Agent skill

systematic-debugging

Use when encountering any bug, test failure, or unexpected behavior, before proposing fixes. Requires root cause investigation first.

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Install this agent skill to your Project

npx add-skill https://github.com/a5c-ai/babysitter/tree/main/library/methodologies/superpowers/skills/systematic-debugging

SKILL.md

Systematic Debugging

Overview

Random fixes waste time and create new bugs. ALWAYS find root cause before attempting fixes.

Core principle: No fixes without root cause investigation first.

The Four Phases

  1. Root Cause Investigation - Read errors, reproduce, check changes, gather evidence at component boundaries
  2. Pattern Analysis - Find working examples, compare against references, identify differences
  3. Hypothesis and Testing - Form single hypothesis, test minimally, one variable at a time
  4. Implementation - Create failing test case, implement single fix, verify

When 3+ Fixes Fail

Stop and question the architecture. Pattern of repeated failures indicates architectural problems, not implementation bugs.

Red Flags (STOP and Follow Process)

  • "Quick fix for now"
  • "Just try changing X"
  • Proposing solutions before tracing data flow
  • "One more fix attempt" (when already tried 2+)

Agents Used

  • Process agents defined in systematic-debugging.js

Tool Use

Invoke via babysitter process: methodologies/superpowers/systematic-debugging

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