pattern-debug

name	pattern-debug
description	Debug pattern errors systematically
user-invocable	false

Debug Pattern

Use the cf skill, or read skills/cf/SKILL.md, if debugging deployment or piece issues.

Read First

• docs/development/debugging/workflow.md - 5-step debugging process
• docs/development/debugging/README.md - Error reference matrix
• docs/common/concepts/reactivity.md and docs/common/patterns/new-cells.md — as mandated by pattern-dev; re-consult for Cell, Writable, or reactive-value failures

Process

1. Check TypeScript errors:

   deno task cf check pattern.tsx --no-run
   

2. Match error to documentation:

   • Read the error message carefully
   • Check docs/development/debugging/README.md for matching errors

3. Check gotchas:

   • docs/development/debugging/gotchas/quick.md - consolidated quick gotchas, one anchor per error (e.g. #filter-map-find-is-not-a-function, #onclick-inside-computed)
   • docs/development/debugging/gotchas/reactive-reference-outside-context.md
   • docs/development/debugging/gotchas/handler-inside-pattern.md
   • docs/development/debugging/gotchas/immediate-event-invocation.md

4. Simplify to minimal reproduction:

   • Comment out code until error disappears
   • Add back piece by piece to find root cause

5. Fix and verify:

   • Apply fix
   • Run tests to confirm

Common Issues

Handler defined inside pattern body:

• Move handler() to module scope
• Only bind it inside pattern: onClick={myHandler({ state })}

Type errors with Writable/Default:

• Check if field needs write access → use Writable<>
• Check if field could be undefined → use Default<T, value>

new Cell() only accepts static data:

• A reactive value (input prop, mapped field, computed value) was passed into new Writable() / new Cell(). See the static-only rule and field-decision guidance in the pattern-implement skill, plus docs/common/patterns/new-cells.md

String helper throws, such as .trim() / .replace() / .includes() is not a function:

• Treat the value as reactive even if TypeScript's surface type is string
• Render the reactive value directly when no derivation is needed
• Move derived labels or branch conditions into computed() or another valid reactive expression site
• See docs/common/concepts/reactivity.md and the debugging matrix

Action not triggering:

• Ensure Output type includes action as Stream
• Use .send() not .get() to trigger

raw:map never settles:

• Inspect .map() bodies for event props that invoke streams or writes during render, such as onClick={stream.send(index)}
• Wrap argument-bearing sends in a callback, such as onClick={() => stream.send(index)}
• See docs/development/debugging/gotchas/immediate-event-invocation.md

Browser UI stays stale after a write:

• Do not assume a documented primitive like .push() is broken just because tests/CLI and browser behavior diverge
• First inspect the actual cell values in browser/runtime tools to confirm whether state changed
• If state changed but the UI did not, isolate the rendering/reactivity issue with a minimal repro before rewriting the mutation style

computed() wrapping JSX — conditional rendering broken:

• Inside computed() body, ternaries are plain JS (Writable objects always truthy)
• Cell bindings ($value, $checked) inside computed() may get positionally mis-resolved
• Fix: use bare JSX ternaries, hoist computed() for data only
• See docs/common/concepts/computed/computed.md

Transient UI state carries over when it should not:

• Check whether navigation, active tab, selected item, modal, filter, or other ephemeral UI state is unscoped or space scoped, then apply the PerSession new-tab test from the pattern-dev skill (PerSession<> for per-session UI state, PerUser<> for user-owned durable state).
• Confirm the generated schema and transformed source with deno task cf check pattern.tsx --show-transformed.
• If a value unexpectedly becomes undefined, check for schema-scope traversal restrictions: a narrower linked value may be unavailable to a broader declared schema.
• Scope is data scoping, not authorization; do not use it as a replacement for CFC/IFC policy.

PerAny<> used to fix a scope issue:

• Treat PerAny<> as a rare inner override under an outer Per* declaration, not as a fourth default scope.
• Prefer the concrete inner scope when known: PerSession<{ item: PerUser<Item>; attachment: PerAny<Attachment> }> is valid when attachments intentionally may come from any scope.
• If the inner scope is known, use PerSpace<>, PerUser<>, or PerSession<> instead.

Runtime Debugging (browser)

When the pattern compiles but behaves wrong at runtime, use the browser console utilities. Full reference: docs/development/debugging/console-commands.md.

With agent-browser (for automated testing):

# Read piece cell values
agent-browser eval "(async () => {
  const v = await commonfabric.readCell();
  return JSON.stringify(v).slice(0, 500);
})()"

# Inspect VDOM tree
agent-browser eval "(async () => {
  await commonfabric.vdom.dump();
  return 'dumped';
})()"

# Detect non-idempotent computations (UI churning)
agent-browser eval "(async () => {
  const r = await commonfabric.detectNonIdempotent(5000);
  return JSON.stringify({ nonIdempotent: r.nonIdempotent.length, cycles: r.cycles.length });
})()"

# Check for action schema mismatches (handlers doing nothing)
agent-browser eval "JSON.stringify(commonfabric.getLoggerFlagsBreakdown())"

When tests or CLI calls succeed but browser-visible UI stays stale:

• inspect the live piece state first
• confirm whether the handler actually wrote the expected value
• inspect raw links or transformed schema when the bug could be a scope mismatch
• only then decide whether the bug is in mutation semantics, rendering, or browser harness behavior

In browser console (for interactive debugging):

// Read cell values
await commonfabric.readCell();
await commonfabric.readArgumentCell({ path: ["items"] });

// Watch values change during interaction
const cancel = commonfabric.subscribeToCell();
// ... interact ... then cancel()

// VDOM tree
await commonfabric.vdom.dump();
commonfabric.vdom.stats();

// Logger counts and timing
commonfabric.getLoggerCountsBreakdown();
commonfabric.getTimingStatsBreakdown();

// Non-idempotent detection
await commonfabric.detectNonIdempotent();

Done When

• Root cause identified
• Error fixed
• Tests pass again — or, if no tests exist yet, deno task cf check succeeds and the failing repro behaves correctly