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Top Crashers

  • 7 installs
  • 3.5k repo stars
  • Updated August 5, 2026
  • brave/brave-core

top-crashers is a Claude Code skill that queries Brave's Backtrace crash reporting for top crashers, returning signatures, stacks, platform/version breakdowns, and regression flags.

About

Queries Brave's Backtrace crash-reporting instance for the top crashers. It returns developer-actionable data including crash signatures, stack traces, platform and version breakdowns, channel mapping, code-origin classification, and triage URLs, and can detect new or rising regressions. Only aggregate PII-safe data is output. A developer uses it to prioritize which crashes to fix after a release.

  • Pulls top crash signatures and stacks from Backtrace
  • Classifies crashes as Brave vs Chromium code origin
  • Detects NEW and RISING regression crashers via compare mode

Top Crashers by the numbers

  • 7 all-time installs (skills.sh)
  • Ranked #432 of 596 Debugging skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
  • Data as of Aug 5, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
At a glance

top-crashers capabilities & compatibility

Requires BACKTRACE_API_KEY (query:post capability) and BACKTRACE_PROJECT.

Capabilities
debugging
Use cases
debugging
Runs
Runs locally
Pricing
Free
From the docs

What top-crashers says it does

Query Brave's Backtrace crash reporting instance for top crashers. Returns developer-actionable data including crash signatures, stack traces, platform/version breakdowns, channel mapping, code origin
SKILL.md
The `BACKTRACE_API_KEY` environment variable must be set with a token that has `query:post` capability.
SKILL.md
npx skills add https://github.com/brave/brave-core --skill top-crashers

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Listed on Skillselion
Installs7
repo stars3.5k
Last updatedAugust 5, 2026
Repositorybrave/brave-core

What it does

Query Brave's Backtrace instance for top crashers with stacks, platforms, versions, and regression flags.

Who is it for?

Brave developers prioritizing crash fixes and detecting stability regressions after a release.

Skip if: Pulling full per-crash PII details, since only aggregate data is output and triage URLs are used instead.

When should I use this skill?

You need to know what is crashing most, or which new crashers a recent change introduced.

What you get

A ranked, PII-safe list of top crashers with code origin, regression flags, and triage URLs.

By the numbers

  • default query is --days 7 --limit 25
  • 3-step job (parse, run, present)

Files

SKILL.mdMarkdownGitHub ↗

Top Crashers

Query Brave's Backtrace crash reporting instance for top crashers. Returns developer-actionable data including crash signatures, stack traces, platform/version breakdowns, channel mapping, code origin classification, and triage URLs.

PII-safe: Only aggregate data is output. Use the triage URLs for full crash details.

---

When to Use

  • Investigating stability regressions after a release
  • Prioritizing crash fixes — which crashes affect the most users
  • Detecting new crashers introduced by recent changes
  • Filing crash bugs — the output includes suggested issue titles and labels
  • During development — checking if your area of code has top crashers

---

Environment Requirements

The BACKTRACE_API_KEY environment variable must be set with a token that has query:post capability. The BACKTRACE_PROJECT environment variable should also be set (or pass --project as an argument).

If not set, inform the user:

BACKTRACE_API_KEY must be set. Create a token with query:post capability in Backtrace project settings.
BACKTRACE_PROJECT should be set to the Backtrace project name (or pass --project).

---

The Job

When invoked, run the top-crashers script and present the results to the user.

Step 1: Parse Arguments

Map the user's request to script arguments:

User saysScript flags
"top crashers" (no args)--days 7 --limit 25
"top 10 crashers"--limit 10
"crashers on Windows"--platform Windows
"crashers on Mac"--platform Darwin
"crashers on Linux"--platform Linux
"crashers on Android"--platform Android
"crashers in version 1.73"--version 1.73.
"new crashers" or "crash regressions"--new-only
"compare crashers" or "what's regressing"--compare 2
"crashers last 30 days"--days 30
"crashers since 2025-02-01"--since 2025-02-01
"worst crashers"--order count (default)
"most recent crashers"--order last-seen
"actual crashes" or "real crashes"--crashes-only
"crashes on nightly" or "nightly crashers"--channels nightly
"crashes on nightly and beta"--channels nightly,beta
"release crashes"--channels release
"brave code crashes" or "our crashes"--brave-only
"what should we fix" or "actionable crashes"--crashes-only --channels nightly

If the user provides explicit flags (e.g., /top-crashers --compare 3 --platform Windows), pass them through directly.

Step 2: Run the Script

python3 ./.claude/skills/top-crashers/top-crashers.py --project "$BACKTRACE_PROJECT" --format json [parsed flags]

Always use --format json when running programmatically so you can parse and present the results. For a quick human-readable dump, use --format markdown instead.

Step 3: Present Results

After running the script, present the results to the user in a clear format:

1. Summary header: "Found N crash groups in the last M days" 2. For each crasher (in order):

  • Rank, suggested title, and badges:
  • [CRASH] or [DUMP_WITHOUT_CRASHING] — whether this is an actual

crash or DumpWithoutCrashing. DumpWithoutCrashing is a non-fatal diagnostic that does NOT affect users.

  • [BRAVE], [CHROMIUM], or [MIXED] — whether the crashing code

is in Brave's codebase (src/brave) or upstream Chromium (src/). Only Brave code crashes are directly fixable by the Brave team.

  • [NEW], [RISING] — regression indicators
  • Crash count and rate (crashes/day)
  • Channel breakdown — which channels are affected (Nightly, Beta,

Release, Older). Highlight whether the crash affects current Nightly since that represents the latest master code.

  • Top platform with % share
  • Top version with % share (displayed as "Brave X.Y.Z (Cr N)")
  • Recency (when last seen)
  • Callstack (top frames)
  • Triage URL for full details

3. If compare mode: Highlight NEW and RISING crashers prominently

Presentation priorities:

  • Always clearly distinguish actual crashes from DumpWithoutCrashing
  • Highlight crashes affecting Nightly (current master) — these are the most

actionable

  • Note code origin — crashes in Brave code are directly fixable
  • When prioritizing what to fix, recommend focusing on: actual crashes (not

dumps) that affect Nightly (current code) in Brave code

GitHub Formatting Rules

When mentioning a crasher's rank in GitHub issues, PR descriptions, or comments, never use #N syntax (e.g., #8). GitHub automatically converts #N into a link to issue or PR number N, which is misleading.

  • Bad: "This is the #8 crasher this week" — GitHub links to issue/PR 8
  • Good: "This is the No. 8 crasher this week", "This is crasher rank 8",

"the 8th top crasher"

This applies to issue titles, bodies, PR descriptions, and comments — anywhere GitHub renders markdown.

Step 4: Offer Follow-Up Actions

After presenting results, suggest relevant follow-up actions:

  • "Want me to look into any of these crashes in more detail?"
  • "I can filter by a specific platform or version"
  • "I can check if any of these are regressions with --compare"
  • "I can show only actual crashes with --crashes-only"
  • "I can filter by channel with --channels nightly, --channels nightly,beta,

etc."

  • "I can show only Brave code crashes with --brave-only"
  • "I can draft GitHub issues for the top crashers"

---

Usage Examples

# Default: top 25 crashers in last 7 days
python3 ./.claude/skills/top-crashers/top-crashers.py --project "$BACKTRACE_PROJECT"

# Top 10, JSON output for parsing
python3 ./.claude/skills/top-crashers/top-crashers.py --project "$BACKTRACE_PROJECT" --format json --limit 10

# Real crashes only (exclude DumpWithoutCrashing)
python3 ./.claude/skills/top-crashers/top-crashers.py --project "$BACKTRACE_PROJECT" --crashes-only

# Crashes affecting current Nightly
python3 ./.claude/skills/top-crashers/top-crashers.py --project "$BACKTRACE_PROJECT" --channels nightly

# Crashes on Nightly and Beta
python3 ./.claude/skills/top-crashers/top-crashers.py --project "$BACKTRACE_PROJECT" --channels nightly,beta

# Brave-specific code crashes only
python3 ./.claude/skills/top-crashers/top-crashers.py --project "$BACKTRACE_PROJECT" --brave-only

# Actionable crashes: real crashes on Nightly in Brave code
python3 ./.claude/skills/top-crashers/top-crashers.py --project "$BACKTRACE_PROJECT" --crashes-only --channels nightly --brave-only

# Windows-only crashers
python3 ./.claude/skills/top-crashers/top-crashers.py --project "$BACKTRACE_PROJECT" --platform Windows

# Regression detection: compare last 2 days vs prior 2 days
python3 ./.claude/skills/top-crashers/top-crashers.py --project "$BACKTRACE_PROJECT" --compare 2

# Only new crashers (first seen within lookback window)
python3 ./.claude/skills/top-crashers/top-crashers.py --project "$BACKTRACE_PROJECT" --new-only

# Specific version, sorted by recency
python3 ./.claude/skills/top-crashers/top-crashers.py --project "$BACKTRACE_PROJECT" --version 1.73. --order last-seen

# Last 30 days, CSV for spreadsheet
python3 ./.claude/skills/top-crashers/top-crashers.py --project "$BACKTRACE_PROJECT" --format csv --days 30

# Dry run to see the query without executing
python3 ./.claude/skills/top-crashers/top-crashers.py --project "$BACKTRACE_PROJECT" --dry-run

# NDJSON for piping to jq
python3 ./.claude/skills/top-crashers/top-crashers.py --project "$BACKTRACE_PROJECT" --format ndjson --limit 5 | jq .fingerprint

---

Script Details

Location: ./.claude/skills/top-crashers/top-crashers.py

Output formats: markdown, json, ndjson, csv

Exit codes:

  • 0: Success
  • 1: Auth/config error (missing API key or project)
  • 2: Network/API error
  • 3: No results matching criteria

Full flag reference:

FlagDescriptionDefault
--projectBacktrace project nameBACKTRACE_PROJECT env
--daysLookback window in days7
--sinceISO date start (alternative to --days)
--limitMax crash groups to return25
--min-countMinimum crash count threshold10
--formatOutput formatmarkdown
--platformFilter by platform
--versionFilter by version prefix
--channelFilter by channel
--orderSort: count, last-seen, ratecount
--framesStack frames to show8
--new-onlyOnly first-seen-in-window crashersfalse
--crashes-onlyExclude DumpWithoutCrashing entriesfalse
--channelsFilter by channels (comma-separated: nightly,beta,release, or 'all')all
--brave-onlyOnly crashes in Brave codefalse
--brave-srcPath to src/brave for code origin grepauto-discovered
--compareRegression: compare N days vs prior N
--dry-runPrint query without executingfalse
--verbosePrint timing/debug infofalse

---

Output Fields Per Crash Group

Each crash group includes these allowlisted fields only (PII-safe):

  • fingerprint — SHA256 group ID (safe to reference in issues)
  • count / crashes_per_day — Occurrence counts
  • classifier — Crash signal (e.g. dump, invalid-access, breakpoint, abort)
  • crash_type"crash" (actual user-impacting) or "dump"

(DumpWithoutCrashing diagnostic)

  • code_origin"brave" (Brave-specific code), "chromium" (upstream), or

"mixed"

  • top_frame — First meaningful crashing function
  • signature — Combined TopFrame (Classifier) on Platform Version
  • callstack — Top N sanitized stack frames
  • top_platform / platform_pct — Most affected platform + % share
  • top_version / version_pct — Most affected version + % share
  • channel_breakdown{"nightly": N, "beta": N, "release": N, "older": N}
  • top_channel — Channel with most crashes
  • affects_nightly — Whether this crash appears on current Nightly
  • first_seen / last_seen / recency — Timestamps
  • is_new — Whether first seen within the lookback window
  • triage_url — Link to Backtrace UI for full details
  • suggested_title — Ready-to-use issue title
  • labels — Suggested issue labels

In compare mode, also:

  • regression_badge — NEW, RISING, FALLING, or STABLE
  • change_factor — Ratio of recent vs baseline count
  • baseline_count — Count from the baseline period

---

Version Format

Brave versions follow the format CHROMIUM_MAJOR.BRAVE_MAJOR.BRAVE_MINOR.BRAVE_PATCH:

  • 145.1.87.42 = Brave 1.87.42 on Chromium 145
  • Channel mapping is fetched from the Brave Release Schedule wiki at runtime

---

Limitations

  • Requires BACKTRACE_API_KEY with query:post capability
  • Stack frames are sanitized (paths stripped, truncated at 200 chars)
  • Histograms show top 5 values; use triage URL for full breakdown
  • Compare mode uses a simple 2x threshold for RISING detection
  • Code origin detection greps for crashing symbols in src/brave when the

directory is found, with namespace heuristic fallback

  • Channel versions are fetched from the wiki with hardcoded fallback defaults

Related skills

Debuggingmonitoring

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