Metapowers

Debug

Systematic root cause investigation using scientific method.

Purpose

The Debug skill investigates bugs using systematic root cause analysis. No guessing — it finds the cause before attempting fixes, following a four-phase scientific method.

Usage

/development:debug <issue>

Example:

/development:debug login returns 403 for valid users

What It Does

Phase 1: Investigation

  • Reads error messages and stack traces carefully
  • Reproduces the issue reliably
  • Checks recent changes (git log, git diff)

Phase 2: Analysis

  • Traces the data flow backward to the source
  • Compares with similar working code

Phase 3: Hypothesis

  • Forms a single, specific hypothesis
  • Tests with the smallest possible change

Phase 4: Fix

  • Writes a failing test reproducing the bug
  • Implements the root cause fix
  • Verifies all tests pass

Output

No sequential artifact — fixes are committed directly. Presents findings to the user: root cause, fix applied, commit hash, and related issues discovered.

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