| name | rca |
| description | Investigates a GitHub issue, identifies the root cause, and writes a structured RCA document for later implementation. Use when you need to diagnose a bug reported as a GitHub issue before fixing it. |
| argument-hint | ["github-issue-id"] |
Root Cause Analysis: GitHub Issue #$ARGUMENTS
Objective
Investigate GitHub issue #$ARGUMENTS from this repository, identify the root cause, and document findings for future implementation.
Prerequisites:
- Working in a local Git repository with GitHub origin
- GitHub CLI installed and authenticated (
gh auth status)
- Valid GitHub issue ID from this repository
Investigation Process
1. Fetch GitHub Issue Details
Use GitHub CLI to retrieve issue information:
gh issue view $ARGUMENTS
This fetches:
- Issue title and description
- Reporter and creation date
- Labels and status
- Comments and discussion
2. Search Codebase
Identify relevant code:
- Search for components mentioned in issue
- Find related functions, classes, or modules
- Check similar implementations
- Look for patterns or recent changes
Use grep/search to find:
- Error messages from issue
- Related function names
- Component identifiers
3. Review Recent History
Check recent changes to affected areas:
!git log --oneline -20 -- [relevant-paths]
Look for:
- Recent modifications to affected code
- Related bug fixes
- Refactorings that might have introduced the issue
4. Investigate Root Cause
Analyze the code to determine:
- What is the actual bug or issue?
- Why is it happening?
- What was the original intent?
- Is this a logic error, edge case, or missing validation?
- Are there related issues or symptoms?
Consider:
- Input validation failures
- Edge cases not handled
- Race conditions or timing issues
- Incorrect assumptions
- Missing error handling
- Integration issues between components
5. Assess Impact
Determine:
- How widespread is this issue?
- What features are affected?
- Are there workarounds?
- What is the severity?
- Could this cause data corruption or security issues?
6. Propose Fix Approach
Design the solution:
- What needs to be changed?
- Which files will be modified?
- What is the fix strategy?
- Are there alternative approaches?
- What testing is needed?
- Are there any risks or side effects?
Output: Create RCA Document
Save analysis as: docs/rca/issue-$ARGUMENTS.md
Required RCA Document Structure
# Root Cause Analysis: GitHub Issue #$ARGUMENTS
## Issue Summary
- **GitHub Issue ID**: #$ARGUMENTS
- **Issue URL**: [Link to GitHub issue]
- **Title**: [Issue title from GitHub]
- **Reporter**: [GitHub username]
- **Severity**: [Critical/High/Medium/Low]
- **Status**: [Current GitHub issue status]
## Problem Description
[Clear description of the issue]
**Expected Behavior:**
[What should happen]
**Actual Behavior:**
[What actually happens]
**Symptoms:**
- [List observable symptoms]
## Reproduction
**Steps to Reproduce:**
1. [Step 1]
2. [Step 2]
3. [Observe issue]
**Reproduction Verified:** [Yes/No]
## Root Cause
### Affected Components
- **Files**: [List of affected files with paths]
- **Functions/Classes**: [Specific code locations]
- **Dependencies**: [Any external deps involved]
### Analysis
[Detailed explanation of the root cause]
**Why This Occurs:**
[Explanation of the underlying issue]
**Code Location:**
[File path:line number]
[Relevant code snippet showing the issue]
### Related Issues
- [Any related issues or patterns]
## Impact Assessment
**Scope:**
- [How widespread is this?]
**Affected Features:**
- [List affected features]
**Severity Justification:**
[Why this severity level]
**Data/Security Concerns:**
[Any data corruption or security implications]
## Proposed Fix
### Fix Strategy
[High-level approach to fixing]
### Files to Modify
1. **[file-path]**
- Changes: [What needs to change]
- Reason: [Why this change fixes it]
2. **[file-path]**
- Changes: [What needs to change]
- Reason: [Why this change fixes it]
### Alternative Approaches
[Other possible solutions and why the proposed approach is better]
### Risks and Considerations
- [Any risks with this fix]
- [Side effects to watch for]
- [Breaking changes if any]
### Testing Requirements
**Test Cases Needed:**
1. [Test case 1 - verify fix works]
2. [Test case 2 - verify no regression]
3. [Test case 3 - edge cases]
**Validation Commands:**
```bash
[Exact commands to verify fix]
Implementation Plan
[Brief overview of implementation steps]
This RCA document should be used by the implement-fix skill.
Next Steps
- Review this RCA document
- Run the
implement-fix skill with issue #$ARGUMENTS to implement the fix
- Run the
commit skill after implementation complete
