# 2551 Debugging Guide C5364ec9

> Debugging & Observability Guide

- Skill: `tools-only/2551-debugging-guide-c5364ec9` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tools-only/2551-debugging-guide-c5364ec9`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tools-only/2551-debugging-guide-c5364ec9/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Research & Search
- Author: tools-only (https://skillmd.com/u/tools-only)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tools-only/2551-debugging-guide-c5364ec9

---

# Debugging & Observability Guide

> Find the Leak Before It Finds You

---

## The Debugging Workflow

```
┌─────────────────────┐      ┌─────────────────────┐      ┌─────────────────────┐
│ 📋 Interaction      │  →   │ 📊 Trace            │  →   │ ⚙️ Find the         │
│    Details          │      │    Waterfall        │      │    Leak             │
└─────────────────────┘      └─────────────────────┘      └─────────────────────┘
```

---

## The 4 Debugging Views

| Tab | Icon | Description |
|-----|------|-------------|
| 📋 Interaction Details | List | The Summary View |
| 📊 Trace Waterfall | Chart | The Technical View |
| ↔️ Variable State Tracking | Arrows | Entry vs. Exit Values |
| <> Script View with Linting | Code | Red Squiggles |

---

### View 1: Interaction Details (Summary)

**Purpose**: High-level chronological list with AI-generated summaries

**Shows:**
- ✅ Input received from user
- ✅ Reasoning decisions made
- ✅ Actions executed
- ✅ Output evaluation results

**Best For**: Quickly understanding WHAT happened

---

### View 2: Trace Waterfall (Technical)

**Purpose**: Granular view showing every internal step

**Shows:**
- ✅ Exact prompt sent to the LLM
- ✅ Latency for each span (milliseconds)
- ✅ Raw JSON input/output for every tool call
- ✅ Variable state at each step

**Best For**: Understanding WHY something happened

---

### View 3: Variable State Tracking

**Purpose**: Real-time table of variable Entry vs Exit values

**Shows:**
- ✅ Which variables changed during each span
- ✅ Critical security variables (verified, customer_id)
- ✅ Values LLM used vs values it should have used

**Best For**: Finding when LLM ignored variable state ("goal drift")

---

### View 4: Script View with Linting

**Purpose**: Agent Script code with real-time syntax validation

**Shows:**
- ✅ Block ordering errors
- ✅ Indentation issues
- ✅ Missing required fields
- ✅ Invalid resource references

**Best For**: Catching errors before deployment

---

### View Selection Guide

| Question | Use This View |
|----------|---------------|
| "What happened in this conversation?" | **Interaction Details** |
| "What exactly did the LLM see?" | **Trace Waterfall** |
| "Why did the variable have wrong value?" | **Variable State** |
| "Why won't my agent compile?" | **Script View** |

---

## The 6 Span Types

| # | Span Type | Internal Name | Description |
|---|-----------|---------------|-------------|
| 1 | ➡️ **Topic Enter** | `topic_enter` | Execution enters a new topic |
| 2 | ▶ **before_reasoning** | `before_reasoning` | Deterministic pre-processing |
| 3 | 🧠 **reasoning** | `reasoning` | LLM processes instructions |
| 4 | ⚡ **Action Call** | `action_call` | Action invoked |
| 5 | → **Transition** | `transition` | Topic navigation |
| 6 | ✓ **after_reasoning** | `after_reasoning` | Deterministic post-processing |

---

## Reading a Trace Waterfall

### Example Timeline

```
SPAN                    DURATION    TIMELINE
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
➡️ Topic Enter          15ms        ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
▶ before_reasoning      850ms       ████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░
🧠 reasoning            1250ms      ██████████████████████████████░░
⚡ Action Call          450ms       ██████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
```

### Latency Benchmarks

| Span Type | Expected Duration | If Slower... |
|-----------|-------------------|--------------|
| `topic_enter` | 10-20ms | Check topic complexity |
| `before_reasoning` | 50-500ms | Data fetch issues |
| `reasoning` | 1-3s | Normal LLM latency |
| `action_call` | 100-500ms | External service slow |
| `after_reasoning` | 10-50ms | Logging overhead |

---

## Variable State Analysis

### Entry vs Exit Pattern

| Step | Variable | Entry | Exit | Problem? |
|------|----------|-------|------|----------|
| 1 | `customer_verified` | `False` | `False` | - |
| 2 | `customer_verified` | `False` | `True` | - |
| 3 | `refund_processed` | `False` | `True` | ⚠️ Processed while verified=False! |

> **KEY INSIGHT**: If a critical variable like `is_verified` was `False` when an action executed, you've found your leak point.

---

## Common Debug Patterns

### Pattern 1: Wrong Policy Applied

**Symptom**: Customer received wrong regional policy

**Trace Analysis:**
1. Check Variable State → `CustomerCountry` was empty at filter step
2. Check variable declaration → `mutable string = ""`
3. **Root Cause**: Should be `linked string` with `source: @session.Country`

**Fix:**
```yaml
# Wrong
CustomerCountry: mutable string = ""

# Correct
CustomerCountry: linked string
  source: @session.Country
```

---

### Pattern 2: Action Executed Without Authorization

**Symptom**: Refund processed without identity verification

**Trace Analysis:**
1. Check reasoning span → LLM selected `process_refund`
2. Check action definition → No `available when` guard
3. **Root Cause**: LLM could see and select unguarded action

**Fix:**
```yaml
# Wrong - no guard
process_refund: @actions.process_refund
  description: "Issue refund"

# Correct - guarded
process_refund: @actions.process_refund
  description: "Issue refund"
  available when @variables.customer_verified == True
```

---

### Pattern 3: Post-Action Logic Didn't Run

**Symptom**: CRM case wasn't created after refund approval

**Trace Analysis:**
1. Check instruction resolution order → Post-action check at bottom
2. Check transition → Topic transitioned before check could run
3. **Root Cause**: Post-action check must be at TOP

**Fix:**
```yaml
# Wrong - check at bottom
instructions: ->
  | Help with refund.
  transition to @topic.next

  if @variables.refund_done:  # Never reaches here!
    run @actions.log_refund

# Correct - check at TOP
instructions: ->
  if @variables.refund_done:
    run @actions.log_refund
    transition to @topic.success

  | Help with refund.
```

---

### Pattern 4: Infinite Loop

**Symptom**: Agent keeps returning to same topic

**Trace Analysis:**
1. Check transitions → `topic_enter` repeating for same topic
2. Check conditions → No exit condition defined
3. **Root Cause**: Missing state change or exit condition

**Fix:**
```yaml
# Wrong - no exit condition
instructions: ->
  | Continue processing.

# Correct - track state, add exit
instructions: ->
  if @variables.processing_complete == True:
    transition to @topic.done

  | Continue processing.
  set @variables.step_count = @variables.step_count + 1
```

---

### Pattern 5: LLM Ignores Variable State (Goal Drift)

**Symptom**: LLM makes decision contradicting variable value

**Trace Analysis:**
1. Check Variable State → Variable had correct value
2. Check resolved instructions → Condition should have pruned text
3. **Root Cause**: Using pipe syntax (`|`) instead of arrow (`->`)

**Fix:**
```yaml
# Wrong - pipe doesn't support conditionals
instructions: |
  if @variables.verified:
    Help the user.
  # This is literal text, not a condition!

# Correct - arrow enables conditionals
instructions: ->
  if @variables.verified:
    | Help the user.
  else:
    | Please verify first.
```

---

## Diagnostic Checklist

### Quick Triage

| Check | Command/Action |
|-------|----------------|
| Syntax valid? | `sf agent validate authoring-bundle --api-name MyAgent -o TARGET_ORG --json` |
| User exists? | `sf data query -q "SELECT Username FROM User WHERE Profile.Name='Einstein Agent User'"` |
| Topic exists? | Search for topic name in script |
| Variable initialized? | Check `variables:` block |

### Deep Investigation

| Issue | What to Check |
|-------|---------------|
| Wrong output | Variable State (Entry/Exit values) |
| Skipped logic | Instruction resolution order |
| Security bypass | `available when` guards |
| Data missing | Action target protocol, linked variable sources |
| Slow response | Trace Waterfall latencies |

---

## The Big Picture

> **"Prompts are suggestions. Guards are guarantees."**

The LLM might ignore your instructions. The only way to truly prevent unwanted behavior is through **deterministic guards** like `available when`.

**When you remove an action from the LLM's toolkit, it literally cannot invoke it. That's not a suggestion - that's enforcement.**

---

## Key Takeaways

| # | Takeaway |
|---|----------|
| 1 | **Two Views for Two Purposes** - Interaction Details for quick understanding, Trace Waterfall for forensics |
| 2 | **Entry vs Exit Reveals Problems** - Variable state changes show exactly when/where issues occurred |
| 3 | **`available when` Blocks Actions** - Makes unauthorized actions invisible, not just discouraged |
| 4 | **Post-Action at TOP** - Check for completed actions at the start of instructions |
| 5 | **Linked vs Mutable** - Wrong variable modifier causes empty values |

---

## Planner Engine Differences

Salesforce has multiple planner engines. Behavior differs between them, which affects debugging.

| Capability | Java Planner (Legacy) | Atlas/Daisy Planner (New) |
|-----------|----------------------|--------------------------|
| **Citations** | Supported | May not be supported |
| **Localization** | Full support | Limited support |
| **Lightning UI components** | Renders in chat | Does not render |
| **`$Context.ConversationContext`** | Available | May not be available |
| **Debug logging detail** | Verbose | More concise |
| **CopilotContext reliability** | Consistent | May vary |
| **Trace data availability** | Requires committed version | Requires committed + activated version |

### Identifying Your Planner

Check Setup > Agentforce > Agent Settings to see which planner engine is active. Behavior differences between planners are the most common source of "it worked in dev but not in prod" issues.

### Debugging Tips by Planner

**Java Planner:**
- More verbose trace output — look for detailed span data
- Lightning components render — test rich UI interactions
- Citations appear in responses — verify citation accuracy

**Atlas/Daisy Planner:**
- Trace output may be more concise — focus on variable state changes
- Lightning components won't render — test text-based fallbacks
- Context variables may behave differently — verify `$Context` access patterns