Fetching Buildkite Failures Skill

Fetching Buildkite Failures

Overview

Diagnose and fix CI failures by fetching build results from Buildkite, extracting actionable error information, and suggesting fixes.

Prerequisites

Environment variables must be set:

BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN - Buildkite API token with read access
BUILDKITE_ORGANIZATION_SLUG - Organization slug (e.g., buildr)

Workflow

digraph workflow {
    rankdir=TB;
    node [shape=box];
    
    fetch [label="1. Run fetch script"];
    check [label="2. Check for failures" shape=diamond];
    passed [label="Report: Build passed!"];
    read [label="3. Read failing source files"];
    present [label="4. Present failures + proposed fixes"];
    ask [label="5. Ask: Apply fix?" shape=diamond];
    apply [label="Apply the fix"];
    complex [label="Complex failure?" shape=diamond];
    debug [label="Use systematic-debugging skill"];
    next [label="Next failure?" shape=diamond];
    done [label="Done"];
    
    fetch -> check;
    check -> passed [label="passed"];
    check -> read [label="failed"];
    read -> present;
    present -> ask;
    ask -> apply [label="yes"];
    ask -> complex [label="no"];
    apply -> next;
    complex -> debug [label="yes"];
    complex -> next [label="no"];
    debug -> next;
    next -> read [label="yes"];
    next -> done [label="no"];
}

Quick Reference

Fetch failures for current branch:

python scripts/fetch_buildkite_failures.py

Fetch specific build:

python scripts/fetch_buildkite_failures.py --build 1723

Fetch different branch:

python scripts/fetch_buildkite_failures.py --branch main

Step-by-Step Process

1. Fetch Build Failures

Run the script to get structured JSON output:

python scripts/fetch_buildkite_failures.py

The script outputs JSON with:

Build info (number, branch, state, URL)
Failed jobs with extracted errors
Summary counts by error type

2. For Each Failure

Read the relevant source file to understand context:

For test failures: read the test file at the indicated line
For lint errors: read the source file at the indicated line
For TypeScript errors: read the file and understand the type issue

3. Present Findings and Propose Fix

Show the user:

What failed (test name, file, line)
Error message
Proposed fix based on the error

4. Ask User What To Do

Use the question tool to ask:

"How would you like to proceed with this failure?"
Options:
- "Apply the suggested fix"
- "Investigate further before fixing"
- "Skip this failure"
- "Use systematic-debugging for deeper investigation"

5. Complex Failures

If the failure requires deeper investigation (e.g., unclear root cause, flaky test, environmental issue), recommend the systematic-debugging skill.

Error Types Detected

| Type | Detection | Common Fixes | |------|-----------|--------------| | Test failure | Minitest/RSpec failure output | Fix assertion, update expected value, fix test setup | | Lint error | Rubocop/Biome violations | Auto-fix with rubocop -a or pnpm biome:fix | | TypeScript | TSC compilation errors | Add types, fix type mismatches | | Database | ActiveRecord errors | Run migrations, fix schema |

Common Mistakes

| Mistake | Solution | |---------|----------| | Missing env vars | Set BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN and BUILDKITE_ORGANIZATION_SLUG | | Wrong branch | Use --branch flag or check git branch --show-current | | Build still running | Wait for completion or check partial results | | Rate limiting | Wait and retry |

Integration with Other Skills

systematic-debugging: Use for complex failures requiring root cause analysis
test-driven-development: After fixing, ensure tests follow TDD principles
verification-before-completion: Run tests locally before pushing fix

Agent Skills: Fetching Buildkite Failures

Skill Files