MyDotNetFrameworkHostCrasher (C++ hosting .NET Framework)

Testing crashes in .NET Framework code hosted by a native C++ application with the sample 'MyDotNetFrameworkHostCrasher'

MyDotNetFrameworkHostCrasher is for applications that are native C++ programs which load the .NET Framework and call into C# code. The sample's C++ program initializes the BugSplat native SDK, starts the .NET Framework 4.7.2 runtime, and calls into a C# library that crashes. The report's call stack shows the C# frames on top of the C++ program's own frames.

To get started, download the BugSplat SDK for .NET by clicking here, then unzip it.

1. Open MyDotNetFrameworkHostCrasher.sln with Visual Studio 2022+.

2. Define a value for BUGSPLAT_DATABASE in Samples\MyDotNetFrameworkHostCrasher\MyDotNetFrameworkHostCrasher.h.

3. Create a Client ID and Client Secret pair for your BugSplat database on the Integrations page.

4. Create a file Samples\MyDotNetFrameworkHostCrasher\Scripts\env.ps1 and populate it with the following (being sure to substitute your your-client-id and your-client-secret values from the previous step):

$BUGSPLAT_CLIENT_ID = "your-client-id"
$BUGSPLAT_CLIENT_SECRET = "your-client-secret"

1. Build the solution for x64. It builds the C# library (MyDotNetFrameworkHostCrasherManaged) and the C++ program, and a post-build step uploads their executables, DLLs, and .pdb files to BugSplat.

2. Run the program from a command prompt with one of the crash options below, outside of the Visual Studio debugger, for example:

MyDotNetFrameworkHostCrasher.exe /DeepThrow

Option	What happens in the C# code
/Throw	Throws an unhandled exception.
/DeepThrow	Throws an unhandled exception four methods deep.
/Thread	Throws an unhandled exception on a worker thread.
/AccessViolation	Writes to an invalid address.
/NativeCallback	Calls back into a C++ function in the host program that crashes (C++ → C# → C++).
/NoCrash	Returns to the C++ program without crashing.

Add /Quiet to skip the crash dialog. Run the program with no arguments to see every option.

1. When the crash dialog appears, click Send report, then open the crash from the BugSplat Dashboard to see the combined C# and C++ call stack with file names and line numbers.

How It Works

BugSplat is initialized in the C++ program, before the .NET Framework runtime starts, so its exception handling is in place when the C# code runs. The program calls SetCrashType(8), which tells BugSplat to resolve the managed (C#) frames in its minidumps. To report crashes from your own C++ application that hosts .NET, follow BugSplat for Windows (C++) and add that same call. If your application is a managed .NET Framework or .NET 10 program instead, use BugSplat for .NET.

A stack overflow in the C# code isn't reported: the .NET Framework ends the process without running any exception handlers, and reports it only through its own Windows Error Reporting event.