investigate

Evidence-based debugging identifies a failure scenario and collects concrete evidence from runtime outputs, logs, and code paths. It traces execution with file:line references to substantiate findings, ensuring root-cause hypotheses are supported by cited evidence.

Trace the execution path by reproducing the failure and collecting runtime outputs. Explicit file:line references are cited for every claim to substantiate findings, mapping the exact code paths traversed during the failure scenario.

Fixes should only be proposed after root causes are confirmed with cited evidence. The investigation phase strictly avoids code changes, gating potential fixes behind an explicit approval step to prevent premature modifications.

Use an approval-driven workflow that gates potential fixes behind an explicit approval step. This prevents premature code changes by requiring root causes to be fully confirmed with cited evidence like file:line references before any modifications occur.

No, reproducing the failure is a core requirement. Evidence collection begins by reproducing the failure scenario to gather actual runtime outputs and trace code paths, which are then used to substantiate root-cause hypotheses.

Guesswork occurs when fixes are proposed without evidence. This workflow requires citing file:line references and actual outputs before proposing fixes, reducing guesswork by presenting conclusions only when supported by cited evidence.