Systematic Debugging

Use when encountering any bug, test failure, or unexpected behavior — before proposing fixes.

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Systematic Debugging

Four Phases

Phase 1: Reproduce

  • Get a minimal, reliable reproduction
  • Never fix what you can't reproduce

Phase 2: Understand

  • Read the error message fully — the answer is often there
  • Trace the call path from symptom to root cause
  • Check: recent changes, environment differences, assumptions about inputs

Phase 3: Hypothesize

  • Form 1-3 specific hypotheses about root cause
  • Test each hypothesis with the smallest possible change
  • Never change multiple things at once

Phase 4: Fix and Verify

  • Fix the root cause, not the symptom
  • Run the reproduction case — confirm fixed
  • Run full test suite — confirm no regressions
  • Invoke hotl:verification-before-completion

Red Flags

  • "Let me try X and see what happens" without a hypothesis
  • Changing multiple things before verifying
  • Marking done without running full tests

ConcertoNotes/codex-plugins/tree/main/plugins/community/hotl/skills/systematic-debugging commit eaeedd7cd4

Frequently asked questions

npx skillmds@latest add concertonotes/systematic-debugging