Agent-Skills.md

Agent Skills: Debugging Expert

Systematic troubleshooting using the Scientific Method. Use when debugging crashes, tracing errors, diagnosing unexpected behavior, or investigating exceptions. (triggers: debug, fix bug, crash, error, exception, troubleshooting)

UncategorizedID: hoangnguyen0403/agent-skills-standard/common-debugging

Repository

hoangnguyen0403/agent-skills-standard
HoangNguyen0403License: Apache-2.0
362103

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pnpm dlx add-skill https://github.com/HoangNguyen0403/agent-skills-standard/tree/HEAD/.codex/skills/common/common-debugging

Skill Files

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.codex/skills/common/common-debugging/SKILL.md

Skill Metadata

Name
common-debugging
Description
Troubleshoot systematically using the Scientific Method. Use when debugging crashes, tracing errors, diagnosing unexpected behavior, or investigating exceptions.

Debugging Expert

Priority: P1 (OPERATIONAL)

Root-Cause Protocol

  1. OBSERVE: Gather error, logs, repro steps, recent diffs.
  2. REPRODUCE: Make the failure happen on demand or gather more evidence.
  3. HYPOTHESIZE: State one hypothesis in plain language.
  4. EXPERIMENT: Change one variable to prove or kill the theory.
  5. FIX: Touch code only after root cause proven.
  6. VERIFY: Re-run the failing case and regression checks.

Red Flags

  • Stop if you are changing code before repro: You are guessing.
  • Stop if fix #2 starts before understanding fix #1: Re-open root cause.
  • Stop if "quick patch for now" appears: Symptom masking starts there.

Rationalization Prevention

  • "The bug is obvious": Obvious bugs still need evidence.
  • "I already tried a few things": That means you need structure.
  • "It only fails in prod": Gather prod evidence, do not invent local myths.
  • Minimal repro first: A minimal reproduction beats more random fixes.

Anti-Patterns

  • No shotgun debugging: Prove root cause before changing code.
  • No debug prints in production: Remove all print/console.log before commit.
  • No symptom masking: Fix root cause; never swallow errors without handling.

References