The ndk-stack tool allows you to symbolize stack traces from
adb logcat or a
tombstone in /data/tombstones/. It replaces any
address inside a shared library with the corresponding
<source-file>:<line-number> from your source code,
making debugging easier.
For example, it translates something like:
I/DEBUG ( 31): *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** I/DEBUG ( 31): Build fingerprint: 'generic/google_sdk/generic/:2.2/FRF91/43546:eng/test-keys' I/DEBUG ( 31): pid: 351, tid: 351 >>> /data/local/ndk-tests/crasher <<< I/DEBUG ( 31): signal 11 (SIGSEGV), fault addr 0d9f00d8 I/DEBUG ( 31): r0 0000af88 r1 0000a008 r2 baadf00d r3 0d9f00d8 I/DEBUG ( 31): r4 00000004 r5 0000a008 r6 0000af88 r7 00013c44 I/DEBUG ( 31): r8 00000000 r9 00000000 10 00000000 fp 00000000 I/DEBUG ( 31): ip 0000959c sp be956cc8 lr 00008403 pc 0000841e cpsr 60000030 I/DEBUG ( 31): #00 pc 0000841e /data/local/ndk-tests/crasher I/DEBUG ( 31): #01 pc 000083fe /data/local/ndk-tests/crasher I/DEBUG ( 31): #02 pc 000083f6 /data/local/ndk-tests/crasher I/DEBUG ( 31): #03 pc 000191ac /system/lib/libc.so I/DEBUG ( 31): #04 pc 000083ea /data/local/ndk-tests/crasher I/DEBUG ( 31): #05 pc 00008458 /data/local/ndk-tests/crasher I/DEBUG ( 31): #06 pc 0000d362 /system/lib/libc.so I/DEBUG ( 31):
into the more readable:
********** Crash dump: ********** Build fingerprint: 'generic/google_sdk/generic/:2.2/FRF91/43546:eng/test-keys' pid: 351, tid: 351 >>> /data/local/ndk-tests/crasher <<< signal 11 (SIGSEGV), fault addr 0d9f00d8 Stack frame #00 pc 0000841e /data/local/ndk-tests/crasher : Routine zoo in /tmp/foo/crasher/jni/zoo.c:13 Stack frame #01 pc 000083fe /data/local/ndk-tests/crasher : Routine bar in /tmp/foo/crasher/jni/bar.c:5 Stack frame #02 pc 000083f6 /data/local/ndk-tests/crasher : Routine my_comparison in /tmp/foo/crasher/jni/foo.c:9 Stack frame #03 pc 000191ac /system/lib/libc.so Stack frame #04 pc 000083ea /data/local/ndk-tests/crasher : Routine foo in /tmp/foo/crasher/jni/foo.c:14 Stack frame #05 pc 00008458 /data/local/ndk-tests/crasher : Routine main in /tmp/foo/crasher/jni/main.c:19 Stack frame #06 pc 0000d362 /system/lib/libc.so
Usage
To use ndk-stack, you first need a directory containing unstripped versions of
your app's shared libraries. If you use ndk-build, these unstripped shared
libraries are found in $PROJECT_PATH/obj/local/<abi>, where <abi> is your
device's ABI.
For an Android Gradle Plugin (AGP) build, the unstripped libraries will be in
<project-path>/build/intermediates/cxx/<build-type>/<hash>/obj/<abi>, where
<project-path> is the directory of the AGP project that contains the module
you're trying to symbolize (by default this is app), <build-type> is the
name of the CMake or ndk-build build type (such as RelWithDebInfo, Release,
Debug, etc.), <hash> is arbitrary, and <abi> is your device's ABI.
There are two ways to use the tool. You can feed the logcat text as direct input to the program. For example:
adb logcat | $NDK/ndk-stack -sym $PROJECT_PATH/obj/local/armeabi-v7a
You can also use the -dump option to specify the logcat as an input file. For example:
adb logcat > /tmp/foo.txt $NDK/ndk-stack -sym $PROJECT_PATH/obj/local/armeabi-v7a -dump foo.txt
When it begins parsing the logcat output, the tool looks for an initial line of asterisks. For example:
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Note: When copy/pasting traces, don't forget this line, or
ndk-stack won't work correctly.
More information
Google Play uses ndk-stack to symbolize stack traces for native
apps in the Google Play Console. For information on how to enable this for your
app in a production environment, see how to
include a native debug symbols file
for your app in the Google Play Console.