debugging
Skill0 starsChanged 4 months agoMITView on GitHub
Systematically diagnoses a bug before fixing it — reproduce, isolate, form a root-cause hypothesis, verify it, then fix and confirm. Use when facing a bug, test failure, crash, or unexpected behavior, before proposing a fix.
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.
- CLAUDE.mdCLAUDE.md
- brainstormingSkill
- build-phaseSkill
- code-reviewSkill
- online-researchSkill
- security-reviewSkill
- skill-creatorSkill
- skill-reviewerSkill
- software-developmentSkill
- writing-plansSkill
- writing-testsSkill
The file
We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent
1 rule. 0 are common, 1 is distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.
0
Common
Most of the 104 edited versions we read keep these.
1
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 53
Check you didn't break nearby behavior (run the surrounding tests).
“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
Debugging
Find the cause before you change anything. A fix you can't explain is a guess. Work the six steps in order — don't jump to step 5.
Scope
This skill DOES:
- Reproduce the bug, narrow it to a verified root cause, fix that cause, and confirm the fix with a regression test.
This skill does NOT:
- Guess-and-check fixes without a reproduction.
- Patch the symptom while the root cause remains (a symptom mitigation is only OK when it's a deliberate, stated choice).
- Refactor or "clean up" unrelated code while chasing the bug.
Steps
Surface these as TodoWrite items. Checkpoint repro steps, isolation notes, and
the verified cause to ./.claude-skills-work/debugging/<bug>/notes.md so a long
hunt resumes.
1. Reproduce ⛔ don't fix what you can't reproduce
Get a reliable repro: exact steps, inputs, environment. If it's intermittent, find what makes it happen. A failing test is the ideal repro — write one if you can. Can't reproduce it? Gather more information first (logs, inputs, versions).
2. Isolate
Narrow WHERE it happens. Binary-search the code path or history (git bisect),
add logging/assertions to localize, and find the boundary between working and
broken. Reduce to the smallest input/case that still fails.
3. Hypothesize (root cause, not symptom)
State a specific, testable hypothesis about the ROOT cause: "user is undefined
because the fetch isn't awaited, so .id reads on a pending promise." Not "add a
null check."
4. Verify the cause
Prove the hypothesis BEFORE fixing — a log, assertion, or failing test that confirms the cause is what you think. If it doesn't hold, go back to step 3. Change one variable at a time so you know what's true.
5. Fix the root cause
Make the minimal change that addresses the verified cause, not the symptom.
See references/techniques.md for common cause patterns.
6. Confirm
The repro now passes. Add a regression test so the bug can't silently return. Check you didn't break nearby behavior (run the surrounding tests).
Red flags (stop and correct)
| If you notice… | Do this |
| Proposing a fix before reproducing | Reproduce first (step 1) |
| Fixing on a hunch | Verify the cause first (step 4) |
| Null-guarding / try-catching the symptom | Find why it's null/throwing; fix the cause |
| Changing several things at once | One variable at a time, or you won't know what fixed it |
| "It works now" but you don't know why | Not done — understand the cause |
| Fixed, but no regression test | Add one so it can't come back |
| Wandering into unrelated refactors | Stay on the bug; note other issues separately |
Done when
- The bug is reproduced, and the root cause is identified AND verified (not guessed).
- The fix addresses that cause; the repro passes and a regression test covers it.
- You can explain why it broke and why the fix works.
References (load only when needed)
references/techniques.md— isolation techniques (bisection, differential debugging), verifying a cause, and common bug patterns (races, state leakage, off-by-one, heisenbugs).
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