do-not-retry-without-diagnosis

name	do-not-retry-without-diagnosis
description	Common mistake — retrying the same failing command or API call without understanding why it failed. Always diagnose the root cause before retrying anything.
category	common_mistakes

Do Not Retry Without Diagnosis

Mistake pattern: Tool call fails → retry the same call → fails again → repeat.

Fix: After the first failure, read the error message carefully and diagnose the root cause before retrying.

Questions to ask:

• Is this a transient error (network timeout, rate limit)? Retry with backoff.
• Is this a permanent error (wrong input, missing resource, permission denied)? Fix the cause.

Anti-pattern: Blindly retrying or escalating without examining the error output.