Cornelius Self-Diagnostic
Run comprehensive diagnostics to verify all agent components are functioning correctly.
Quick Start
Run full diagnostics:
/self-diagnostic
Run specific test category:
/self-diagnostic commands-only
/self-diagnostic skills-only
/self-diagnostic agents-only
/self-diagnostic dependencies-only
State Dependencies
| Source | Location | Read | Write | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vault Path | Brain/ |
✓ | Verify vault exists | |
| Permanent Notes Dir | Brain/02-Permanent/ |
✓ | Verify directory exists | |
| Article Index | Brain/04-Output/Articles/ARTICLE-INDEX.md |
✓ | Verify index exists | |
| Local Brain Search | resources/local-brain-search/ |
✓ | Search scripts and index | |
| Skills Directory | .claude/skills/*/SKILL.md |
✓ | Skill configurations | |
| Commands Directory | .claude/commands/*.md |
✓ | Command configurations | |
| Agents Directory | .claude/agents/*.md |
✓ | Agent configurations | |
| Python Runtime | System | ✓ | Verify Python3 available | |
| uv Package Manager | ~/.local/bin/uv |
✓ | Verify uv available | |
| Temp Output | /tmp/cornelius-diagnostic/ |
✓ | Diagnostic results (optional) |
Arguments
$ARGUMENTS
Safety Principles
CRITICAL: These diagnostics are READ-ONLY and NEVER modify production data.
- All tests use read-only operations (search, grep, read)
- NO file creation in Brain/ directory during tests
- NO API calls to paid services (HeyGen, Gemini, etc.)
- Test outputs go to
/tmp/cornelius-diagnostic/only - NO changelog creation during diagnostics
Diagnostic Categories
1. Infrastructure Tests
Verify core infrastructure is accessible:
# Test 1.1: Check vault path exists
test -d "Brain" && echo "PASS: Vault path exists" || echo "FAIL: Vault path missing"
# Test 1.2: Check permanent notes directory
test -d "Brain/02-Permanent" && echo "PASS: Permanent notes directory exists" || echo "FAIL: Permanent notes directory missing"
# Test 1.3: Check Local Brain Search is available
test -f "resources/local-brain-search/run_search.sh" && echo "PASS: Local Brain Search scripts exist" || echo "FAIL: Local Brain Search scripts missing"
# Test 1.4: Check Article Index exists
test -f "Brain/04-Output/Articles/ARTICLE-INDEX.md" && echo "PASS: Article Index exists" || echo "FAIL: Article Index missing"
2. Dependency Tests
Verify external dependencies are installed:
# Test 2.1: Python available
python3 --version 2>/dev/null && echo "PASS: Python3 available" || echo "FAIL: Python3 not found"
# Test 2.2: uv package manager (for epub-chapter-extractor)
uv --version 2>/dev/null && echo "PASS: uv available" || echo "FAIL: uv not found"
# Test 2.3: Check Local Brain Search can run (simple test)
cd resources/local-brain-search && python3 -c "import sqlite3; import json; print('PASS: Core Python modules available')" 2>/dev/null || echo "FAIL: Python modules missing"
# Test 2.4: Check mermaid-diagram MCP is responsive
# (Just verify the skill file exists - actual MCP test would require invocation)
test -f ".claude/agents/diagram-generator.md" && echo "PASS: Diagram generator agent configured" || echo "FAIL: Diagram generator agent missing"
3. Skills Validation Tests
Verify skills are properly configured (metadata valid):
# Test 3.1: List all skills and validate structure
for skill_dir in .claude/skills/*/; do
skill_name=$(basename "$skill_dir")
if [ -f "${skill_dir}SKILL.md" ]; then
# Check for required frontmatter
if head -1 "${skill_dir}SKILL.md" | grep -q "^---"; then
if grep -q "^name:" "${skill_dir}SKILL.md" && grep -q "^description:" "${skill_dir}SKILL.md"; then
echo "PASS: Skill '$skill_name' - valid metadata"
else
echo "FAIL: Skill '$skill_name' - missing name or description"
fi
else
echo "FAIL: Skill '$skill_name' - missing frontmatter"
fi
else
echo "FAIL: Skill '$skill_name' - missing SKILL.md"
fi
done
4. Commands Validation Tests
Verify commands are properly configured:
# Test 4.1: List all commands and validate structure
for cmd_file in .claude/commands/*.md; do
cmd_name=$(basename "$cmd_file" .md)
if head -1 "$cmd_file" | grep -q "^---"; then
if grep -q "^description:" "$cmd_file"; then
echo "PASS: Command '/$cmd_name' - valid metadata"
else
echo "FAIL: Command '/$cmd_name' - missing description"
fi
else
echo "FAIL: Command '/$cmd_name' - missing frontmatter"
fi
done
5. Agents Validation Tests
Verify sub-agents are properly configured:
# Test 5.1: List all agents and validate structure
for agent_file in .claude/agents/*.md; do
agent_name=$(basename "$agent_file" .md)
if head -1 "$agent_file" | grep -q "^---"; then
if grep -q "^name:" "$agent_file" || grep -q "^description:" "$agent_file"; then
echo "PASS: Agent '$agent_name' - valid metadata"
else
echo "FAIL: Agent '$agent_name' - missing name or description"
fi
else
echo "FAIL: Agent '$agent_name' - missing frontmatter"
fi
done
Functional Tests (Safe Invocations)
These tests invoke actual skills/commands with READ-ONLY operations.
Test: /search-vault Command
This tests the semantic search and grep functionality:
Invoke /search-vault with query: "dopamine"
Expected: Returns at least 1 result from permanent notes
Run this test:
Use the Skill tool to invoke search-vault with args "dopamine"
Success criteria:
- Command executes without error
- Returns at least 1 search result
- Does NOT create any files
Test: /recall Command
Tests 3-layer semantic search:
Invoke /recall with query: "decision making"
Expected: Returns layered results with connections
Run this test:
Use the Skill tool to invoke recall with args "decision making"
Success criteria:
- Command executes without error
- Returns Layer 1, Layer 2, and Layer 3 results
- Does NOT create any files
Test: /find-connections Command
Tests connection discovery:
Invoke /find-connections with query: "Dopamine"
Expected: Returns connections for the Dopamine note
Run this test:
Use the Skill tool to invoke find-connections with args "Dopamine"
Success criteria:
- Command executes without error
- Returns explicit and semantic connections
- Does NOT create any files
Test: /get-perspective-on Command
Tests perspective extraction:
Invoke /get-perspective-on with query: "AI agents"
Expected: Returns Eugene's perspective with note citations
Run this test:
Use the Skill tool to invoke get-perspective-on with args "AI agents"
Success criteria:
- Command executes without error
- Returns perspective text with [[note citations]]
- Does NOT create any files
Test: Local Brain Search Direct
Tests local brain search scripts directly:
# Run semantic search
resources/local-brain-search/run_search.sh "consciousness" --limit 3 --json
# Run connections query
resources/local-brain-search/run_connections.sh --stats --json
# Run hub discovery
resources/local-brain-search/run_connections.sh --hubs --limit 5 --json
Success criteria:
- All three commands return valid JSON
- Search returns results with similarity scores
- Stats returns note count and connection count
Skipped Tests (Would Modify Data or Cost Money)
These tests are INTENTIONALLY SKIPPED to avoid side effects:
| Test | Reason Skipped |
|---|---|
| /create-article | Would create files in Brain/04-Output/ |
| /update-changelog | Would create changelog file |
| /analyze-kb | May update knowledge-base-analysis.md |
| /deep-research | Uses external APIs (Gemini, Apollo) - costs money |
| /synthesize-insights | May create output files |
| /talk | Interactive mode - not suitable for automated testing |
| nano-banana-image-generator | Uses Gemini API - costs $0.039/image |
| epub-chapter-extractor | Requires actual EPUB file |
| vault-manager (write ops) | Would modify vault notes |
| auto-discovery | Creates changelog files |
| insight-extractor | Creates notes in AI Extracted Notes/ |
| document-insight-extractor | Creates notes in Document Insights/ |
Diagnostic Execution Instructions
Full Diagnostic Run
- Run infrastructure tests (bash commands above)
- Run dependency tests (bash commands above)
- Run skill validation tests (bash commands above)
- Run command validation tests (bash commands above)
- Run agent validation tests (bash commands above)
- Run functional tests (invoke skills via Skill tool)
- Compile results into summary report
Output Format
Present results as:
# Cornelius Self-Diagnostic Report
**Run Date:** [current date/time]
**Agent Version:** 01.25
## Summary
| Category | Passed | Failed | Skipped |
|----------|--------|--------|---------|
| Infrastructure | X | X | 0 |
| Dependencies | X | X | 0 |
| Skills | X | X | 0 |
| Commands | X | X | 0 |
| Agents | X | X | 0 |
| Functional Tests | X | X | X |
## Detailed Results
### Infrastructure Tests
[Results...]
### Dependency Tests
[Results...]
### Skills Validation
[Results...]
### Commands Validation
[Results...]
### Agents Validation
[Results...]
### Functional Tests
[Results...]
### Skipped Tests
[List with reasons...]
## Recommendations
[Any issues found and suggested fixes]
Argument Handling
Based on $ARGUMENTS:
- No arguments or "full": Run all safe tests
- "commands-only": Only test commands validation + functional
- "skills-only": Only test skills validation
- "agents-only": Only test agents validation
- "dependencies-only": Only test infrastructure + dependencies
- "quick": Only run validation tests (no functional invocations)
Notes
- This diagnostic is designed to be safe and repeatable
- Run after any configuration changes to verify agent health
- If functional tests fail, check the underlying dependency first
- Diagnostic output can be saved to
/tmp/cornelius-diagnostic/for review
Completion Checklist
- Infrastructure tests executed (vault path, permanent notes, Local Brain Search, Article Index)
- Dependency tests executed (Python3, uv, core modules, diagram agent)
- Skills validation completed (frontmatter, name, description for all skills)
- Commands validation completed (frontmatter, description for all commands)
- Agents validation completed (frontmatter, name/description for all agents)
- Functional tests executed (search-vault, recall, find-connections, get-perspective-on, Local Brain Search)
- Summary report generated with pass/fail/skip counts
- Recommendations provided for any failures
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