing page:

  1. Enter a new bug report

  2. Show open bugs new-to-old

  3. Search existing bug reports

A quick search bar is available on the home page where you can enter a bug number to search or some search terms.

Screenshot of the quick search bar on the home page of Bugzilla.

There is also a section for Common Queries on the home page which includes links to bugs reported and changed in the last 24 hours and last 7 days.

Screenshot of the Common Queries section on the home page of Bugzilla.