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debugging

@dhruvbaldawa/ccconfigs
8
21

Systematic debugging that identifies root causes rather than treating symptoms. Uses sequential thinking for complex analysis, web search for research, and structured investigation to avoid circular reasoning and whack-a-mole fixes.

Install Skill

Shared

Installs to .agents/skills, used by Codex, Amp, Warp, Cursor, OpenCode, and more.

CodexAmp
WarpCursorOpenCode
ClineGemini CLI
GitHub Copilot
Personal

Available across projects.

$npx skills-installer add @dhruvbaldawa/ccconfigs/debugging --client shared
Project

Writes to .agents/skills.

$npx skills-installer add @dhruvbaldawa/ccconfigs/debugging -p --client shared
Note: Review the skill instructions before using it.

SKILL.md

name debugging
description Systematic debugging that identifies root causes rather than treating symptoms. Uses structured multi-hypothesis reasoning for complex analysis, web search for research, and structured investigation to avoid circular reasoning and whack-a-mole fixes.

Debugging

Quickstart

  1. Capture exact repro, scope, and recent changes
  2. Isolate components/files; trace path to failure
  3. Research exact error; check official docs
  4. Compare failing vs working patterns; form a testable hypothesis
  5. Verify with minimal test; apply minimal fix across all instances; validate

When to Use This Skill

Use debugging when:

  • A bug has no obvious cause or has been "fixed" before but returned
  • Error messages are unclear or misleading
  • Multiple attempted fixes have failed
  • The issue might affect multiple locations in the codebase
  • Understanding the root cause is critical for proper resolution

Skip this skill for:

  • Simple syntax errors with obvious fixes
  • Trivial typos or missing imports
  • Well-understood, isolated bugs with clear solutions

Core Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Based on documented failures in AI debugging, explicitly avoid:

  1. Circular Reasoning: Never propose the same fix twice without learning why it failed
  2. Premature Victory: Always verify fixes were actually implemented and work
  3. Pattern Amnesia: Maintain awareness of established code patterns throughout the session
  4. Symptom Chasing: Resist fixing error messages without understanding root causes
  5. Implementation Before Understanding: Never jump to code changes before examining existing patterns

Tool Decision Tree

  • Know exact text/symbol? → Grep
  • Need conceptual location or a broad sweep? → Explore agent
  • Need full file context? → Read
  • Unfamiliar error/behavior? → Context7, then WebSearch / Parallel Search
  • Complex multi-hypothesis analysis? → reference/root-cause-framework.md templates

Decision Framework

IF same fix proposed twice → Stop; work through the sequential thinking templates (reference/root-cause-framework.md) IF error is unclear → Research via WebSearch → Parallel Search; verify with docs IF area is unfamiliar → Explore with the Explore agent or Grep; don't guess IF fix seems too easy → Confirm it addresses root cause (not symptom) IF multiple hypotheses exist → Evaluate explicitly (evidence for/against) IF similar code works → Find and diff via Grep and Read IF declaring success → Show changed lines; test fail-before/pass-after IF fix spans multiple files → Search and patch all occurrences IF library behavior assumed → Check Context7 (resolve-library-id → query-docs)

Quality Checks Before Finishing

Before declaring a bug fixed, verify:

  • Root cause identified and documented
  • Fix addresses cause, not symptom
  • All occurrences fixed (searched project-wide)
  • Follows existing code patterns
  • Original symptom eliminated
  • No regressions introduced
  • Tests/logs verify under relevant conditions
  • Docs/tests updated (comments, docs, regression tests)

References

  • reference/root-cause-framework.md
  • reference/antipatterns.md