Report a Buggy Website
How to report a website that does not work with ClearURLs — step by step.
A website does not work while ClearURLs is turned on? Or an address is not cleaned even though it should be? Please tell us. It is the only way the rules get better. You do not need any programming knowledge. This page shows you how, step by step.
What makes a report *good*?
A good report answers three questions:
- Where does it happen? → the exact address (URL)
- What goes wrong? → what you see vs. what you expected
- Is ClearURLs really involved? → one test with the filter turned off
If your report contains these three things (plus, ideally, a log export), we can usually reproduce and fix the problem quickly.
Check whether ClearURLs is really the cause
Please do this short test first. It is important, because many website problems have other causes (ad blockers, cookie settings, the website itself):
- Open the website with the problem.
- Click the ClearURLs icon in the browser toolbar and turn the switch Filter (under Configs) off.
- Reload the page and try again.
- Only continue if the website works with the filter off. If it is still broken, ClearURLs is not the cause, and your report would send us in the wrong direction.
- Turn the Filter switch on again.
More details and known cases can be found on the Troubleshooting page.
Check whether the problem is already known
Many problems are already reported. Please take ten seconds and search:
- in the Troubleshooting list,
- in the add-on bug tracker,
- and in the rules bug tracker.
If you find your website there with the same problem, you do not need to write a new report. A short comment like "same problem here, example address: ..." already helps.
Create a log (the most helpful attachment)
The log shows us exactly which rule changed which address. To create one:
- Click the ClearURLs icon in the browser toolbar.
- Under Configs, turn the switch Logging on. (The log is only stored locally, on your own computer.)
- Reload the website with the problem and repeat the action that fails (for example, click the button that does not react).
- Click the ClearURLs icon again and choose Log. A page with a table of all cleaned addresses opens.
- Click Export at the top. This saves a small file named
ClearURLsLogExport.jsonon your computer. - You can now turn Logging off again.
Attach this ClearURLsLogExport.json to your report (on GitHub you can simply
drag the file into the text field).
There is also a short video tutorial that walks through the same steps:
Second helpful thing: your settings
You can also attach an export of your settings: open the ClearURLs settings (gear symbol in the pop-up) and click the green export button. This helps us when the problem only happens with specific options.
Open the report in the right place
ClearURLs has two public bug trackers. Picking the right one helps us react faster:
| Your problem ... | Report it here |
|---|---|
| One specific website is broken, or one specific address is not cleaned | ClearURLs Rules: new issue |
| The add-on itself: crashes, buttons do nothing, settings lost, browser disables it, feature ideas | ClearURLs Add-on: new issue |
Not sure?
If you are unsure, open the report in the Rules tracker. Wrongly filed reports are no problem, we can move them.
Write the report (you can copy this template)
A clear, friendly text is enough. If you like, copy this template and fill in the blanks:
**Website address (URL):**
(paste the complete address from the address bar. If it contains anything
private, you may replace that part with ***)
**What I did:**
(e.g. "I clicked the login button")
**What happened:**
(e.g. "The page reloads in a loop")
**What I expected instead:**
(e.g. "The login page should open")
**Test with the Filter switch turned off:**
(e.g. "With the filter off, everything works")
**My versions:**
- ClearURLs version: (see the ClearURLs settings page, e.g. 1.27.3)
- Browser + version: (e.g. Firefox 128)
- Operating system: (e.g. Windows 11)
**Attachments:**
- [ ] Log export (ClearURLsLogExport.json), see step 3
- [ ] Screenshot (optional)One real example of a short, perfect report
"Address:
https://colabsandbox.google.com/...login...When I click the e-mail sign-in link, the page says the link is invalid. With the Filter switch off, the same link works. The log shows that ClearURLs removed==from the end of the address. ClearURLs 1.27.3, Firefox 128, Windows 11. Log attached."
This contains everything we need: the address, the failing action, the comparison with the filter off, and the log.
What happens after your report?
- The rules are maintained by volunteers, so answers can take some days.
- When the rule is fixed, the add-on downloads the new rules automatically. You do not have to reinstall anything.
- Maybe we ask you a follow-up question in the report. A quick answer helps a lot.
Thank you for taking the time. Reports like yours are how ClearURLs improves. 💙
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