Meson debugging troubleshooting

Skill krxecs/meson-skills/skills/meson-debugging-troubleshooting

A comprehensive collection of agent skills for the Meson build system

Install

npx -y skills add krxecs/meson-skills --skill meson-debugging-troubleshooting

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One thing to look at

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What its author says it does

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Diagnose Meson setup, compile, test, dependency, and install failures. Use for mysterious build errors, stale build directories, dependency resolution problems, cross-file issues, backend mismatches, and configuration drift.

SKILL.md

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Meson Debugging & Troubleshooting

Use this skill when the build is not behaving the way the user expects and the failure is not just a simple command typo.

Start with the build shape

Before changing code, inspect what Meson believes the build looks like:

meson introspect builddir --buildoptions
meson introspect builddir --targets
meson introspect builddir --dependencies
meson introspect builddir --tests

Debugging order

read the exact error message
identify whether the error happens at setup, compile, test, or install time
inspect Meson's view of the build with introspection
check the source tree and build directory for drift
check whether the issue is actually a compiler, linker, or dependency problem

Setup problems

wrong compiler selected
stale build directory
invalid machine file
option mismatch
dependency not found during configuration

Compile problems

missing include path
missing target dependency
source file omitted from target
generated source not wired into the target
compiler-specific warning or error

Test problems

test binary depends on runtime paths
test assumes the source directory is writable
test assumes a build-tree path that changed
test needs an exe_wrapper in cross builds

Install problems

target not marked install: true
install helper not used
missing header or data file installation rule
staging tree mismatch

Common mistakes

changing the toolchain without wiping or reconfiguring
assuming Meson silently rescans every external dependency on every command
treating stale build directories as “Meson bugs”
hiding the real problem behind a too-small snippet

What belongs elsewhere

setup options and defaults → meson-setup-configuration
target declarations and compile selection → meson-compile-targets
cross files and machine configuration → meson-cross-compilation
tests and install commands → meson-testing-installation
fallback dependencies and wraps → meson-subprojects-management

Related setup guidance

For language standard selection during migration, see meson-setup-configuration/SKILL.md. This skill focuses on debugging and troubleshooting.