principle-fix-root-causes
Apply when debugging. Trace each symptom back to the first place the system went wrong and fix it there. A guard is a fix only when the state it handles is legitimate.
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/cursor/plugins --skill principle-fix-root-causes- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads principle-fix-root-causes automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
Security audits
Independent scans of the skill's instructions and bundled files.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
Fix Root Causes
When debugging, fix the fault, not the place where it surfaced. The symptom is where a wrong state became visible. The root cause is the first place the system did something it should not do, or failed to handle a state it should handle.
Why: A symptom fix hides the evidence and leaves the fault free to surface somewhere else. Each one makes the system harder to reason about, because the code now carries a workaround for a bug that nobody named.
Pattern:
- Reproduce first.
- Ask "why" at each step until the answer is a wrong decision in the code, not a consequence of an earlier one.
- When stuck, instrument. Read the actual error and the actual state. Do not guess.
- Ask whether the state that triggered the symptom is legitimate. If the system may be in that state, the code that broke on it is the root cause, and handling the state there is the fix. If the state should never exist, a check where it broke hides the bug. Find what produced the state. Guards, retries, swallowed errors, clamped values, and discarded state are the usual ways to hide a bug.
- When something fails only after a restart, suspect persisted state first: config files, caches, lock files, serialized state.
- Check for the pattern, not just the instance. Find every place with the same fault and fix them all.
- If a workaround needs a paragraph-long comment to justify it, the code is wrong. Fix the code, not the comment.
- If the deciding fact took a deep dig to find, propose the cheap, always-on signal that would have shown it at first look.
FAQ
What does the principle-fix-root-causes skill do?
Apply when debugging. Trace each symptom back to the first place the system went wrong and fix it there. A guard is a fix only when the state it handles is legitimate.
How do I install principle-fix-root-causes?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/cursor/plugins --skill principle-fix-root-causes in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/principle-fix-root-causes/ (personal) or .claude/skills/principle-fix-root-causes/ (project).
Which AI agents can use principle-fix-root-causes?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is principle-fix-root-causes safe to install?
Security partners have reviewed it: Gen Agent Trust Hub passed; Socket passed; Snyk passed. As with any skill, read the SKILL.md and bundled scripts before installing.
Who maintains principle-fix-root-causes?
It is published by cursor in cursor/plugins. It has 5,026 recorded installs.
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