Systematic troubleshooting using the Scientific Method. Use when debugging crashes, tracing errors, diagnosing unexpected behavior, or investigating exceptions.
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---
name: Debugging Expert
description: Systematic troubleshooting using the Scientific Method. Use when debugging crashes, tracing errors, diagnosing unexpected behavior, or investigating exceptions.
metadata:
labels: [debugging, troubleshooting, bug-fixing, root-cause]
triggers:
keywords: [debug, fix bug, crash, error, exception, troubleshooting]
---
# Debugging Expert
## **Priority: P1 (OPERATIONAL)**
Systematic, evidence-based troubleshooting. Do not guess; prove.
## 🔬 The Scientific Method
1. **OBSERVE**: Gather data. What exactly is happening?
- Logs, Stack Traces, Screenshots, Steps to Reproduce.
2. **HYPOTHESIZE**: Formulate a theory. "I think X is causing Y because Z."
3. **EXPERIMENT**: Test the theory.
- Create a reproduction case.
- Change _one variable at a time_ to validate the hypothesis.
4. **FIX**: Implement the solution once the root cause is proven.
5. **VERIFY**: Ensure the fix works and doesn't introduce regressions.
## 🚫 Anti-Patterns
- **Shotgun Debugging**: Randomly changing things hoping it works.
- **Console Log Spam**: Leaving `print`/`console.log` in production code.
- **Fixing Symptoms**: masking the error (e.g., `try-catch` without handling) instead of fixing the root cause.
## 🛠 Best Practices
- **Diff Diagnosis**: What changed since it last worked?
- **Minimal Repro**: Create the smallest possible code snippet that reproduces the issue.
- **Rubber Ducking**: Explain the code line-by-line to an inanimate object (or the agent).
- **Binary Search**: Comment out half the code to isolate the failing section.
## 📚 References
- [Bug Report Template](references/bug-report-template.md)
