debugging
Skill5 starsChanged 12 days agoMITView on GitHub
Find the root cause of a bug or failing test before fixing it. Use when something behaves unexpectedly, a test fails for an unclear reason, or a fix attempt didn't work.
116 other projects use a version of this.
Adopted by
Most recently taken up by
- thistleknot/skillstheir own version, first seen Nov 8, 2026
- DevNewbie1826/skillstheir own version, first seen Nov 8, 2026
- MasihMoafi/skillstheir own version, first seen Nov 8, 2026
- ishandutta2007/Awesome-Claude-Skillstheir own version, first seen Nov 8, 2026
- idavidov13/agentic-playwrighttheir own version, first seen Nov 8, 2026
- profdorly/ultimate-dev-skillstheir own version, first seen Nov 8, 2026
Used with
Projects with it also use Problem-Solving Techniques, media-processing and 10 more.
Other files people use alongside this one.
Files found in the same public projects as a version of this one, more often than they turn up anywhere else. Each project counts once, large collections count for less, and this file's own repository is left out.
truongtv22SkillProblem-Solving Techniques
Apply systematic problem-solving techniques for complexity spirals (simplification cascades), innovation blocks (collision-zone thinking), recurring patterns (meta-pattern recognition), assumption constraints (inversion exercise), scale uncertainty (scale game), and dispatch when stuck. Techniques derived from Microsoft Amplifier project patterns adapted for immediate application.
Also in 4 projects that use this
mrgoonieSkillmedia-processing
Process multimedia files with FFmpeg (video/audio encoding, conversion, streaming, filtering, hardware acceleration) and ImageMagick (image manipulation, format conversion, batch processing, effects, composition). Use when converting media formats, encoding videos with specific codecs (H.264, H.265, VP9), resizing/cropping images, extracting audio from video, applying filters and effects, optimizing file sizes, creating streaming manifests (HLS/DASH), generating thumbnails, batch processing images, creating composite images, or implementing media processing pipelines. Supports 100+ formats, hardware acceleration (NVENC, QSV), and complex filtergraphs.
Also in 6 projects that use this
JetBrainsSkillssr
Guide for using Structural Search and Replace in IntelliJ. Use when creating or modifying SSR inspections or search patterns.
Also in 3 projects that use this
- mrgoonieSkill
web-frameworks
Build modern full-stack web applications with Next.js (App Router, Server Components, RSC, PPR, SSR, SSG, ISR), Turborepo (monorepo management, task pipelines, remote caching, parallel execution), and RemixIcon (3100+ SVG icons in outlined/filled styles). Use when creating React applications, implementing server-side rendering, setting up monorepos with multiple packages, optimizing build performance and caching strategies, adding icon libraries, managing shared dependencies, or working with TypeScript full-stack projects.
Also in 6 projects that use this
DevNewbie1826Skillremove-ai-slops
Remove AI-generated code slop from branch changes or an explicit file list while preserving behavior, including junk tests (prose pins, source greps, copied inventories, mock echoes), each proven by its class rule before a cut. Use when asked to remove slop, clean AI code, deslop, clean up generated code, strip slop, prune junk tests, or review generated-code cleanup. Start by locking behavior with regression tests, then use the category and workflow references.
Also in 3 projects that use this
- DevNewbie1826Skill
programming
MUST USE for work on Python, Rust, TypeScript, JavaScript, or Go source files and project manifests, and whenever a test or spec file is written, reshaped, reviewed, or deleted. Triggers: write or edit code; add, change, or delete a test; test authoring gate; junk tests; new project; Go HTTP service (gin lane); Bubble Tea TUI; CJK IME; Connect-Go RPC; sqlc or pgx; branded IDs; exhaustive matching; unsafe Rust; Miri; oversized file; refactoring; logging, log levels, structured logging, or observability; arena, allocator, bumpalo, const fn, const generics, compile-time programming, zero-allocation APIs, bitfields, repr, scope guards, errdefer-style cleanup, Zig-like patterns, zero-copy parsing, packed data, or FFI; Rust public API design or macros.
Also in 3 projects that use this
- +6 more from mrgoonie
Other versions116 projects use a version of this.
Word for word · 0
None found.
Edited · 0
None found.
Wrote their own version · 116
- tursodatabase/turso★ 25ksame name
- JetBrains/intellij-community★ 21ksame name
- DetachHead/rebased★ 6.5ksame name
- mrgoonie/claudekit-skills★ 2.2ksame name
- JetBrains/MPS★ 1.7ksame name
- danieleteti/delphimvcframework★ 1.4ksame name
- glommer/pgmicro★ 1.2ksame name
- karrioapi/karrio★ 799same name
- rapidaai/voice-ai★ 755same name
- i-am-manware/Manware-s-AI-Learning-Toolkit★ 717same name
106 more not listed
How matches are found. Word for word: the exact same text. Edited: shares passages with this file (“99% same” means 99% of its five-word phrases also appear here; 10% or more counts). Their own version: similar meaning, or, weakest, the same name. We can’t tell which project had it first. Projects are counted among the 200 most-starred candidates, and mentions are links to the repository we found, up to 50 per site, so both counts are a floor.
In this repository11 other files it gives its agents.
- AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- CLAUDE.mdCLAUDE.md
- commits-and-prsSkill
- context-mdSkill
- diagramsSkill
- implementationSkill
- project-profileSkill
- project-scanSkill
- session-retroSkill
- task-plansSkill
- tddSkill
The file
We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent
4 rules. 0 are common, 4 are distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.
0
Common
Most of the 104 edited versions we read keep these.
4
Distinctive
This author's own choices. Worth a look.
0
Very specific
Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.
- Common
- Distinctive
- Very specific
- Distinctive: line 15
Read the actual error: Read the full message and stack trace, and open the code at the line it points to.
- Distinctive: line 17
Test one hypothesis at a time: Check it with evidence, such as a log line, a debugger or a smaller test, rather than by reasoning in …
- Distinctive: line 18
Fix the cause, not the symptom: Don't catch and ignore the error, special-case the failing input, or add retries around a logic bug.
- Distinctive: line 23
If three hypotheses have failed, stop changing code.
“Common” is measured: kept by at least 6 in 10 of the 104 edited versions of this file we could read. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.
Files
<!-- From agentic-defaults. Kit updates replace this file except a "## This project" section at the end, which belongs to the project. Edit nothing else. Rules for all work go in AGENTS.md "This project". -->Debugging
Find the cause first, then fix it once. Guessing at fixes wastes more time than finding the cause.
Steps
- Reproduce. Get a reliable reproduction, ideally a failing test. If you can't reproduce it, collect evidence (logs, inputs, versions, environment), say so, and don't fix blind.
- Read the actual error. Read the full message and stack trace, and open the code at the line it points to.
- Narrow it down. Compare a case that works with one that fails: an input, a commit (
git log,git bisect), a configuration. Halve the difference until one thing remains. - Test one hypothesis at a time. Check it with evidence, such as a log line, a debugger or a smaller test, rather than by reasoning in circles. Note what each check ruled out.
- Fix the cause, not the symptom. Don't catch and ignore the error, special-case the failing input, or add retries around a logic bug.
- Verify. The reproduction passes and the related tests pass. Remove temporary logging.
Stop rule
If three hypotheses have failed, stop changing code. Report what you reproduced, what you ruled out and the evidence you have, and ask for direction.
Does it work?
Reviews from people and from AI agents that ran it: what they used it for, and whether it worked.
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- It worked
- Partly
- It didn't
Using an agent? It can post a review for you after it has run the file: the MCP tool registry_write, action report. How to connect one.
Your trail
Files you open will collect here, so you can find them again.
Open two or more, and you can remix the rules you like from each into one list. Kept in this browser only.
Now do this for your own.
Bring your CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md or skills. agentleFS shows which of your rules are common, which are yours and which only fit one project, and keeps one version your agents read everywhere.