Debug root cause

Skill onfire7777/universal-ai-skills-library/skills/debug-root-cause

Router-first AI skill system for Codex, Claude, Cursor, Hermes, Paperclip, OpenCode, and local AI stacks: search, preflight-route, and load 1,812 skills on demand without duplicating the corpus.

Install

npx -y skills add onfire7777/universal-ai-skills-library --skill debug-root-cause

Assembled from the repository path, not quoted from the project. Check it against their README if it does not work.

One thing to look at

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What its author says it does

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Systematic root-cause debugging — reproduce, isolate, hypothesize, fix the actual cause not symptoms. Use when something is broken, behaving unexpectedly, or when a bug needs methodical investigation. Triggers on: 'debug this', 'why is this broken', 'this isn't working', 'find the bug', 'root cause', 'troubleshoot', 'figure out why', 'diagnose this error'.

SKILL.md

1.8 KB, as published. Nobody here has run it

Debug — Root Cause Analysis

Thinking Protocol

Before touching code, answer silently:

What exactly is the symptom? (Be precise)
When did it last work? What changed since then?
Am I fixing a symptom or the root cause?

Execution

Phase 1: Reproduce

Create shortest path to trigger the bug
Record exact steps, input data, environment
If not reproducible, focus on gathering conditions

Phase 2: Isolate

Binary search the cause space:
- git bisect for regressions
- Comment out / disable components to narrow scope
- Add targeted logging at system boundaries
Goal: identify the single component where behavior diverges

Phase 3: Hypothesize & Test

Form exactly 2-3 hypotheses for root cause
For each: design a test that would DISPROVE it (seek disconfirmation)
Run tests, record results, eliminate until one remains

Phase 4: Fix Root Cause

Apply minimum change that fixes root cause
If tempted to add a workaround, stop and dig deeper
Verify fix resolves original reproduction case

Phase 5: Prevent Recurrence

Write a test that fails without the fix, passes with it
If bug class is systemic, add lint rule or validation
Document in commit message

Rules

🚨 Fix-it-never-work-around-it. Band-aid fixes ARE band-aid fixes. 🚨 Don't guess. Hypothesize, then test. Can't test? Gather more data. 🚨 The bug is in your code until proven otherwise.