debugging-strategies

name	debugging-strategies
description	A systematic approach to debugging complex issues.

Debugging Strategies Skill

A systematic approach to debugging complex issues.

When to Use

• Bug reports that are hard to reproduce
• Intermittent failures
• Performance issues
• Production incidents

Strategy Selection

Based on the problem type, apply the appropriate strategy:

1. Binary Search Debugging

For: "It worked before, now it doesn't"

• Use git bisect to find the breaking commit
• git bisect start, git bisect bad, git bisect good [commit]

2. Trace-Based Debugging

For: "I don't know where the bug is"

• Add strategic console.log/print at function entry/exit points
• Follow the data flow from input to unexpected output
• Narrow down to the exact function where data transforms incorrectly

3. Isolation Debugging

For: "Too many things could be wrong"

• Create a minimal reproduction
• Remove components until the bug disappears
• The last removed component is likely the cause

4. Hypothesis-Driven Debugging

For: "I have a theory"

• State the hypothesis clearly
• Design a test that would prove/disprove it
• Execute the test
• If disproven, form a new hypothesis

5. Performance Debugging

For: "It's slow"

• Profile first, don't guess
• Use built-in profilers (Chrome DevTools, cProfile, pprof)
• Focus on the hottest path
• Measure before and after any change

Process

1. Reproduce: Confirm you can trigger the bug reliably
2. Isolate: Narrow down to the smallest reproducing case
3. Identify: Find the root cause (not just the symptom)
4. Fix: Apply the minimal fix
5. Verify: Confirm the fix resolves the issue
6. Prevent: Add a test that would catch regression