# Debug Reset

> Reset a stalled debugging attempt and replace repeated guesswork with one discriminating investigation. Use after multiple failed fixes, recurring errors, contradictory symptoms, or when the user says the debugging process is stuck. Do not use for a first simple error with an obvious verified cause.

- Skill: `denizaslan36/debug-reset` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add denizaslan36/debug-reset`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/denizaslan36/debug-reset/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: denizaslan36 (https://skillmd.com/u/denizaslan36)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/denizaslan36/debug-reset

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# Debug Reset

Stop accumulating patches. Rebuild the diagnosis from evidence.

## Reset

1. Freeze new fixes temporarily. Preserve the current state and inspect the actual error, logs, failing command, recent diff, and relevant environment without exposing secrets.
2. Summarize the smallest reliable facts:
   - expected behavior;
   - observed behavior;
   - minimal reproduction or nearest repeatable signal;
   - changes already attempted and their measured effects.
3. Separate symptoms from possible causes. Discard hypotheses contradicted by evidence.
4. Choose one leading hypothesis and one alternative. State what observation would distinguish them.
5. Perform the smallest safe check with the highest information gain. Change one variable at a time.
6. If the evidence identifies a cause and implementation is authorized, make the smallest cause-level fix. Otherwise stop with a diagnosis and the missing evidence.
7. Verify against the original symptom and inspect for a nearby regression.

## Stuckness Rules

- Never stack an unverified fix on top of another unverified fix.
- After two failed attempts from the same hypothesis family, reconsider the model, boundary, or architecture before trying another variant.
- Trace bad data backward to its earliest known source; do not patch only where it becomes visible.
- Compare with a working path in the same repository when one exists.
- Treat flaky, timing-dependent, and environment-specific behavior as evidence about conditions, not proof that no cause exists.
- If the user asked only for diagnosis, do not modify files.

## Output

Return: **established facts**, **current diagnosis**, **decisive evidence**, and **remaining uncertainty**. Include a fix only when it was requested or clearly included in the task.