Crash Assistant guide for FTB Skies 2 1.0.1 to 1.9.2

Same as in the All the Mods 10 8.1 guide

Crash Assistant is a crash-helper mod. When Minecraft crashes, it pops up a window that immediately shows the affected game and launcher logs, crash reports and hs_err files. From there you can upload everything with one click and copy a link to paste into Discord or GitHub. The pack ships version 1.11.12.^[1][2]

It is client-only, so on a server it does nothing.^[1]

Who it is for

It is for anyone who crashes and wants to know why, and for people who help with support. You get a formatted, ready-to-paste report, and anyone helping you gets current logs without having to ask for more files. The mod's author says more than 75% of issues are common and easily solvable, and the analysis aims to cut that support load.^[1]

What it does for you

• Analyzes logs for many known crash causes. When it finds one, it shows a dialog with a description and a detailed fix. Examples include out-of-memory errors, duplicated mods, Mixin conflicts, and GPU driver problems.^[1]
• Warns you if Minecraft is running on an integrated GPU when a dedicated one is available, and offers a one-click Auto-Fix button on Windows.^[1]
• Warns you if your CPU is one of the Intel 13th/14th generation models known to have a critical stability bug.^[1]
• Includes analysis tools in the GUI menu, such as a Package/Class Finder that shows which mod contains a given Java class or package.^[1]
• Saves the modlist, and for modpack players it lists the mods you added, removed or updated compared with the official list. You can also save it manually with the /crash_assistant modlist save command.^[1]

It runs as a separate process that waits for the Minecraft JVM to stop. It also loads very early, so it can catch crashes during startup.^[1]

Where it fits in the pack

Crash Assistant is a utility rather than a gameplay mod, so it adds no progression of its own. You don't need to unlock or craft anything. It is there when something goes wrong.^[1]

Unverified The sources I was given show no quests or ATM Star path involvement for this mod, and no in-jar guidebook was found for it.

Same as in the FTB Skies 2 1.22.0 guide

Crash Assistant is a safety net that waits in the background and only matters when Minecraft crashes. When that happens it opens a window showing the affected game and launcher logs, crash reports or hs_err files, and lets you upload them in one click and copy the link for easier reporting.^[1]

The mod is client-only, so on a server it does nothing.^[1]

What to know before your first crash

1. Leave the analysis on. In this pack, log analysis (analysis.enabled) and the analysis tools (analysis_tools.enabled) are both enabled. When the mod recognises a known crash reason, it shows a dialog with a description of the problem and a solution.^[1][3]
2. Read the recommendation. The first time a crash reason is shown, the OK button is delayed by 10 seconds, set by analysis.first_show_delay, so you actually read it.^[3]
3. Know what gets blamed. By default, when the mod runs in modpack mode for the end user, it does not blame mods that were part of the original modpack, only mods that were added or updated afterwards. In this pack analysis.trigger_on_original_modpack_mods is false.^[3]
4. Accept the privacy policy. Before you upload your first log, you have to accept a privacy policy, because general.enable_privacy_policy_acceptance is true in this pack.^[3]
5. Use Upload All when asking for help. This pack keeps that button visible (gui_customisation.disable_upload_all_button is false). Logs are uploaded to mclo.gs, and general.upload_to is set to wrap the link for gnomebot.dev for better formatting.^[3]
6. Use the Request Help button when you need support. It opens the link set in general.help_link.^[3]

Handy extras

• The GUI supports drag and drop. You can drag log files straight out of it, or drag all logs at once from the "Available log files:" label.^[1]
• The mod warns you if Minecraft is running on an integrated GPU when a dedicated one is available, and it includes auto-fixes for many common issues.^[1]
• This pack generates its own launcher log with the stderr stream (general.generate_own_launcher_log is true), since many launchers do not save it.^[3]
• A crash command is enabled in this pack. To make sure you really want to crash the game, you have to run it again within 10 seconds (crash_command.enabled and crash_command.seconds).^[3]

Crash Assistant is not a machine mod, so there is no power, fluid or item handling to learn here. It is a client-only crash helper: it does nothing on a server. What matters is what it does when the game dies, and which settings the pack has chosen for it.^[1]

What happens when the game crashes

After a crash, the mod shows a GUI that immediately lists the affected game or launcher logs, crash reports and hs_err files. From there you can upload them, copy the link and do other reporting actions in one click. It also warns you if Minecraft is running on an integrated GPU while a dedicated one is available, and it offers auto-fixes for many common issues.^[1]

The GUI supports drag and drop. You can drag a single file out to wherever you want, or drag every log at once from the "Available log files:" label.^[1]

The pack also keeps the GUI turned on when the game crashes during mod loading and the FML error screen appears (general.show_on_fml_error_screen). If an old Crash Assistant window is still open when you start Minecraft again, it gets closed so you do not mix it up with the new crash (general.kill_old_app).^[4]

Log analysis

The mod scans logs for many known crash reasons. When it recognises one, it opens a dialog with a description of the problem and a detailed solution. The checks cover JVM crashes (hs_err files, such as GPU driver problems or running out of RAM), normal logs and crash reports (such as DuplicatedMods, OutOfMemoryError, MixinApply and Create6Addons), and Windows event logs.^[1]

After an upload, every supported log is also run through the Codex logs analyzer. When a Codex message could be unclear, the mod shows a detailed how-to-fix message instead. The one case the sources name is an erroring block or entity.^[1]

Analysis is on in this pack (analysis.enabled). You can switch off individual checks by listing their class names in analysis.blacklisted_reasons, and the pack leaves that list empty, so every check is active.^[4]

Analysis tools

The GUI menu also has analysis tools. The Create/Epic Fight Addons Compatibility tool scans your mods for addons that do not match your installed version of Create or Epic Fight. The MCreator Mod Detector lists every mod made with the MCreator tool.^[1]

The tools are enabled (analysis_tools.enabled) and none are blacklisted (analysis_tools.blacklisted_tools).^[4]

Uploading and the generated message

Logs are always uploaded to mclo.gs. The pack sets general.upload_to to gnomebot.dev, which wraps the link for better formatting. Before your first upload you have to accept a privacy policy (general.enable_privacy_policy_acceptance). The mod also swaps the dots in ip-like version numbers for a dot-like symbol, so mclo.gs does not censor them as if they were IP addresses (general.enable_mclogs_anti_ip_like_version_censorer).^[4]

The individual upload buttons only unlock once the mod has finished scanning for terminated processes. The pack keeps that delay (general.prevent_upload_buttons_delay is false). Turning it off would enable the buttons right after the crash, but that can lead players to click individual buttons instead of the Upload All button.^[4]

The Upload All button builds one message to paste into a support channel. In this pack that message is shaped by a few settings:^[4]

• generated_message.put_analysis_result_to_message is on, so the message lists the names of the crash reasons instead of just a count.^[4]
• generated_message.put_problematic_frame_to_message is on, so the problematic frame from an hs_err file is included.^[4]
• generated_message.one_line_logs is on, which separates the logs with a short divider instead of new lines to keep the message small.^[4]
• generated_message.color_message is off, so the message avoids ANSI colours that some places, such as GitHub, cannot display.^[4]
• generated_message.h3_prefix is on, which adds a ### prefix before each filename so the links are easier to hit on mobile.^[4]
• generated_message.text_under_crashed and generated_message.warning_after_upload_all_button_press are both empty, so the pack adds no extra form text or post-upload warning.^[4]

Getting help

The Request Help button opens the link in general.help_link, which this pack points at the FTB modpack issues tracker on GitHub. The support name shown in the GUI text is "FTB Discord" (text.support_name).^[4]

Button look

The three main buttons all use font size 16 in this pack. The default Swing size is 12, and the config warns against going above 16 because the GUI would grow to fit the text. Colours are written as R_G_B values from 0 to 255. The Upload All and Auto-Fix buttons are dark green ("0_178_0") and the Request Help button is dark blue ("0_0_178").^[4]

The Upload All button is shown (gui_customisation.disable_upload_all_button is false). The pack also keeps the animated border and the note that a screenshot of the GUI tells the modpack creators nothing (gui_customisation.screenshot_of_gui_notice_animated_border, gui_customisation.show_dont_send_screenshot_of_gui_notice).^[4]

Crash command

The mod includes a command that deliberately crashes the game, and it is enabled here (crash_command.enabled). To make sure you really mean it, you have to run the command again within crash_command.seconds seconds, which is 10 in this pack. A value of 0 or less removes the confirmation.^[4]

Modlist feature

The modlist feature is on (modpack_modlist.enabled). It adds a generated modlist.txt to the logs, listing mods, mod ids, mixin configs and jarjar mods (modpack_modlist.add_modlist_txt_as_log). It also records the modloader jar name so a changed loader version is easy to spot (modpack_modlist.add_modloader_jar_name). Resource packs are not added to the modlist (modpack_modlist.add_resourcepacks is false).^[4]

The file modlist.json is rewritten automatically on launch when it is a modpack creator who starts the game (modpack_modlist.auto_update). Only the names in modpack_modlist.modpack_creators count as creators, and that list is a technical setting that is not shown anywhere in the GUI. With auto update off, the creator would save manually with the '/crash_assistant modlist save' command.^[4]

Unverified The actual contents of the pack's modlist are in config/crash_assistant/modlist.json, which the sources here do not include, so what it lists is not shown.

Problematic mods

The file config/crash_assistant/problematic_mods_config.json lets a pack author attach a custom message to a specific mod id. The message can use a $JAR_NAME$ placeholder, which is replaced by the jar name, and it can contain HTML. Each entry also has a should_crash_on_startup flag (example_modid.should_crash_on_startup). The copy in this pack only shows the placeholder entry "example_modid", with the flag set to true (example_modid.msg).^[5]

Crash Assistant is a client-only mod, so none of these options do anything on a server. Everything lives in general.upload_to and its neighbours in the main config file, and this is how the pack sets the ones you're most likely to touch.^[1][4]

Branding and where help goes

• text.modpack_name is set to the pack's own name. It replaces the placeholder in the crash screen text, for example in "Oops, ... crashed!".^[4]
• text.support_name is "FTB Discord", and text.support_place points to the pack's own support channel. These fill the "Request help" wording.^[4]
• general.help_link opens FTB's modpack issues page on GitHub when you press the Request Help button. It is not left at CHANGE_ME, which would open the modloader's Discord instead.^[4]

Uploading logs

• general.upload_to is "gnomebot.dev". Logs are still uploaded to mclo.gs either way. This setting only wraps the link in gnomebot.dev for better formatting.^[4]
• general.enable_privacy_policy_acceptance is true, so you have to accept the privacy policy before your first log upload.^[4]
• gui_customisation.disable_upload_all_button is false, so the Upload All button is shown.^[4]
• generated_message.one_line_logs, generated_message.put_analysis_result_to_message and generated_message.put_problematic_frame_to_message are all true. The generated message is compact, lists the crash reasons by name, and includes the problematic frame from an hs_err file.^[4]
• generated_message.color_message is false, so the message has no ANSI colouring. That keeps it readable on sites like GitHub.^[4]

Crash command and analysis

• crash_command.enabled is true and crash_command.seconds is 10. You have to run the crash command a second time within 10 seconds to confirm you really want to crash the game.^[4]
• analysis.enabled and analysis_tools.enabled are true. Both blacklists, analysis.blacklisted_reasons and analysis_tools.blacklisted_tools, are empty, so no analysis is switched off.^[4]
• general.show_on_fml_error_screen is true, so the GUI also appears when the game fails during mod loading.^[4]

Modlist tracking

modpack_modlist.enabled and modpack_modlist.auto_update are both true. The mod writes a modlist.json file with each jar's name, mod id and version, and rewrites it on launch when a listed modpack creator starts the game. The creators listed in modpack_modlist.modpack_creators are "FTB Team" and "Saereth". Resource packs are not added, because modpack_modlist.add_resourcepacks is false.^[4][6]

Button looks

All three buttons use font size 16. The Upload All and Auto-Fix buttons are dark green ("0_178_0"), and the Request Help button is dark blue ("0_0_178"). The config comments describe these as the mod's own defaults for those buttons, so the pack did not restyle them.^[4]

Unverified The sources don't show the mod's defaults for most options here (such as the crash command timeout, the upload host or the creator list), so I can't confirm which of them the pack changed. Only the button colours and font sizes are described as defaults.

FTB Skies 2 1.9.2 ships Crash Assistant 1.10.6, and the mod was already in the pack by FTB Skies 2 1.0.1 or earlier. I don't have any pack changelog entries for this mod, so everything below comes from the mod's own changelogs.^[7]

The latest releases

• 1.10.6 (the version in your pack): there is a new config option to prevent the individual upload buttons delay after a crash. The language override system was redesigned, with new options general.priority_lang_for_overrides and general.generate_localization_overrides_folder_with_readme. Override files now only hold translations that differ from the JAR defaults.^[8]
• 1.10.6 also made the Intel chip bug warning text clearer in all languages and removed the GIF from it. It fixed a bug where clicking the link in the trusted domain warning just reopened that warning, and moved "Open config file" in the File menu from the top to the bottom.^[8]
• 1.10.5: added config options to disable the crash assistant app logs generation and to hide the "Upload All" button from the GUI.^[8]
• 1.10.4: the Auto-Fix button for the IntegratedGPUWarning became customizable, and it is bigger and more noticeable by default.^[8]
• 1.10.3: added early GPU renderer detection, so the Integrated GPU warning shows even on very early crashes.^[8]

Earlier releases

• 1.9.15: the mod was backported so it is available for all modloaders on every version from 1.16.5 to 1.21.8 without gaps.^[9]
• 1.9.11 and 1.9.12: fixed a rare issue where Crash Assistant did not start, caused by the switch to gpu-detect-jni.dll in 1.9.7. GPU detection also moved to a separate process.^[10]
• 1.9.9: added new MissingIndium, ModuleFind and UnsupportedClassVersion analyses, and fixed Crash Assistant not starting in some rare cases because it thought Minecraft had finished normally.^[11]
• 1.9.7: added the MixinApply log analysis, which detects most crashes caused by mixins applying or conflicting. At that release it was disabled for modpacks because it was in beta. The release also swapped Vulkan GPU detection back to gpu-detect-jni.dll, which cut the mod size from about 1,6 mb to about 600 kb.^[12]
• 1.9.6: the config option modpack_modlist.force_add_full_modlist_as_log was moved to modpack_modlist.add_modlist_txt_as_log, now enabled by default for modpacks as well as individual downloads. The modlist.txt log is also printed as a proper table.^[13]
• 1.9.3: you can customize the font size and color of the upload all and request help buttons, which are bigger and colored by default to grab your attention. It also added the config option generated_message.color_message to turn off ANSI color in generated messages.^[13]