Add --crash-report option to the CrashDump extension by Copilot · Pull Request #8191 · microsoft/testfx

Copilot · 2026-05-13T17:02:40Z

New Feature

What does this feature do?

The CrashDump extension can now ask the .NET runtime to generate JSON crash reports in addition to, or instead of, a dump. This makes crash triage lighter-weight in CI, especially for environments where full dump collection is expensive or impractical.

A single composable flag --crash-report was chosen over the original two-flag (--crashreport + --crashreport-only) design: one flag = one artifact type, the option can be combined freely with --crashdump, and no awkward mutual-exclusion validation is needed.

Why is this feature needed?

DOTNET_EnableCrashReport and DOTNET_EnableCrashReportOnly are already available in the runtime, but the MTP CrashDump extension only exposed dump generation. Surfacing crash reports gives a cheaper diagnostic path and improves crash investigation on machines where developers cannot inspect native dumps directly.

Implementation details

CLI surface
- Added --crash-report (kebab-case, matching the broader MTP CLI convention such as --results-directory, --diagnostic-output-directory, etc.)
- Behavior matrix:
  - --crashdump → dump only
  - --crash-report → crash report only
  - --crashdump --crash-report → dump + crash report
- On Windows, --crash-report is rejected at command-line validation time because the .NET runtime ignores DOTNET_EnableCrashReport / DOTNET_EnableCrashReportOnly on Windows (see dotnet/runtime#80191). The error message points users to --crashdump as the alternative.
Runtime configuration
- Wires the new option to the runtime environment variables:
  - --crashdump --crash-report → DOTNET_DbgEnableMiniDump=1 + DOTNET_EnableCrashReport=1
  - --crash-report → DOTNET_DbgEnableMiniDump=1 + DOTNET_EnableCrashReportOnly=1 (createdump still needs MiniDump activation to emit the report)
Artifacts and user-visible behavior
- Added crash report artifact discovery/publishing for *.crashreport.json
- The crash banner is now driven by what was actually written to disk (per-artifact generated / could not find messaging), so it no longer claims success for an artifact the runtime did not emit.
- Updated help text and PACKAGE.md to describe the new option and the Windows limitation.
Platform fix (deterministic option ordering)
- Microsoft.Testing.Platform now sorts CLI options for --help / --info using StringComparer.Ordinal instead of the culture-aware default. Without this, the relative order of --crash-report vs --crashdump differed between .NET Framework (word sort ignores -) and .NET (Core) (ordinal-like ICU sort), which would make the help/info acceptance tests non-deterministic across TFMs.
Coverage
- Unit coverage for --crash-report alone, --crash-report combined with --crashdump, and the Windows-only validation rejection.
- Acceptance coverage for:
  - --crashdump --crash-report (dump + report, Linux/macOS only)
  - --crash-report alone with default name (report only, Linux/macOS only)
  - --crash-report with --crashdump-filename (report only with custom name, Linux/macOS only)
  - --crash-report on Windows → fails with the platform-limitation error
- Updated --help / --info expectations for the new CLI option ordering.

Example

# Generate a dump and a JSON crash report (Linux/macOS)
dotnet test -- --crashdump --crash-report

# Generate only a JSON crash report (Linux/macOS)
dotnet test -- --crash-report

# On Windows, --crash-report is rejected (use --crashdump):
dotnet test -- --crashdump

Co-authored-by: Evangelink <[email protected]>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Extends the CrashDump MTP extension with new --crashreport and --crashreport-only options that wire the test host runtime variables DOTNET_EnableCrashReport / DOTNET_EnableCrashReportOnly and publish the resulting *.crashreport.json as artifacts.

Changes:

New CLI options with mutual-exclusion validation (--crashreport requires --crashdump; --crashreport-only excludes the others).
Environment variable provider sets the new runtime variables (and keeps DbgEnableMiniDump for --crashreport-only); lifetime handler emits new "dump only / report only / dump + report" messages and publishes crash report artifacts.
New resx/xlf entries, PACKAGE.md doc update, unit/acceptance/help-info test coverage for the new options.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
src/Platform/Microsoft.Testing.Extensions.CrashDump/CrashDumpCommandLineOptions.cs	Adds option name constants for the two new flags.
src/Platform/Microsoft.Testing.Extensions.CrashDump/CrashDumpCommandLineProvider.cs	Registers new options and adds combined-options validation via chained ternary.
src/Platform/Microsoft.Testing.Extensions.CrashDump/CrashDumpEnvironmentVariableProvider.cs	Sets/validates `DOTNET_EnableCrashReport(Only)` and conditionalizes `DbgEnableMiniDump`.
src/Platform/Microsoft.Testing.Extensions.CrashDump/CrashDumpProcessLifetimeHandler.cs	Picks crash message variant; publishes `.crashreport.json` artifacts in addition to dumps.
src/Platform/Microsoft.Testing.Extensions.CrashDump/Resources/CrashDumpResources.resx	New resource strings for descriptions, errors, and crash messages.
src/Platform/Microsoft.Testing.Extensions.CrashDump/Resources/xlf/*.xlf	Auto-added `state="new"` entries mirroring the resx additions across all locales.
src/Platform/Microsoft.Testing.Extensions.CrashDump/PACKAGE.md	Documents new crash report capabilities.
test/UnitTests/Microsoft.Testing.Extensions.UnitTests/CrashDumpTests.cs	Adds unit tests for valid/invalid combinations of the new flags.
test/IntegrationTests/Microsoft.Testing.Platform.Acceptance.IntegrationTests/CrashDumpTests.cs	Acceptance tests for dump+report, report-only, and `--crashreport` without `--crashdump`.
test/IntegrationTests/Microsoft.Testing.Platform.Acceptance.IntegrationTests/HelpInfoAllExtensionsTests.cs	Updates expected help/info output to include the new options.

Copilot's findings

Files reviewed: 22/22 changed files
Comments generated: 3

…shDump tests/code - Reorder --crashreport / --crashreport-only after --crashdump-type in the Help and Info expectations to match the platform's alphabetical ordering (CommandLineHandler.PrintOptionsAsync OrderBy(option.Name)). - Refactor CrashDump option validation into explicit if-statements for clarity. - Rename EnableMiniDumpValue -> EnabledValue (now reused for crash report vars). - Make CrashReportOnly_CustomDumpName_CreateOnlyCrashReport robust on Windows by doing an exact filename comparison instead of relying on Directory.GetFiles pattern matching, which can match 'customdumpname.dmp.crashreport.json'. Co-authored-by: Copilot <[email protected]>

Revert the validation refactor, EnabledValue rename, and the Windows-safe filename check in CrashReportOnly_CustomDumpName_CreateOnlyCrashReport. The HelpInfoAllExtensionsTests ordering fix is preserved. Co-authored-by: Copilot <[email protected]>

Copilot

Copilot's findings

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (1)

src/Platform/Microsoft.Testing.Extensions.CrashDump/CrashDumpProcessLifetimeHandler.cs:1

Mirror of the existing dump-fallback path: if Path.GetDirectoryName(expectedCrashReportFile) returns an empty string (when the dump file pattern is just a filename with no directory component), Directory.GetFiles("", ...) will throw ArgumentException. The pre-existing dump branch has the same issue, but consider falling back to the current directory or skipping the scan when the directory is empty so the new code path doesn't introduce another instance of the same brittleness.

// Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Files reviewed: 22/22 changed files
Comments generated: 8

- CrashDumpCommandLineProvider: replace chained ternary with explicit if-statements for clarity and easier extension. - CrashDumpEnvironmentVariableProvider: rename EnableMiniDumpValue to EnabledValue since it's now reused for the crash report environment variables (DOTNET_EnableCrashReport / DOTNET_EnableCrashReportOnly). - CrashReportOnly_CustomDumpName_CreateOnlyCrashReport: do an explicit filename comparison instead of relying on Directory.GetFiles' pattern matching, which on Windows can also match 'customdumpname.dmp.crashreport.json' for the literal pattern 'customdumpname.dmp'. Co-authored-by: Copilot <[email protected]>

Evangelink · 2026-05-14T18:51:26Z

@copilot address review comments

Co-authored-by: Evangelink <[email protected]>

Copilot · 2026-05-14T19:01:57Z

@copilot address review comments

Addressed in d68feac. I covered the remaining CrashDump review feedback: validation precedence/coverage, resource quoting and XLF sync, crash report minidump wiring, crash report suffix constants, environment validation deduplication, and the acceptance test rename.

Replaces the two-flag design (--crashreport + --crashreport-only) with a single composable flag --crash-report. Behavior: - '--crashdump' alone: dump only (unchanged) - '--crash-report' alone: report only (DOTNET_EnableCrashReportOnly=1) - '--crashdump --crash-report': both (DOTNET_EnableCrashReport=1) Removes obsolete validation rules and resource strings (CrashReportRequiresCrashDumpErrorMessage, CrashReportOnlyCannotBeCombinedErrorMessage, CrashReportOnlyOptionDescription) and the corresponding XLF entries. Updates PACKAGE.md, unit tests, acceptance tests and HelpInfoAllExtensionsTests. Co-authored-by: Copilot <[email protected]>

Evangelink · 2026-05-15T14:18:12Z

CLI option rename and simplification (commit `64d9b6f`)

After discussing the CLI surface, I simplified the design from two flags (--crashreport + --crashreport-only) to a single composable flag --crash-report:

Command	Result	Internal
`--crashdump`	dump only	`DbgEnableMiniDump=1`
`--crash-report`	report only	`DbgEnableMiniDump=1` + `DOTNET_EnableCrashReportOnly=1`
`--crashdump --crash-report`	dump + report	`DbgEnableMiniDump=1` + `DOTNET_EnableCrashReport=1`

Why:

One flag = one artifact type (cleaner mental model).
No need for an awkward -only suffix flag.
Removes the "--crashreport requires --crashdump" validation rule — that coupling was a wart.
Removes the "--crashreport-only cannot be combined with..." validation rule.
--crash-report (kebab-case) follows the broader MTP CLI convention (--results-directory, --diagnostic-output-fileprefix, etc.) — --crashdump itself is the legacy outlier.

This also lets us drop two error-message resources (and their XLF entries) and the option-mutual-exclusion test cases.

All 8 review comments from the second review are addressed individually above.

Copilot

Copilot's findings

Files reviewed: 22/22 changed files
Comments generated: 3

+        if (crashDumpEnabled || crashReportEnabled)
+        {
+            foreach (string prefix in Prefixes)
+            {
+                environmentVariables.SetVariable(new($"{prefix}{EnableMiniDumpVariable}", EnabledValue, false, true));
+            }


 internal static class CrashDumpCommandLineOptions
 {
    public const string CrashDumpOptionName = "crashdump";
+    public const string CrashReportOptionName = "crash-report";


+  <data name="CrashReportArtifactDescription" xml:space="preserve">
+    <value>The testhost process crash report file</value>
+  </data>
+  <data name="CrashReportArtifactDisplayName" xml:space="preserve">
+    <value>Crash report file</value>
+  </data>
+  <data name="CrashReportOptionDescription" xml:space="preserve">
+    <value>Generate a JSON crash report when the test process crashes. Combine with '--crashdump' to also generate a dump file. Requires .NET 7+ when used alone; .NET 6+ when combined with '--crashdump'.</value>
+  </data>
+  <data name="CrashDumpProcessCrashedDumpAndReportFileCreated" xml:space="preserve">
+    <value>Test host process with PID '{0}' crashed, a dump file and crash report were generated</value>
+  </data>
  <data name="CrashDumpProcessCrashedDumpFileCreated" xml:space="preserve">
    <value>Test host process with PID '{0}' crashed, a dump file was generated</value>
  </data>
+  <data name="CrashDumpProcessCrashedReportFileCreated" xml:space="preserve">
+    <value>Test host process with PID '{0}' crashed, a crash report was generated</value>
+  </data>


- Reject --crash-report on Windows due to dotnet/runtime#80191 (runtime ignores DOTNET_EnableCrashReport/EnableCrashReportOnly on Windows). - Skip Windows-incompatible acceptance/unit tests and add Windows validation coverage. - Emit the crash banner based on what was actually produced on disk (per-artifact `generated`/`could not find` messaging), to avoid claiming success for files the runtime did not emit. - Remove redundant gate checks in CrashDump environment variable provider (IsEnabledAsync already gates the call). - Re-sort CrashDumpResources.resx alphabetically and regenerate XLF. - Update CrashReportOptionDescription and PACKAGE.md to mention the Windows limitation. - Use StringComparer.Ordinal for --help / --info option sorting in MTP so option order is deterministic across .NET FX and .NET Core (otherwise '--crash-report' vs '--crashdump' sort differently per runtime). - Add a CrashDumpProcessCrashed resource for the neutral banner used when no artifacts were produced. Co-authored-by: Copilot <[email protected]>

Copilot

Copilot's findings

Files reviewed: 23/23 changed files
Comments generated: 0 new

Initial plan

fa259c4

Copilot AI self-assigned this May 13, 2026

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings May 13, 2026 17:02

Copilot AI assigned Evangelink May 13, 2026

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings May 13, 2026 17:02

Copilot started work on behalf of Evangelink May 13, 2026 17:02 View session

Copilot AI linked an issue May 13, 2026 that may be closed by this pull request

Feature request: Generate crash report #7168

Open

Add crash report support to crash dump extension

b904e02

Co-authored-by: Evangelink <[email protected]>

Copilot AI requested review from Copilot and removed request for Copilot May 13, 2026 17:23

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Add feature to generate crash report for .NET 6.0 and 7.0~~ Add crash report support to the CrashDump extension May 13, 2026

Copilot AI requested a review from Evangelink May 13, 2026 17:24

Copilot finished work on behalf of Evangelink May 13, 2026 17:24

Evangelink marked this pull request as ready for review May 14, 2026 14:59

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings May 14, 2026 14:59

Merge branch 'main' into copilot/feature-generate-crash-report

8882424

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Amaury Levé and others added 2 commits May 14, 2026 20:19

Revert auxiliary CrashDump refactoring

a8755ad

Revert the validation refactor, EnabledValue rename, and the Windows-safe filename check in CrashReportOnly_CustomDumpName_CreateOnlyCrashReport. The HelpInfoAllExtensionsTests ordering fix is preserved. Co-authored-by: Copilot <[email protected]>

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings May 14, 2026 18:29

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Copilot started work on behalf of Evangelink May 14, 2026 18:51 View session

Address CrashDump review comments

d68feac

Co-authored-by: Evangelink <[email protected]>

Copilot AI requested review from Copilot and removed request for Copilot May 14, 2026 19:01

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Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings May 15, 2026 14:16

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Evangelink and others added 2 commits May 16, 2026 11:03

Merge branch 'main' into copilot/feature-generate-crash-report

f8497b7

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Evangelink changed the title ~~Add crash report support to the CrashDump extension~~ Add --crash-report option to the CrashDump extension May 16, 2026

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Add --crash-report option to the CrashDump extension#8191

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edited by Evangelink

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Copilot AI commented May 13, 2026 • edited by Evangelink Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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New Feature

What does this feature do?

Why is this feature needed?

Implementation details

Example

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Pull request overview

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Evangelink commented May 14, 2026

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Evangelink commented May 15, 2026

CLI option rename and simplification (commit 64d9b6f)

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Copilot AI commented May 13, 2026 •

edited by Evangelink

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CLI option rename and simplification (commit `64d9b6f`)