go-debug

name

go-debug

description

Interactively debug Go programs in a single context using Delve (dlv) driven through tmux. Use when a bug requires runtime inspection — stepping through code, examining variables, walking goroutines, attaching to a live process, or debugging a hanging integration test — rather than just reading the source. Triggers include "step through this", "set a breakpoint", "attach to the running server", "why is this goroutine stuck", "debug this failing test".

Go Debug

This skill drives an interactive dlv debugging session through tmux from a single context, without delegating to a subagent. The agent calls one helper script (scripts/dlv-session.sh) per dlv command and gets back just the new output, so each step is small enough to reason about.

When to Use

Reach for this skill when source reading alone is not enough:

• A bug only reproduces at runtime and the failure mode (panic, wrong value, hang) needs to be observed in flight.
• A test fails and the why is hidden — stepping into the failing line reveals state that logging would not.
• An integration test hangs, deadlocks, or behaves differently from the unit tests — attach to the process and inspect goroutines.
• A long-running server (lnd, eclair, a daemon under test) is misbehaving in a way that only shows up after warm-up. Use attach rather than restarting under the debugger.
• A concurrent bug needs goroutine-by-goroutine inspection (goroutines, goroutine N, stack).
• Stepping is wanted to confirm the exact control flow through a complex branch, not just "I think it takes this path."

Skip the skill when the bug is obvious from a grep or a unit test would be faster to write.

Prerequisites

• dlv on PATH (go install github.com/go-delve/delve/cmd/dlv@latest).
• tmux on PATH.
• For attach on macOS: the target process must be debuggable by the current user (typically fine for processes the user started). On Linux, ptrace capability may need sudo or kernel.yama.ptrace_scope=0.

The Helper Script

All session management goes through ~/.claude/skills/go-debug/scripts/dlv-session.sh. It manages a single active session at a time, persists state in $TMPDIR/claude-dlv/current, strips ANSI noise from output, and waits for the next (dlv) prompt after each command so output is bounded.

dlv-session.sh start <dlv args>     # launch dlv, wait for first prompt
dlv-session.sh send  '<dlv command>'  # send one dlv command, return new output
dlv-session.sh send-raw '<text>'      # send keys without waiting for a prompt
dlv-session.sh output [N]             # last N lines of raw output (default 100)
dlv-session.sh status                 # is a session active?
dlv-session.sh stop                   # quit dlv, kill tmux session, clean state

send blocks until dlv prints the next (dlv) prompt or DLV_SEND_TIMEOUT (default 300s) elapses. Set DLV_SEND_TIMEOUT=600 in the environment for unusually long continue operations.

The Debugging Loop

A debugging session is a tight read–send–observe loop. After every send, read the returned output before deciding the next command — the program state may have moved in surprising ways.

1. Start a session in the mode matching the bug (see Launch Modes below).
2. Set breakpoints at the suspected fault site and at any choke points along the way.
3. continue to the first hit.
4. Inspect state: print var, locals, args, stack, goroutines.
5. Step in (step) or over (next) one line at a time when state diverges from expectation.
6. Form a hypothesis about what the program is doing wrong. Confirm it by inspecting the specific variable, slice, map key, or goroutine that the hypothesis implicates.
7. Stop the session before exiting, and only then edit code.

Edit-then-debug, not edit-while-debugging: source changes are not reflected in the currently-running binary. After editing, stop and start again.

Launch Modes

debug — debug a main package

Build and run the program under the debugger. Use for reproducible crashes or wrong-output bugs.

dlv-session.sh start debug .
dlv-session.sh start debug ./cmd/myapp
dlv-session.sh start debug ./cmd/myapp -- --flag=value --other arg

Arguments after -- are forwarded to the program.

test — debug a test

Build and run a go test binary under the debugger. The most common entry point — most bugs have or can quickly get a failing test.

dlv-session.sh start test ./pkg/foo
dlv-session.sh start test ./pkg/foo -- -test.run TestSpecificCase
dlv-session.sh start test ./pkg/foo -- -test.run TestX -test.v

For a single test, always narrow with -test.run — otherwise breakpoints fire on the first matching frame from any test.

attach — attach to a running process

The most useful mode for integration tests and live services. Use when:

• An integration test launches a daemon (lnd, eclair, a microservice) as a child process and the daemon misbehaves. Find the PID (pgrep, ps, the test's log output) and attach.
• A long-running server is stuck or behaving incorrectly in a way that does not reproduce from a cold start.
• A bug only appears after specific runtime state has accumulated (cache warm-up, connections established, channels opened).

dlv-session.sh start attach <pid>
dlv-session.sh start attach <pid> ./path/to/binary

Passing the binary path is optional but speeds up symbol resolution and is required if dlv cannot find debug info from the running executable.

The target process is paused the moment dlv attaches. Set breakpoints first, then continue to release it. On stop, dlv detaches and the process resumes; if the process was started by a test, killing it via dlv's quit-prompt would tear down the test, so prefer detach semantics by quitting cleanly.

For attach to work, the binary must be built with debug info — go build keeps it by default, but -ldflags="-s -w" or go install with stripping removes it. If symbols are missing, rebuild the target without strip flags.

test + attach workflow for integration tests

When an integration test launches a sub-binary that misbehaves:

1. Add a time.Sleep or breakpoint-friendly pause to the test just after the sub-binary starts (or use the test's existing log line that prints the PID).
2. Run the test normally: go test ./integration -run TestThatHangs -v.
3. In a separate context, find the sub-binary's PID: pgrep -f my-daemon.
4. dlv-session.sh start attach <pid> and set breakpoints in the daemon's code.
5. Let the test proceed (remove the sleep or hit continue).

connect — connect to a dlv headless server

Useful when something else (CI runner, a Make target, an editor) started dlv --headless --listen=:2345. The target is already running and possibly remote.

dlv-session.sh start connect 127.0.0.1:2345

core — post-mortem on a core dump

dlv-session.sh start core ./binary ./core

Essential dlv Commands

A reference cheatsheet — see references/dlv-commands.md for the full list. Names that appear in the loop most often:

Command	Purpose
break main.foo	Break on function main.foo
break file.go:42	Break on file:line
break file.go:42 if x > 10	Conditional breakpoint
breakpoints	List breakpoints
clear 1	Delete breakpoint by id
clearall	Delete all breakpoints
continue / c	Run until next breakpoint or exit
next / n	Step over (one source line, stay in frame)
step / s	Step into
stepout / so	Step out of current function
restart / r	Restart the program (modes: debug/test)
print expr / p expr	Evaluate and print expression
locals	All locals in current frame
args	Function arguments
whatis x	Type of expression
list / ls	Source around current PC
stack / bt	Stack trace
frame N	Switch to frame N in the stack
goroutines / grs	List all goroutines
goroutine N	Switch to goroutine N
set x = 42	Mutate a variable
condition 1 x > 5	Add a condition to breakpoint 1

Worked Patterns

Wrong-output bug

dlv-session.sh start test ./pkg -- -test.run TestFindMax
dlv-session.sh send 'break pkg.findMax'
dlv-session.sh send 'continue'
dlv-session.sh send 'args'         # confirm input
dlv-session.sh send 'next'
dlv-session.sh send 'print max'    # watch the value evolve
dlv-session.sh send 'next'
# ... iterate. When the wrong value appears, stop.
dlv-session.sh stop

Nil pointer panic

The panic location is in the stack trace; the cause is upstream. Set a breakpoint a few lines earlier, then step.

dlv-session.sh start test ./pkg -- -test.run TestPanics
dlv-session.sh send 'break pkg/file.go:LINE_BEFORE_PANIC'
dlv-session.sh send 'continue'
dlv-session.sh send 'print suspectedNilVar'
dlv-session.sh send 'whatis suspectedNilVar'
dlv-session.sh send 'next'

Goroutine deadlock

dlv-session.sh start attach <pid>
dlv-session.sh send 'goroutines'           # find blocked goroutines
dlv-session.sh send 'goroutine 12'         # switch
dlv-session.sh send 'stack'                # where is it blocked?
dlv-session.sh send 'goroutine 17'
dlv-session.sh send 'stack'                # who's holding the lock it wants?

The pair goroutines -t (with traces) plus bt on each suspect usually fingers the cycle.

Slice / map inspection

dlv-session.sh send 'print len(items)'
dlv-session.sh send 'print cap(items)'
dlv-session.sh send 'print items[0:5]'
dlv-session.sh send 'print byId[key]'

For very large containers, print may truncate. Use config max-string-len 4096 / config max-array-values 200 before the print.

Conditional breakpoint to skip warm-up

dlv-session.sh send 'break server.go:120'
dlv-session.sh send 'condition 1 req.Method == "POST" && len(req.Body) > 0'
dlv-session.sh send 'continue'

Catching a specific iteration

dlv-session.sh send 'break loop.go:30 if i == 4242'
dlv-session.sh send 'continue'

Common Pitfalls

• Stale state file. If a previous session crashed, the next start will refuse. Run stop (it tolerates missing tmux sessions) or rm $TMPDIR/claude-dlv/current.
• Source not visible. Breakpoints at file paths must use the path as the compiler sees it. If break foo.go:30 fails, try the fully-qualified package path (break github.com/org/repo/pkg/foo.go:30) or set on a function (break pkg.Foo).
• No symbols when attaching. A binary built with -ldflags="-s -w" cannot be debugged. Rebuild without stripping.
• continue never returns. The program is running but no breakpoint fires — either the path is not taken, or the breakpoint location resolved to nothing (check breakpoints). Send Ctrl-C via send-raw $'\x03' to interrupt, then re-set the breakpoint.
• Editing source mid-session. Changes do not take effect until the next start. After every code edit, stop and start over.
• macOS code signing. First-time dlv use may require approving the debugserver codesigning. If start fails with a security error, run dlv version in a regular terminal once to surface the macOS prompt.
• Hung tests in CI under attach. If a test framework has a global timeout, attaching for too long will trip it. Lengthen the timeout (-test.timeout=0 for go test) before reproducing.

Cleanup

Always end a session with dlv-session.sh stop. It quits dlv, answers the kill-process prompt, and tears down the tmux session and state file. Leaving a session running consumes a tmux server slot and keeps an attached process paused.

If a start ever hangs, the tmux session and output file under $TMPDIR/claude-dlv/ are visible — list active tmux sessions with tmux ls and kill stragglers with tmux kill-session -t <name>.