systematic-debugging

name	systematic-debugging
description	Root-cause-first debugging loop for code or runtime errors: understand the failure before proposing a fix. Adapted from Hermes' systematic- debugging — same iron law, smaller surface, ZLAgent-tool-aware.
version	0.1.0
tags	["coding","debugging"]
metadata	{"zlagent":{"category":"coding","triggers":["报错","这个 bug","修一下","debug","调试","root cause","traceback","exception"],"capabilities":[],"related_skills":["task-planning","skill-authoring"]}}

systematic-debugging

Trigger

Use this skill when the user reports a bug, a failing test, an unexplained runtime exception, a flaky job, or pastes a traceback.

Do NOT use this when:

• The user only wants a code review of working code.
• The error is obviously environmental (missing env var) and the fix is one line.
• The user explicitly says "just patch it, don't investigate".

The Iron Law

No fix without a root cause. A symptom fix is failure. If you haven't completed Phase 1, you cannot propose a fix.

Inputs

• symptom: the user-visible failure (error message, wrong output, hang, ...). Capture verbatim.
• repro: how to reproduce. Ask if missing.
• recent_changes: what changed since it last worked.
• scope: file paths / functions / cron jobs / channels involved.

Steps

Phase 1 — Understand:

1. Restate the symptom in your own words. If you can't, ask.
2. Reproduce or get the user to reproduce. No repro = no fix.
3. Read the smallest necessary code with read_file. Avoid wide grep.
4. State the hypothesis as: "Failure happens because X, evidenced by Y".

Phase 2 — Localise: 5. Add minimal logging or a targeted test that would prove / disprove the hypothesis. 6. Run it (or have the user run it) and read the new evidence.

Phase 3 — Fix: 7. Propose the smallest change that addresses the root cause. Show the diff. State which assumption it corrects. 8. Verify with the same repro / test you used in Phase 2.

Phase 4 — Land: 9. State what regression test was added (or why none was needed). 10. Note any related-but-not-fixed issues; do not silently widen scope.

Verification

• The fix reverts a specific named cause, not a generic "improvement".
• The repro that failed before the fix passes after.
• Tests that already passed still pass.
• Changes are minimal — no drive-by edits, no comment churn.

Failure Signals

• "Try this and see if it works" without a hypothesis.
• Multiple unrelated changes in one fix.
• The user has to debug your fix.
• Same bug class re-fires within a week.