When Stuck

When Stuck

Recognition

You're stuck when:

• Same approach tried multiple times
• Context window filling with failed attempts
• No clear next step
• Feeling "lost" or "frustrated"

The Dispatch Table

Technique Details

Don't Understand → Clarify

STOP trying to guess
ASK: "I'm unclear on [specific thing]. Could you clarify [specific question]?"
WAIT for response before proceeding

Can't Find Code → Search Strategies

1. Semantic search with concept terms
2. Grep for unique strings
3. File pattern matching
4. Read likely files
5. List directories to discover structure

Bug Won't Die → Root Cause Trace

1. Document exact symptom
2. Trace backward: where does bad value come from?
3. Keep tracing until you find ORIGIN
4. Fix at origin, not symptoms

Tests Keep Failing → Fresh Eyes

1. Stop. Step back.
2. Re-read test expectation
3. Re-read actual behavior
4. Check: is test right or is code right?
5. Check: is environment consistent?

Scope Creep → Boundary Check

1. Re-read original request
2. List what you've done vs. what was asked
3. Identify scope drift
4. Either: refocus OR ask user if expansion wanted

Missing Context → Gather More

1. What specific info do you need?
2. Where might it be? (files, user knowledge, docs)
3. Ask/search for that specific info
4. Don't proceed without it

Wrong Approach → Brainstorm

1. What other approaches exist?
2. List 3-4 alternatives
3. Evaluate each briefly
4. Pick most promising, try it
5. If that fails, try next

Overwhelmed → Decompose

1. What's the smallest possible piece?
2. Do JUST that piece
3. Verify it works
4. What's next smallest piece?
5. Repeat until done

Going in Circles → Fresh Agent

Signal: Same ground covered 3+ times
Action: Use subagent for specific subtask
Pass: Clear scope, success criteria
Return: Just the result, not the journey

Anti-Patterns

❌ Brute Force

Trying same thing harder won't work
If it failed twice, it needs a different approach

❌ Hoping

"Maybe this time..." → No
Stop. Diagnose. Change approach.

❌ Hiding

Not admitting you're stuck wastes time
Say: "I'm stuck on X. Here's what I've tried..."

Success Metric

After applying technique:

• Clear next step identified
• Progress resuming
• If still stuck → try next technique from table
• If nothing works → ASK USER for help

Integration

Pairs well with:

• assumption-checker → Often stuck because of wrong assumption
• intent-clarifier → Often stuck because of unclear intent
• brainstorming → For generating alternatives
• root-cause-tracing → For debugging stuck