mike-diff /debug — Hypothesis-Driven Debugging
Guidance for structured debugging using Cursor's debug workflow.
When to use
- Complex failures with unclear root causes
- Intermittent bugs that resist simple reproduction
- Performance regressions needing systematic investigation
- Cross-system issues requiring trace following
How it works
- State the symptom clearly (what's wrong, expected vs actual)
- Form a hypothesis before investigating
- Gather evidence (logs, metrics, traces) to confirm or refute
- Narrow scope iteratively — never patch before understanding
- Apply minimal fix and verify
Best practices
- Always form a hypothesis before running commands
- Prefer read-only investigation until root cause is confirmed
- Document the reasoning chain for future reference
- Fix the root cause, not the symptom