Report Bugs

Before you file a new bug report …

• Please make sure you can reproduce the bug and identify the necessary steps to trigger it.
  Ideally use a new blank file (which may be useful later, as a test file) and also try to reproduce after resetting Inkscape preferences (info here). This confirms for you that the problem is what you think it is and is unrelated to any specific program settings.  If you can't reproduce it for yourself, please wait until you can isolate the problem, before you report it.

  Occasionally bugs which are occurring only in a specific file (but not a new blank file) will be interesting to developers.  But if you are a beginner, please discuss the problem with more advanced users (either in a forum, IRC, or on the mailing list), before creating a  new bug report.  Beginners may wish to discuss any potential bug with other users, before reporting it.  More below.

• Search the bug tracker on GitLab . Try your best to make sure the issue has not already been reported before making a new report.
  
  Also check the 'closed' category, as closing may mean one of three things:
  1. the bug has been resolved;
  2. the bug has been confirmed and moved to the developers' bug tracker, but it is not resolved yet;
  3. the bug was a duplicate, or not a bug, or invalid in some other way.
  
  If a report already exists, add a new comment to the existing report with any new or potentially helpful information you can contribute. If you have nothing new to add, but want to indicate that a fix for a bug is important to you, up-vote it, using the little vote icons right below the description. (Avoid "me too!" comments, because they will make it harder to find the technical information for a developer).
  
  If you happen to find related reports, which might help developers to fix the bug, you'll also help us immensely by linking them. If you end up filing a new report make sure to clarify how your issue differs from existing reports, though.

Every bug report must contain the following information

• A precise description of the problem (i.e. concise and accurate but include as many details as possible), in English, including:

  • Step-by-step instructions that dependably reproduce the issue.
  • Actual program behavior
  • Expected program behavior
  If you want to learn how to write a "good" bug report that is most helpful to developers see the very insightful essay on "How to Report Bugs Effectively" by Simon Tatham (creator of PuTTY).

• Information about your Inkscape installation and your operating system, which you can copy to your clipboard by clicking on the little 'bug' icon in the bottom right corner of the Help > About Inkscape dialog, and then paste (Ctrl + V or Cmd + V)  into the issue form at the correct place. If you happen to know, please also mention any versions that did not have the problem.

Bug reports should optionally include the following, if there's a chance it will help developers to understand the problem better

• a test SVG file which contains everything needed to demonstrate the problem but nothing else (minimal example / testcase)

• the same file in another format, in case the problem is related to opening, saving as, importing, or exporting to/from or in/as another format besides SVG

• screenshots, videos, or animations showing what the problem looks like, in case a test file is either not appropriate, or not sufficient alone, to demonstrate the problem...or maybe 'before and after' screenshots, for example

• the language of the Inkscape user interface and the operating system (especially if the report is related to translations, special characters in documents and filenames, etc.)

• the method of installation and the precise version of the installer if the problem is related to installing, updating and/or running Inkscape

Why is all this information important?

Because developers must be able to reproduce a problem before they can begin to fix it.  In Inkscape, bugs can be specific to certain versions or certain operating systems (as well as certain combinations of those) or occasionally certain languages.  While a test file is not strictly required, or not always appropriate or needed, anything which bug reporters can do, to make it easy for developers will help.

All Inkscape developers are volunteers.  They work on Inkscape in their spare time, after their workday, playtime, family time, and personal time.  Everything bug reporters can do to make it easy and save them time, will increase the likelihood that the bug will be fixed.

Other bug reporters' responsibilities

• Remain available to respond to developers requests about your report.
  You'll receive email notification whenever someone posts a comment, or simply changes some category or ranking or rating about the bug report.  You may be asked to clarify something, or to provide other files, images or documentation.  Please remember that everything you can do to help developers, will increase the likelihood of a successful fix.

• Be patient and remain positive.
  When you report a bug, you are doing so because you want the bug fixed. We want the same! As Inkscape is developed by volunteers in their spare time it might take a while  before somebody gets to your report, though (anywhere between hours and years). In any case try to be as kind and as helpful as possible (even at times when the developers might seem a bit dull from your perspective ;-) ) as people will usually be more motivated to work on the bug and the problem will get fixed faster.

Make the bug report, or request new features

Please report any new bugs you find in current Inkscape versions to the

Gitlab Bug Tracker for Inkscape.

Note: You need to register a user account on GitLab to be able to post a comment or create a new issue there. If you encounter difficulties (in some cases, when GitLab believes you might be a malevolent actor, it may require credit card information and/or a phone number. You do not need to give that information to GitLab. Instead, you can open a ticket with them.)

If you're a new or less experienced Inkscape user, it is probably a good idea to ask our community about the problem you're having first, to discuss it more directly.  Often our volunteers will be able to tell you if it's a known bug, or a bug at all. If it is a known bug, you can look it up in the bug tracker, and learn more about it. Or perhaps by discussing it, you might learn a workaround.

New features, or wish list items may also submitted via the bug tracker system. Although again, if you are a new Inkscape user, you may want to discuss your idea with the community first, to gain some understanding of how it may fit into the developers' vision for Inkscape, before you file your report/request.

Watch YouTube video about how to report a bug with Inkscape