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Diagnostics

Some faults leave nothing behind: a program closed by something else has no chance to put up a message, and a fault that happens once a fortnight cannot be reproduced to order. The Diagnostics page in Tools → Options decides how much SQLite Expert writes down about its own behaviour, so that a fault like that leaves evidence the first time it happens.

Everything written stays in a folder on your own machine. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Logging

One setting, Record, with three positions:

  • Nothing — SQLite Expert writes nothing about itself. A crash still produces its usual report, which is what sits behind the message you see when one happens.
  • Diagnostic logging — the default. Each run writes about ten lines: the SQLite library in use, databases opened and closed, schema changes, extensions, errors, and how the program ended. It also catches a stack overflow or memory corruption, which would otherwise take the program without a word.
  • Diagnostic logging and memory checking (slower) — also watches released memory, so memory used after it has been released is caught as it happens. Use it while reproducing a fault and turn it off afterwards: it makes the program slower to start and uses about 20 MB more.

A change takes effect when SQLite Expert is restarted — the diagnostics have to be in place before the program runs in order to watch it.

Files

Diagnostic files shows how much has been written, with a Clear button beside it. Each run writes one log named for its date, time and process — 2026-09-12_143452_p5152.log — and, if that run crashed, the report beside it under the same name. The ten most recent runs are kept and older ones deleted, so there is nothing to tidy up by hand.

The folder is Diagnostics, beside your settings: under %APPDATA%\SQLite Expert for an installed copy, or beside the executable in portable mode.

What a log contains

What the program did, by name:

2026-09-12 14:34:55.768  connect dbdemos.db3
2026-09-12 14:34:55.785  metadata refresh dbdemos: 31 added, 0 modified, 0 deleted
2026-09-12 14:35:22.555  Program stopping normally

Databases are named by file name, never by full path — a path carries your account name and where you keep your work, and neither explains a fault. No data from any table is written, and no SQL. Crash reports carry no account name, no machine name and no command line.

If you report a problem, attaching the newest pair of files from the Diagnostics folder usually saves a round of questions.