Radar

Summary

Radar (iOS)

Radar's production (top) and development (bottom) iOS icons.
Original author(s)	Apple Inc.
Developer(s)	Apple Inc.
Stable release	4.4.1 (358-g0c2b6) (latest known version)
Operating system	iOS
Available in	English
Type	Bug reporting
License	Closed source

Radar is Apple's internal bug reporting and tracking system for iOS, macOS, and the web.

The Radar app for iOS is installed from Switchboard, and is widely known for its URL scheme, rdar://. Navigating to rdar:// on a device without Radar installed will redirect you to Apple's outward-facing web interface, Bug Reporter, which is open to external customers (such as consumers, developers, and businesses) to report bugs in production or beta Apple products.

The Radar app is also used to file bugs at a somewhat higher priority, and for internal products as well as external ones. In many applications, especially internal ones, Radar will enable extra bug reporting and feedback features.

Radar is also known for its infamous mascot, the aardvark, which was previously featured in its icon. It can also be found in Radar's iMessage sticker pack, which contains 24 stickers including:

• FILE A RADAR.
• DUPE
• P1 (Priority 1 - Show stopper)
• NTBF (Not To Be Fixed)
• 20 stickers of the aardvark doing various things (shrugging, running, sleeping, etc).

The System

The Radar bug system is comprised of five stages: Analyze, Integrate, Build, Verify, and Close.

Analyze

Radar bugs begin with the user filing a bug in either Bug Reporter (for external products) or Radar (for internal products). The bug, often referred to as a "problem," is then given an 8-digit Problem ID and assigned to an engineer (the "assignee") to investigate. The assignee can also CC the problem to other employees that may be fit to help solve it.

After proper investigation, the problem is assigned a priority:

• P1 - Show stopper
• P2 - Expected
• P3 - Important
• P4 - Nice to have

Integrate

Now that all appropriate engineers have been notified of the problem, they can begin developing and integrating a solution. The problem is assigned a target build for which it must be fixed by, as well as a milestone number.

Build

The relevant project is in the process of being built with fixes included.

Verify

The problem is verified to have been solved with patches applied in the most recent build. If it is not solved, return to the Integrate stage.

Close

The problem is now solved, and can be closed on Radar. All users that submitted the problem, including those marked as duplicate, are notified that it has been solved. Before it is archived, a resolution is added to the problem:

• Software Changed
• Documentation Changed
• Hardware Changed
• Configuration Changed
• Data Changed
• Feature Removed
• Vendor Disqualified
• Process Changed
• Item Completed

In some circumstances, the problem is closed without being solved. In that case, the resolution is one of the following:

• Duplicate
• Cannot Reproduce
• Behaves Correctly
• Not To Be Fixed
• 3rd Party To Resolve
• Insufficient Information

Version History

• 2.1.3
• 3.10
• 4.4.1