# Reporting Issues

To get timely assistance with your issues please carefully consider this guide.

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### Figure out the steps to reproduce the bug

- If you have precise steps to reproduce you are on your way to reporting a useful bug report.
- If you can reproduce occasionally, but not after following specific steps, you must provide as much additional information as possible.
- If you can't reproduce the problem, *there is probably no use in reporting it*, unless you have unique information about its occurrence.

### Make sure Oxide, your plugins, and other extensions are up to date

Ideally, test on the latest Oxide and plugin releases. Your bug may already be fixed.

### When reporting a bug, first check if other users report the same bug

- If the bug only happens in your existing setup, try to figure out what settings, extensions, or files are needed to reproduce the bug.
- If the bug seems egregious (obviously affecting a lot of users), there is probably something unusual happening, perhaps related to a recent game update.
- You have a much better chance of figuring it out than a developer without access to your system.  
- Search the [uMod forums](/content/community/search/index.html) or on [DuckDuckGo](https://duckduckgo.com/)

### Seek help from the community or plugin authorship

- To contact the community, please submit your issue by creating a thread in the appropriate forum for the game you are running.
- If the bug relates to a specific plugin, please submit the issue to the plugin author through the support thread for that individual plugin.

## Writing a clear summary

How would you describe the bug using approximately 10 words or less? This is the first part of your bug report the developer will see.

A good summary should quickly and uniquely identify a bug report. It should explain the problem, not your suggested solution.

- Good "Running this command causes the following error message: (with message)"
- Bad "It don't work"
- Good "A player was kicked after doing the following action: (with description)"
- Bad "Your plugin kicked my players"

## Writing precise steps to reproduce

How can a developer reproduce the bug on their own system?

Steps to reproduce are the most important part of any bug report. If a developer is able to reproduce the bug, the bug will very likely be fixed.

If the steps are unclear, it might not even be possible to know whether a bug can be fixed.

## What should you include in a bug report

- Indicate whether you can reproduce the bug *at will*, *occasionally*, or *not at all*.
- Describe your method of interaction in addition to your intent with each step.
- After your steps, precisely describe the observed (actual) result and the expected result. Clearly separate facts (observations) from speculations.
- Good "I can reproduce by doing exactly the following: (explanation)"
- Bad "Your plugin is broken"
- Good "1. Started my server & login. 2. Run the following command /help. 3. Help Text does not appear. (with configuration)"
- Bad "Help doesn't do nothing"
- Good " **Expected result**: The item moved into my inventory. **Actual result**: The item dropped to the ground"
- Bad "Items not working"

## Supported environments

Oxide works on a wide variety of games and platforms. Please include the relevant platforms and games in your report.

1. Game Version (run `version` or comparable command)
2. Oxide Version (run `oxide.version`)
3. Plugin Version (found inside of the plugin file, log file, or with `oxide.show`)
4. Plugin Configuration JSON file (found in `oxide/config` or `umod/config` directory)