As part of preparing for macOS High Sierra, I need to file bug reports to report problems that I’m finding with the beta releases. As part of this, I’ve started using a tool named Brisk. It helps streamline the process by filing bug reports via a native app on my Mac, rather than having to go through this process:
- Open a web browser.
- Go through the process of signing into bugreport.apple.com
- File a bug report Apple’s bug reporting web interface
Brisk also makes it easy to cross-post the submission of a bug report to OpenRadar. Since bugreport.apple.com is not publicly searchable and only allows developers to see their own bugs, OpenRadar is a way for developers to share their own bug reports and keep both themselves and their colleagues up-to-date on the status of various bugs filed with Apple. For more details, see below the jump.
To get started with Brisk:
1. Download a copy of the Brisk drag-and-drop application from the GitHub release page and copy it somewhere convenient.
2. Launch Brisk. You should see a new icon appear in your menubar.
3. You should be prompted to enter an Apple ID. Enter the Apple ID username and password that you normally use to sign into bugreport.apple.com
4. Select New Radar
5. A window will open with the appropriate bug report fields.
6. Enter your bug report. Once complete, click the Submit button.
7. Brisk will file the bug report with bugreport.apple.com.
You may also want to make application settings adjustments in the General section of Preferences, or register an OpenRadar account, but that’s up to you.
If an OpenRadar account is registered, a copy of your bug report will be submitted to bugreport.apple.com and automatically cross-posted to OpenRadar.
Among Brisk’s features is the ability to file a duplicate bug report. For folks not familiar with how Apple’s bug reporting works, the idea of deliberately filing a bug report that duplicates someone else’s bug report may seem redundant. It’s reporting the same problem, right? Doesn’t Apple already have that information?
Yes, they do but Apple also uses duplicate bug reports as a way to judge how many folks are impacted by a particular issue and can use that information when deciding the best way to assign resources to fixing a problem. A million people reporting a particular problem via duplicate bug reports gives Apple information about that problem’s scope that they wouldn’t necessarily have if they just had one person reporting the problem. A duplicate bug report may also include new information about the problem which wasn’t captured in the initial bug report.
To help streamline the process of duplicating an already-submitted bug, Brisk includes the Duplicate Radar function. This function works with OpenRadar to download the original bug report’s contents from OpenRadar and create a copy of the bug report in Brisk.
To submit a duplicate bug report:
1. Click on the menubar icon and select Duplicate Radar
2. A Duplicate Radar dialog window will appear
3. Enter the ID number of the bug report that you want to duplicate.
4. A new window will open with the contents of the original bug report.
Note: In some cases, all of the original bug report’s information may appear in the Description: field. Cut and paste into the different fields as appropriate.
5. If desired, add additional information. Once complete, click the Submit button.
6. Brisk will file the duplicate bug report with bugreport.apple.com and (if applicable) with OpenRadar.
