elixir-root-cause-only

Root-cause tracing in Elixir involves systematically reproducing the error, inspecting stack traces and execution flow to identify where the actual problem originates, then fixing only that root issue rather than masking symptoms. This Skill guides you through a four-phase workflow: Reproduce the issue reliably, Trace execution to pinpoint the source, apply a single Fix, and Verify the solution works.

Quick patches treat symptoms rather than underlying causes, creating technical debt and recurring failures. Systematic root-cause debugging in Elixir prevents random code changes by enforcing reproducible steps, documented diagnosis, and verified minimal fixes that address the actual problem, saving time and code quality.

Undefined-function errors in Elixir require tracing the call stack and module dependencies to find where the function should be defined or imported. A structured debugging approach reproduces the error with exact steps, traces execution paths, identifies the root cause in module structure or imports, and applies a verified fix.

Verification in Elixir debugging confirms your fix resolves the original error without introducing new ones. Execute your reproduction steps against the corrected code, run relevant tests, and document the root cause and fix location to prevent symptom recurrence and ensure the solution is minimal and complete.

Yes. Failing tests in Elixir benefit from root-cause tracing: reproduce the test failure with exact inputs, trace test execution and assertions to find where expectations diverge from actual behavior, fix only the root cause in your code, and verify the test passes alongside related tests.

Document the root cause you discovered, the module and line where you made the change, the reason for that specific fix, and verification results showing the error no longer occurs. This record prevents re-introducing the bug and helps teammates understand why the fix was necessary.