Capture Env Info For Bug Report

Capture environment info for a bug report

Collect the runtime versions relevant to a bug and stage them for pasting into the report, straight from the terminal.

When to use

• You are about to file a bug and the maintainer asks for environment details (runtime version, OS build, tool versions).
• You want the exact version string copied verbatim — never retyped.

Procedure

1. Identify the runtime involved in the bug (node, python, java, ...).
2. Print its exact version string:
   • Node.js: node --version
   • Python: python3 --version
   • Java: java -version 2>&1
3. Copy the version string to the clipboard without the leading v (or with it, if the report template expects it):
   • Linux/X11: node --version | tr -d v | xclip -selection clipboard
   • Windows (PowerShell): node --version | clip
   • macOS: node --version | tr -d v | pbcopy
4. Open the bug report draft and paste (Ctrl+V) into the environment section.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 for each additional runtime the report asks for.

Edge cases

• Version command writes to stderr (e.g. java -version): redirect with 2>&1 before piping.
• No X display (headless box, SSH): xclip fails with Can't open display. Check echo $DISPLAY; if empty or stale, start one and target it: Xvfb :99 -screen 0 1920x1080x24 & then export DISPLAY=:99 (the clipboard then lives inside that X session only).
• Multiple runtimes: keep one clipboard round-trip per version; do not concatenate manually — paste each into its own field.
• If the clipboard paste lands empty, re-run the copy command once — the first xclip invocation in a session can exit before staging.