Debugging with GitNexus Skill

Debugging with GitNexus

When to Use

"Why is this function failing?"
"Trace where this error comes from"
"Who calls this method?"
"This endpoint returns 500"
Investigating bugs, errors, or unexpected behavior

Workflow

1. gitnexus_query({query: "<error or symptom>"})            → Find related execution flows
2. gitnexus_context({name: "<suspect>"})                    → See callers/callees/processes
3. READ gitnexus://repo/{name}/process/{name}                → Trace execution flow
4. gitnexus_cypher({query: "MATCH path..."})                 → Custom traces if needed

If "Index is stale" → run npx gitnexus analyze in terminal.

Checklist

- [ ] Understand the symptom (error message, unexpected behavior)
- [ ] gitnexus_query for error text or related code
- [ ] Identify the suspect function from returned processes
- [ ] gitnexus_context to see callers and callees
- [ ] Trace execution flow via process resource if applicable
- [ ] gitnexus_cypher for custom call chain traces if needed
- [ ] Read source files to confirm root cause

Debugging Patterns

| Symptom | GitNexus Approach | | -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | | Error message | gitnexus_query for error text → context on throw sites | | Wrong return value | context on the function → trace callees for data flow | | Intermittent failure | context → look for external calls, async deps | | Performance issue | context → find symbols with many callers (hot paths) | | Recent regression | detect_changes to see what your changes affect |

Tools

gitnexus_query — find code related to error:

gitnexus_query({query: "payment validation error"})
→ Processes: CheckoutFlow, ErrorHandling
→ Symbols: validatePayment, handlePaymentError, PaymentException

gitnexus_context — full context for a suspect:

gitnexus_context({name: "validatePayment"})
→ Incoming calls: processCheckout, webhookHandler
→ Outgoing calls: verifyCard, fetchRates (external API!)
→ Processes: CheckoutFlow (step 3/7)

gitnexus_cypher — custom call chain traces:

MATCH path = (a)-[:CodeRelation {type: 'CALLS'}*1..2]->(b:Function {name: "validatePayment"})
RETURN [n IN nodes(path) | n.name] AS chain

Example: "Payment endpoint returns 500 intermittently"

1. gitnexus_query({query: "payment error handling"})
   → Processes: CheckoutFlow, ErrorHandling
   → Symbols: validatePayment, handlePaymentError

2. gitnexus_context({name: "validatePayment"})
   → Outgoing calls: verifyCard, fetchRates (external API!)

3. READ gitnexus://repo/my-app/process/CheckoutFlow
   → Step 3: validatePayment → calls fetchRates (external)

4. Root cause: fetchRates calls external API without proper timeout

Agent Skills: Debugging with GitNexus

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