What problem does it solve?
This Skill provides a rigorous, four-phase framework to systematically debug any technical issue, preventing the common trap of fixing symptoms instead of root causes. It ensures you thoroughly understand the problem before attempting solutions, saving countless hours of "whack-a-mole" debugging.
Core Features & Use Cases
- Root Cause Investigation: Guides you to carefully read errors, reproduce issues, check changes, and gather evidence in multi-component systems.
- Pattern Analysis & Hypothesis Testing: Helps identify underlying patterns, form single, testable hypotheses, and verify them minimally.
- Defensive Implementation: Ensures fixes target the root cause and encourages adding validation layers to prevent recurrence.
- Use Case: When a complex system fails, use this Skill to methodically trace the error through multiple layers, identify the exact point of failure, and implement a robust solution that prevents future regressions.
Quick Start
Observe the symptom (e.g., an error message)
Error: git init failed in /Users/jesse/project/packages/core
Then, follow the tracing process:
1. Find Immediate Cause
2. Ask: What Called This?
3. Keep Tracing Up
4. Find Original Trigger
Example diagnostic logging:
console.error('DEBUG git init:', {
directory,
cwd: process.cwd(),
nodeEnv: process.env.NODE_ENV,
stack: new Error().stack,
});
