{"id":436,"date":"2024-06-29T03:49:04","date_gmt":"2024-06-29T03:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/webrtc\/?p=436"},"modified":"2024-07-01T18:03:54","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T18:03:54","slug":"debugging-with-aboutwebrtc-in-firefox-getting-data-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/webrtc\/debugging-with-aboutwebrtc-in-firefox-getting-data-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Debugging with about:webrtc<\/code> in Firefox, Getting Data Out"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Inspecting data in about:webrtc<\/code> during a call can be helpful when diagnosing WebRTC call troubles. Doing so in real time while participating in a call is not always an option. Recent work in about:webrtc<\/code> has made it easy to get data out of Firefox and into your notes, your bug reports, or your service tickets.<\/p>\n

Today, we\u2019ll go over the different information that the about:webrtc<\/code> page holds and how to get it out into your clipboard quickly and effectively.<\/p>\n

What is the about:webrtc<\/code> page<\/h1>\n

Most browsers have about:<\/code> pages that show internal configurations and states. You can navigate to about:<\/code> pages in the address bar to view and configure browser settings, discover advanced information, and more. In Firefox, you can find a list of all about:<\/code> pages at about:about<\/code>.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve made a number of improvements to the about:webrtc<\/code> page where you can see call signaling, network traffic, and connection establishment and incorporate this data into your notes or bug reports. There are four main sections on this page; RTCPeerConnection Statistics, a Connection Log, User-modified WebRTC configs, and Media Context. We\u2019ll look at these elements in more detail in the following sections below.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

RTCPeerConnection statistics<\/h1>\n
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In order to analyze the current state of a call a number of stats are exposed to web developers. As a user, getting access to these stats from within a call can be challenging. For that reason, a live view of this data is also available inside of about:webrtc<\/code>.<\/p>\n

\"AutoBefore elaborating, it is important to note that in about:webrtc<\/code> stats will be continually updated when \u201cAuto-refresh\u201d is selected for the \u201cRTCPeerConnection Statistics\u201d section. Conversely, unchecking this option will freeze the displayed stats. I find it helpful to turn off Auto Refresh during a transient event I wish to inspect.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Copy Report<\/h2>\n
\"\"Pressing the “Copy Report” button within a RTCPeerConnection subsection copies to the clipboard the most recently displayed stats report in JSON format. Instructions for pasting JSON data into a Bugzilla<\/a> bug are provided at the end of the article.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

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RTCPeerConnection statistics subsections<\/h2>\n
\"copyingSometimes, less is more. Perhaps you don\u2019t need an entire stats report, but a sub-class of stats would suffice. Many UI sections let you copy data using a rollover copy button. Most sections are derived from stats reports and work like the \u201cCopy Report\u201d button. It will copy the stats objects from the most recently displayed stats report data to the clipboard in JSON format. Adding this to a bug in a Bugzilla follows the same steps as attaching a full stats report. The SDP section, which is not derived from the stats reports, can also be copied as JSON.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Stats report history<\/h3>\n
\n

\"about:webrtcSometimes more is more. about:webrtc<\/code> stores a rolling window of stats reports which can be copied to the clipboard via the \u201cCopy Report History\u201d button. By default the duration of the history is one minute. This can be useful for inspecting data after the fact from a transient event. The process for adding this data to a Bugzilla bug report is identical to adding a single stats report.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
This rolling window of reports is not persisted when the browser is closed. It can also be cleared by pressing the “Clear History” button in the “RTCPeerConnection Statistics” section heading of about:webrtc<\/code> and then refreshing the page.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

\"about:webrtc<\/p>\n

Save Page button<\/h2>\n
\"about:webrtc While not new, it is important to note that the “Save Page” button at the bottom of about:webrtc<\/code> will, when pressed, produce a static HTML file with the contents of about:webrtc<\/code>. A save dialog will appear, allowing the user to save this file to their machine.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Preferences<\/h2>\n
Anywhere a preference appears in about:webrtc<\/code> one can click the copy button to copy the preference path to the clipboard. That can then be pasted into the search field inside of about:config<\/code>. Neat.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
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Pasting JSON data into Bugzilla bugs<\/h1>\n
JSON can be directly attached to a bug in Bugzilla via the \u201cAttach File\u201d button in the \u201cAttachment\u201d section. You can paste the JSON-formatted report into the \u201cFile\u201d field, choose \u201cJSON source (application\/json)\u201d from the \u201cselect from list:\u201d content-type option, and add a brief description in the \u201cDescription\u201d field.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

More<\/h3>\n
Sometimes even more information is helpful, so in an upcoming blog post we will discuss logging and profiling WebRTC calls in Firefox. If one is interested in debugging Firefox we now have in-tree documentation<\/a> that you may find helpful. If one wants to try out about:webrtc<\/code> without starting a conference call with friends, try a single tab call<\/a> from the WebRTC.org<\/a> code samples<\/a>.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inspecting data in about:webrtc during a call can be helpful when diagnosing WebRTC call troubles. Doing so in real time while participating in a call is not always an option. Recent work in about:webrtc has made it easy to get data out of Firefox and into your notes, your bug reports, or your service tickets. 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