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Examples in this skill may reference SunBiz (legacy client); the skill itself is brand-agnostic. Per-brand context lives in brain/clients/<brand>.md.
triggers
["debug this campaign error","API call is failing investigate","why is the automation broken","root cause analysis","campaign not converting troubleshoot"]
SKILL: Systematic Debugging
4-Phase root cause analysis for API errors, campaign issues, and infrastructure problems.
Phase 1: Investigate
Read the FULL error message (don't skip details)
Identify the source: Google Ads API? Meta API? MCP? Local?
Check error code against platform documentation
Check memory/MISTAKES.md for known issues
Reproduce the error (can you trigger it again?)
Phase 2: Pattern Analysis
Has this happened before? (search MISTAKES.md)
What was the fix last time?
Is this a known platform issue? (check status pages)
Are similar operations succeeding? (isolate the variable)
Compare working vs. broken: what's different?
Phase 3: Hypothesis & Test
Form 2-3 hypotheses based on evidence
Rank by likelihood
Test the most likely hypothesis first
If wrong, move to next hypothesis
After 3 failed hypotheses → escalate to user
Phase 4: Fix & Document
Apply the fix
Verify the fix works (re-run the operation)
Log to memory/MISTAKES.md:
What happened
Root cause
Fix applied
Prevention strategy
Update any relevant skill files
Red Flags (Stop and Reconsider)
Proposing a fix before investigating → STOP, go to Phase 1
Multiple rapid fixes without understanding → STOP, go to Phase 2
Same error after 3 fix attempts → STOP, escalate to user
Architectural symptoms (everything is broken) → STOP, run full health check