Appdome Crash Reports for Android & iOS Apps

Learn to Initialize crash reports in Mobile apps, in mobile CI/CD with a Data-Driven DevSecOps™ build system.

What are Crash Reports?

Appdome’s Crash Reports feature integrates a crash reporting SDK, which allows Appdome to collect information about errors or crashes that may be encountered by end-users while using Appdome apps in a production environment. This information enables Appdome to monitor the app’s overall health in the production environment and be alerted in advance, to help deploy emergency maintenance fixes if needed, and detect issues related to the app in its original (pre-Appdome) state.

The Crash Reporting feature also provides crucial error reports, which contain data about the active subroutines (call stacks), Android or iOS lifecycle state, and mobile application logs before a crash. With that data, Appdome can help developers troubleshoot issues, conduct analysis, and to close out resolutions in a timely manner.

Why Should Developers Enable Crash Reports?

Enabling Appdome’s Crash Reports feature offers developers a data-driven approach to enhance app reliability and user experience. By collecting detailed crash information, including call stacks and application logs, developers can efficiently diagnose issues and promptly address them. This proactive monitoring enables developers to deploy emergency fixes, ensuring minimal disruptions for end-users and maintaining the app’s health in the production environment.

Prerequisites for Using Crash Reports:

To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Initialize crash reports , you’ll need:

• Appdome account (create a free Appdome account here)
• A license for Crash Reports
• Mobile App (.ipa for iOS, or .apk or .aab for Android)
• Signing Credentials (see Signing Secure Android apps and Signing Secure iOS apps)

Initialize crash reports on Mobile apps using Appdome

On Appdome, follow these 3 simple steps to create self-defending Mobile Apps that Initialize crash reports without an SDK or gateway:

1. Upload the Mobile App to Appdome.

   1. Upload an app to Appdome’s Mobile App Security Build System

   2. Upload Method: Appdome Console or DEV-API
   3. Mobile App Formats: .ipa for iOS, or .apk or .aab for Android
   4. Crash Reports Compatible With: Obj-C, C+, Java, JS, C#, C++, Swift, Kotlin, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, and more

2. Build the feature: Crash Reports.

   1. Building Crash Reports by using Appdome’s DEV-API:

      1. Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Crash Reports feature as shown below:
      

      Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Crash Reports feature
      Note: Naming the Fusion Set to correspond to the protection(s) selected is for illustration purposes only (not required).

      2. Follow the steps in Sections 2.2.1-2.2.2 of this article, Building the Crash Reports feature via Appdome Console, to add the Crash Reports feature to this Fusion Set.

      3. Open the Fusion Set Detail Summary by clicking the “...” symbol on the far-right corner of the Fusion Set, as shown in Figure 1 above, and get the Fusion Set ID from the Fusion Set Detail Summary (as shown below):

         Figure 2: Fusion Set Detail Summary
         Note: Annotating the Fusion Set to identify the protection(s) selected is optional only (not mandatory).

      4. Follow the instructions below to use the Fusion Set ID inside any standard mobile DevOps or CI/CD toolkit like Bitrise, App Center, Jenkins, Travis, Team City, Cirlce CI or other system:

         1. Build an API for the app – for instructions, see the tasks under Appdome API Reference Guide
         2. Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository

   2. Building the Crash Reports feature via Appdome Console

      To build the Crash Reports protection by using Appdome Console, follow the instructions below.

      1. Where: Inside the Appdome Console, go to Build > Security Tab > ONEShield™ section.

         Like all other options in ONEShield™, Crash Reports is turned on by default, as shown below:

         Figure 3: Crash Reports option
         Note: The App Compromise Notification contains an easy to follow default remediation path for the mobile app end user. You can customize this message as required to achieve brand specific support, workflow or other messaging.

      2. How: Toggle (turn ON) Crash Reports, as shown below.

         Figure 3: Initialize crash reports option

      3. When you select the Crash Reports you'll notice that your Fusion Set you created in step 2.1.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Crash Reports

         

         Figure 4: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Crash Reports protection

      4. Click Build My App at the bottom of the Build Workflow (shown in Figure 3).

   Congratulations!  The Crash Reports protection is now added to the mobile app

3. Certify the Crash Reports feature in Mobile Apps.

   After building Crash Reports, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Crash Reports protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Crash Reports protection has been added to the mobile app, locate the protection in the Certified Secure™ certificate as shown below:

   Figure 5: Certified Secure™ certificate

   Each Certified Secure™ certificate provides DevOps and DevSecOps organizations the entire workflow summary, audit trail of each build, and proof of protection that Crash Reports has been added to each Mobile app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Crash Reports and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app