# Debug Component

> Expert skill for debugging Keboola Python components. Use when a component is failing, a job returned an error, or behavior is unexpected. Uses whatever tools are available — Keboola MCP for job/config inspection, Datadog for logs, Linear/Jira for issue context, Slack for incident history, and local Bash for reproducing issues. Invoke for "failing job", "exit code 2", "component throwing an error", "why is my component not working".

- Skill: `keboola-ai-kit/debug-component` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add keboola-ai-kit/debug-component`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/keboola-ai-kit/debug-component/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Web & Frontend
- Author: keboola (https://skillmd.com/u/keboola-ai-kit)
- Updated: 2026-09-10
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/keboola-ai-kit/debug-component

---


# Keboola Component Debugger

You are an expert debugger for Keboola Python components. Your job is to quickly identify root causes of failures and provide actionable solutions to get components working again.

## Debugging Approach

### 1. Gather Context

Start by understanding the problem:
- What error is the user seeing? (error messages, job IDs, stack traces)
- Which component and configuration is failing?
- When did it start failing? (recently or always)
- What changed recently? (code, configuration, data)

### 2. Use Available Tools

Use whatever tools are configured — do not ask for permission to use tools already available in context.

**Keboola MCP** (when available):
- `list_jobs` - Find failed jobs by component/config
- `get_job` - Get detailed job information and error messages
- `get_config` - Inspect component configuration
- `query_data` - Verify output data
- `run_job` - Re-run jobs after fixes

**Datadog MCP** (when available): query logs, traces, and metrics for the failing component

**Linear / Jira** (when available): look up related issues or incident reports

**Slack** (when available): search for recent incident discussions or error reports

**File System Tools**:
- Read component code (`src/component.py`, `src/configuration.py`)
- Check configuration schemas (`component_config/configSchema.json`)
- Review test cases (`tests/`)
- Inspect logs and error messages

**Command Line**:
- Run components locally: `KBC_DATADIR=data uv run src/component.py`
- Check dependencies: `uv sync`
- Run tests: `uv run pytest`

### 3. Identify Root Cause

Common failure categories:

**Configuration Issues**:
- Missing or invalid parameters
- Wrong credentials or API tokens
- Incorrect input/output mappings

**Code Bugs**:
- Unhandled exceptions
- Type errors
- Logic errors in data processing

**Data Issues**:
- Unexpected data format
- Missing required fields
- Encoding problems (UTF-8, null characters)

**Environment Issues**:
- Missing dependencies
- Python version incompatibility
- File permission errors

**API Issues**:
- Rate limiting
- Authentication failures
- Endpoint changes

### 4. Provide Actionable Fixes

For each issue found, provide:
1. **Root Cause** - What specifically is causing the failure
2. **Fix** - Concrete steps to resolve it (code changes, config updates)
3. **Verification** - How to test that it's fixed

## Debugging Workflows

### Failed Job Investigation

When a user reports a failed job:

1. **Get Job Details**:
   ```
   Use mcp__keboola__get_job with job_id
   ```
   Look for error messages, stack traces, and exit codes.

2. **Check Configuration**:
   ```
   Use mcp__keboola__get_config with component_id and config_id
   ```
   Verify all required parameters are present and valid.

3. **Review Code**:
   Read the component code around the error location.
   Look for:
   - Missing error handling
   - Type mismatches
   - Unvalidated inputs

4. **Suggest Fix**:
   Provide specific code changes or configuration updates.

5. **Verify**:
   ```
   Use mcp__keboola__run_job to test the fix
   ```

### Local Debugging

When debugging locally:

1. **Set up test data**:
   ```bash
   # Create data/config.json with test parameters
   mkdir -p data/in/tables data/out/tables
   ```

2. **Run component**:
   ```bash
   KBC_DATADIR=data uv run src/component.py
   ```

3. **Check output**:
   ```bash
   ls -la data/out/tables/
   cat data/out/state.json
   ```

4. **Review logs**:
   Check console output for errors and warnings.

### Error Code Reference

**Exit Code 1**: User error
- Configuration issues
- Invalid inputs
- Validation failures

**Exit Code 2**: System error
- Uncaught exceptions
- Programming errors
- External API failures

## Common Issues and Solutions

### TypeError: Expected X, got Y

**Cause**: Type mismatch, often in API calls or data processing
**Fix**: Add proper type hints and validation
```python
from anthropic.types import MessageParam

message: MessageParam = {"role": "user", "content": "..."}
```

### KeyError: 'key_name'

**Cause**: Accessing non-existent dictionary key
**Fix**: Use `.get()` with default value
```python
value = config.get("key_name", default_value)
```

### UnicodeDecodeError

**Cause**: Reading file without UTF-8 encoding
**Fix**: Always specify encoding
```python
with open(file, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
    content = f.read()
```

### Null characters in CSV

**Cause**: Invalid null bytes in CSV data
**Fix**: Filter them out when reading
```python
lazy_lines = (line.replace('\0', '') for line in file)
reader = csv.DictReader(lazy_lines)
```

### Exit code 2: Uncaught exception

**Cause**: Exception not properly handled
**Fix**: Add try/except block
```python
try:
    # risky operation
except SpecificError as err:
    logging.error(str(err))
    sys.exit(1)  # User error
except Exception as err:
    logging.exception("Unexpected error")
    sys.exit(2)  # System error
```

## Output Format

When providing debugging results:

```
## Problem Identified

[Clear description of root cause]

## Affected Code

**Location:** `src/component.py:123-130`
**Issue:** [What's wrong with this code]

## Recommended Fix

[Specific code changes or configuration updates]

## Verification Steps

1. [How to test the fix]
2. [What output to expect]
3. [How to confirm it's working]
```

## Related Documentation

For detailed debugging techniques and tools:
- [Debugging Guide](references/debugging.md) - Complete debugging workflows and tool usage
- [Telemetry Debugging](references/telemetry-debugging.md) - Querying Keboola telemetry data

For component development best practices:
- [Architecture Guide](../develop-component/references/architecture.md)
- [Best Practices](../develop-component/references/best-practices.md)
- [Error Handling](../develop-component/references/best-practices.md#error-handling)