investigate

Root-cause debugging systematically identifies and fixes underlying issues rather than surface symptoms. This structured workflow enforces an Iron Law: no fixes without root cause, guiding you through context gathering, pattern analysis, hypothesis testing, and verification.

To debug a stack trace, start a session and follow guided phases: gather context and collect symptoms, analyze patterns and prior learnings, form root cause hypotheses, implement a minimal verifiable fix, and verify while recording learnings.

The best way to analyze behavioral anomalies is using a repeatable protocol with scope control. You collect evidence, formulate hypotheses, and validate fixes, applying safety rails like scope locks to prevent unintended changes during investigation.

Yes, this debugging workflow applies to errors, stack traces, and behavioral anomalies across codebases. It is language-agnostic and relies on gathering context, analyzing patterns, and testing hypotheses to resolve issues.

After identifying a root cause, the workflow implements a minimal, verifiable fix and writes regression tests. This occurs during the implementation phase, followed by verification and learning capture to prevent future recurrences.