1 ================================
2 How to submit an LLVM bug report
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5 Introduction - Got bugs?
6 ========================
9 If you're working with LLVM and run into a bug, we definitely want to know
10 about it. This document describes what you can do to increase the odds of
11 getting it fixed quickly.
13 🔒 If you believe that the bug is security related, please follow :ref:`report-security-issue`. 🔒
15 Basically you have to do two things at a minimum. First, decide whether the
16 bug `crashes the compiler`_ or if the compiler is `miscompiling`_ the program
17 (i.e., the compiler successfully produces an executable, but it doesn't run
18 right). Based on what type of bug it is, follow the instructions in the
19 linked section to narrow down the bug so that the person who fixes it will be
20 able to find the problem more easily.
22 Once you have a reduced test-case, go to `the LLVM Bug Tracking System
23 <https://bugs.llvm.org/enter_bug.cgi>`_ and fill out the form with the
24 necessary details (note that you don't need to pick a category, just use
25 the "new-bugs" category if you're not sure). The bug description should
26 contain the following information:
28 * All information necessary to reproduce the problem.
29 * The reduced test-case that triggers the bug.
30 * The location where you obtained LLVM (if not from our Git
33 Thanks for helping us make LLVM better!
35 .. _crashes the compiler:
40 More often than not, bugs in the compiler cause it to crash---often due to
41 an assertion failure of some sort. The most important piece of the puzzle
42 is to figure out if it is crashing in the Clang front-end or if it is one of
43 the LLVM libraries (e.g. the optimizer or code generator) that has
46 To figure out which component is crashing (the front-end, middle-end
47 optimizer, or backend code generator), run the ``clang`` command line as you
48 were when the crash occurred, but with the following extra command line
51 * ``-emit-llvm -Xclang -disable-llvm-passes``: If ``clang`` still crashes when
52 passed these options (which disable the optimizer and code generator), then
53 the crash is in the front-end. Jump ahead to :ref:`front-end bugs
56 * ``-emit-llvm``: If ``clang`` crashes with this option (which disables
57 the code generator), you found a middle-end optimizer bug. Jump ahead to
58 :ref:`middle-end bugs <middleend-crash>`.
60 * Otherwise, you have a backend code generator crash. Jump ahead to :ref:`code
61 generator bugs <backend-crash>`.
68 On a ``clang`` crash, the compiler will dump a preprocessed file and a script
69 to replay the ``clang`` command. For example, you should see something like
73 PLEASE ATTACH THE FOLLOWING FILES TO THE BUG REPORT:
74 Preprocessed source(s) and associated run script(s) are located at:
75 clang: note: diagnostic msg: /tmp/foo-xxxxxx.c
76 clang: note: diagnostic msg: /tmp/foo-xxxxxx.sh
78 The `creduce <https://github.com/csmith-project/creduce>`_ tool helps to
79 reduce the preprocessed file down to the smallest amount of code that still
80 replicates the problem. You're encouraged to use creduce to reduce the code
81 to make the developers' lives easier. The
82 ``clang/utils/creduce-clang-crash.py`` script can be used on the files
83 that clang dumps to help with automating creating a test to check for the
86 `cvise <https://github.com/marxin/cvise>`_ is an alternative to ``creduce``.
90 Middle-end optimization bugs
91 ----------------------------
93 If you find that a bug crashes in the optimizer, compile your test-case to a
94 ``.bc`` file by passing "``-emit-llvm -O1 -Xclang -disable-llvm-passes -c -o
95 foo.bc``". The ``-O1`` is important because ``-O0`` adds the ``optnone``
96 function attribute to all functions and many passes don't run on ``optnone``
101 opt -O3 foo.bc -disable-output
103 If this doesn't crash, please follow the instructions for a :ref:`front-end
104 bug <frontend-crash>`.
106 If this does crash, then you should be able to debug this with the following
107 :doc:`bugpoint <Bugpoint>` command:
113 Run this, then file a bug with the instructions and reduced .bc
114 files that bugpoint emits.
116 If bugpoint doesn't reproduce the crash, ``llvm-reduce`` is an alternative
117 way to reduce LLVM IR. Create a script that repros the crash and run:
121 llvm-reduce --test=path/to/script foo.bc
123 which should produce reduced IR that reproduces the crash. Be warned the
124 ``llvm-reduce`` is still fairly immature and may crash.
126 If none of the above work, you can get the IR before a crash by running the
127 ``opt`` command with the ``--print-before-all --print-module-scope`` flags to
128 dump the IR before every pass. Be warned that this is very verbose.
132 Backend code generator bugs
133 ---------------------------
135 If you find a bug that crashes clang in the code generator, compile your
136 source file to a .bc file by passing "``-emit-llvm -c -o foo.bc``" to
137 clang (in addition to the options you already pass). Once your have
138 foo.bc, one of the following commands should fail:
141 #. ``llc foo.bc -relocation-model=pic``
142 #. ``llc foo.bc -relocation-model=static``
144 If none of these crash, please follow the instructions for a :ref:`front-end
145 bug<frontend-crash>`. If one of these do crash, you should be able to reduce
146 this with one of the following :doc:`bugpoint <Bugpoint>` command lines (use
147 the one corresponding to the command above that failed):
149 #. ``bugpoint -run-llc foo.bc``
150 #. ``bugpoint -run-llc foo.bc --tool-args -relocation-model=pic``
151 #. ``bugpoint -run-llc foo.bc --tool-args -relocation-model=static``
153 Please run this, then file a bug with the instructions and reduced .bc file
154 that bugpoint emits. If something goes wrong with bugpoint, please submit
155 the "foo.bc" file and the option that llc crashes with.
162 If clang successfully produces an executable, but that executable doesn't run
163 right, this is either a bug in the code or a bug in the compiler. The first
164 thing to check is to make sure it is not using undefined behavior (e.g.
165 reading a variable before it is defined). In particular, check to see if the
166 program is clean under various `sanitizers
167 <https://github.com/google/sanitizers>`_ (e.g. ``clang
168 -fsanitize=undefined,address``) and `valgrind <http://valgrind.org/>`_. Many
169 "LLVM bugs" that we have chased down ended up being bugs in the program being
172 Once you determine that the program itself is not buggy, you should choose
173 which code generator you wish to compile the program with (e.g. LLC or the JIT)
174 and optionally a series of LLVM passes to run. For example:
178 bugpoint -run-llc [... optzn passes ...] file-to-test.bc --args -- [program arguments]
180 bugpoint will try to narrow down your list of passes to the one pass that
181 causes an error, and simplify the bitcode file as much as it can to assist
182 you. It will print a message letting you know how to reproduce the
185 The :doc:`OptBisect <OptBisect>` page shows an alternative method for finding
186 incorrect optimization passes.
188 Incorrect code generation
189 =========================
191 Similarly to debugging incorrect compilation by mis-behaving passes, you
192 can debug incorrect code generation by either LLC or the JIT, using
193 ``bugpoint``. The process ``bugpoint`` follows in this case is to try to
194 narrow the code down to a function that is miscompiled by one or the other
195 method, but since for correctness, the entire program must be run,
196 ``bugpoint`` will compile the code it deems to not be affected with the C
197 Backend, and then link in the shared object it generates.
203 bugpoint -run-jit -output=[correct output file] [bitcode file] \
204 --tool-args -- [arguments to pass to lli] \
205 --args -- [program arguments]
207 Similarly, to debug the LLC, one would run:
211 bugpoint -run-llc -output=[correct output file] [bitcode file] \
212 --tool-args -- [arguments to pass to llc] \
213 --args -- [program arguments]
215 **Special note:** if you are debugging MultiSource or SPEC tests that
216 already exist in the ``llvm/test`` hierarchy, there is an easier way to
217 debug the JIT, LLC, and CBE, using the pre-written Makefile targets, which
218 will pass the program options specified in the Makefiles:
222 cd llvm/test/../../program
225 At the end of a successful ``bugpoint`` run, you will be presented
226 with two bitcode files: a *safe* file which can be compiled with the C
227 backend and the *test* file which either LLC or the JIT
228 mis-codegenerates, and thus causes the error.
230 To reproduce the error that ``bugpoint`` found, it is sufficient to do
233 #. Regenerate the shared object from the safe bitcode file:
237 llc -march=c safe.bc -o safe.c
238 gcc -shared safe.c -o safe.so
240 #. If debugging LLC, compile test bitcode native and link with the shared
245 llc test.bc -o test.s
246 gcc test.s safe.so -o test.llc
247 ./test.llc [program options]
249 #. If debugging the JIT, load the shared object and supply the test
254 lli -load=safe.so test.bc [program options]