Capture Data

Capture Data is a tool made by Apple to log system and diagnostic information from a Mac or iPhone for Apple Engineering. This application is used by Apple Support Advisors and usually sent to customers by email with a request for file upload. This tool collects information about the system such as the system’s serial number, system configuration, crash logs, network configurations, iTunes logs, iPhone Recovery Logs, etc. It also allows for the user to include additional logging information about a particular issue they may be experiencing. The application will gather the information and output a generated DMG archive containing all the logs and data that is to be sent to Apple. The generated DMG archive is then uploaded to the file upload request sent by the Apple Support Advisor who will then open an RTA request to submit the gathered diagnostics information to Apple Engineering. The Engineering team uses this information to determine the exact cause of the issue the customer is experiencing and determines if the issue is server-side, client-configuration-related, or build-related so the issue can be resolved. Once the issue is determined, the engineer will then update the RTA and request the Advisor to contact the customer stating the issue is fixed, will require more time, or more data is needed to fix the issue.

This tool does gather logs created by Apple Internal Applications such as AirSwitch, PurpleRestore, or PurpleSNIFF inside the generated DMG file.