debugging-strategies
Master systematic debugging techniques, profiling tools, and root cause analysis to efficiently track down bugs across any codebase or technology stack. Use when investigating bugs, performance issues, or unexpected behavior.
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/wshobson/agents --skill debugging-strategies- 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 debugging-strategies 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.
Debugging Strategies
Transform debugging from frustrating guesswork into systematic problem-solving with proven strategies, powerful tools, and methodical approaches.
When to Use This Skill
- Tracking down elusive bugs
- Investigating performance issues
- Understanding unfamiliar codebases
- Debugging production issues
- Analyzing crash dumps and stack traces
- Profiling application performance
- Investigating memory leaks
- Debugging distributed systems
Core Principles
1. The Scientific Method
1. Observe: What's the actual behavior? 2. Hypothesize: What could be causing it? 3. Experiment: Test your hypothesis 4. Analyze: Did it prove/disprove your theory? 5. Repeat: Until you find the root cause
2. Debugging Mindset
Don't Assume:
- "It can't be X" - Yes it can
- "I didn't change Y" - Check anyway
- "It works on my machine" - Find out why
Do:
- Reproduce consistently
- Isolate the problem
- Keep detailed notes
- Question everything
- Take breaks when stuck
3. Rubber Duck Debugging
Explain your code and problem out loud (to a rubber duck, colleague, or yourself). Often reveals the issue.
Systematic Debugging Process
Phase 1: Reproduce
## Reproduction Checklist
1. **Can you reproduce it?**
- Always? Sometimes? Randomly?
- Specific conditions needed?
- Can others reproduce it?
2. **Create minimal reproduction**
- Simplify to smallest example
- Remove unrelated code
- Isolate the problem
3. **Document steps**
- Write down exact steps
- Note environment details
- Capture error messages
Phase 2: Gather Information
## Information Collection
1. **Error Messages**
- Full stack trace
- Error codes
- Console/log output
2. **Environment**
- OS version
- Language/runtime version
- Dependencies versions
- Environment variables
3. **Recent Changes**
- Git history
- Deployment timeline
- Configuration changes
4. **Scope**
- Affects all users or specific ones?
- All browsers or specific ones?
- Production only or also dev?
Phase 3: Form Hypothesis
## Hypothesis Formation
Based on gathered info, ask:
1. **What changed?**
- Recent code changes
- Dependency updates
- Infrastructure changes
2. **What's different?**
- Working vs broken environment
- Working vs broken user
- Before vs after
3. **Where could this fail?**
- Input validation
- Business logic
- Data layer
- External services
Phase 4: Test & Verify
## Testing Strategies
1. **Binary Search**
- Comment out half the code
- Narrow down problematic section
- Repeat until found
2. **Add Logging**
- Strategic console.log/print
- Track variable values
- Trace execution flow
3. **Isolate Components**
- Test each piece separately
- Mock dependencies
- Remove complexity
4. **Compare Working vs Broken**
- Diff configurations
- Diff environments
- Diff data
Before selecting debugging tools or performing bisect, differential, trace, or memory analysis, read references/tools-and-techniques.md.
Debugging Patterns by Issue Type
Pattern 1: Intermittent Bugs
## Strategies for Flaky Bugs
1. **Add extensive logging**
- Log timing information
- Log all state transitions
- Log external interactions
2. **Look for race conditions**
- Concurrent access to shared state
- Async operations completing out of order
- Missing synchronization
3. **Check timing dependencies**
- setTimeout/setInterval
- Promise resolution order
- Animation frame timing
4. **Stress test**
- Run many times
- Vary timing
- Simulate load
Pattern 2: Performance Issues
## Performance Debugging
1. **Profile first**
- Don't optimize blindly
- Measure before and after
- Find bottlenecks
2. **Common culprits**
- N+1 queries
- Unnecessary re-renders
- Large data processing
- Synchronous I/O
3. **Tools**
- Browser DevTools Performance tab
- Lighthouse
- Python: cProfile, line_profiler
- Node: clinic.js, 0x
Pattern 3: Production Bugs
## Production Debugging
1. **Gather evidence**
- Error tracking (Sentry, Bugsnag)
- Application logs
- User reports
- Metrics/monitoring
2. **Reproduce locally**
- Use production data (anonymized)
- Match environment
- Follow exact steps
3. **Safe investigation**
- Don't change production
- Use feature flags
- Add monitoring/logging
- Test fixes in staging
Best Practices
- Reproduce First: Can't fix what you can't reproduce
- Isolate the Problem: Remove complexity until minimal case
- Read Error Messages: They're usually helpful
- Check Recent Changes: Most bugs are recent
- Use Version Control: Git bisect, blame, history
- Take Breaks: Fresh eyes see better
- Document Findings: Help future you
- Fix Root Cause: Not just symptoms
Common Debugging Mistakes
- Making Multiple Changes: Change one thing at a time
- Not Reading Error Messages: Read the full stack trace
- Assuming It's Complex: Often it's simple
- Debug Logging in Prod: Remove before shipping
- Not Using Debugger: console.log isn't always best
- Giving Up Too Soon: Persistence pays off
- Not Testing the Fix: Verify it actually works
Quick Debugging Checklist
## When Stuck, Check:
- [ ] Spelling errors (typos in variable names)
- [ ] Case sensitivity (fileName vs filename)
- [ ] Null/undefined values
- [ ] Array index off-by-one
- [ ] Async timing (race conditions)
- [ ] Scope issues (closure, hoisting)
- [ ] Type mismatches
- [ ] Missing dependencies
- [ ] Environment variables
- [ ] File paths (absolute vs relative)
- [ ] Cache issues (clear cache)
- [ ] Stale data (refresh database)
FAQ
What does the debugging-strategies skill do?
Master systematic debugging techniques, profiling tools, and root cause analysis to efficiently track down bugs across any codebase or technology stack. Use when investigating bugs, performance issues, or unexpected behavior.
How do I install debugging-strategies?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/wshobson/agents --skill debugging-strategies 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/debugging-strategies/ (personal) or .claude/skills/debugging-strategies/ (project).
Which AI agents can use debugging-strategies?
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 debugging-strategies safe to install?
Security partners have reviewed it: Gen Agent Trust Hub passed; Socket passed; Snyk passed; Runlayer passed; ZeroLeaks passed. As with any skill, read the SKILL.md and bundled scripts before installing.
Who maintains debugging-strategies?
It is published by wshobson in wshobson/agents. It has 13,528 recorded installs.
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