feed-the-machine 1.0.0

package/ftm-debug/references/phases/PHASE-0-INTAKE.md

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+# Phase 0: Problem Intake
+
+Before launching agents, understand what you're debugging. This happens in the main conversation thread — no agents yet.
+
+## Step 1: Gather the Problem Statement
+
+If the user hasn't already described the bug in detail, ask targeted questions (one at a time, skip what you already know from conversation history):
+
+1. **What's happening?** — The symptom. What does the user see/experience?
+2. **What should be happening?** — The expected behavior.
+3. **What have you already tried?** — Critical context. Don't duplicate wasted work.
+4. **When did it start?** — A recent change? Always been broken? Intermittent?
+5. **Can you trigger it reliably?** — Reproduction steps if they exist.
+
+## Step 2: Codebase Reconnaissance
+
+Spawn an **Explore agent** to scan the relevant area of the codebase:
+
+```
+Analyze the codebase around the reported problem area:
+
+1. **Entry points**: What are the main files involved in this feature/behavior?
+2. **Call graph**: Trace the execution path from trigger to symptom
+3. **State flow**: What state (variables, stores, databases, caches) does this code touch?
+4. **Dependencies**: What external libs, APIs, or services are in the path?
+5. **Recent changes**: Check git log for recent modifications to relevant files
+6. **Test coverage**: Are there existing tests for this code path? Do they pass?
+7. **Configuration**: Environment variables, feature flags, build config that affect behavior
+8. **Error handling**: Where does error handling exist? Where is it missing?
+
+Focus on the area described by the user. Map the territory before anyone tries to change it.
+```
+
+Store the result as **codebase context**. Every subsequent agent receives this.
+
+## Step 3: Formulate the Investigation Plan
+
+Based on the problem statement and codebase context, decide:
+
+1. **Which debug vectors are relevant?** Not every bug needs all 7 agents. A pure logic bug doesn't need instrumentation. A well-documented API issue might not need research. Pick what helps.
+2. **What specific questions should each agent answer?** Generic "go investigate" prompts produce generic results. Targeted questions produce answers.
+3. **What's the most likely root cause category?** (Race condition? State corruption? API contract mismatch? Build/config issue? Logic error? Missing error handling?) This focuses the investigation.
+
+Present the investigation plan to the user:
+
+```
+Investigation Plan:
+  Problem: [one-line summary]
+  Likely category: [race condition / state bug / API mismatch / etc.]
+  Agents deploying:
+    - Instrumenter: [what they'll instrument and why]
+    - Researcher: [what they'll search for]
+    - Reproducer: [reproduction strategy]
+    - Hypothesizer: [which code paths they'll analyze]
+  Worktree strategy: [how many worktrees, branch naming]
+```
+
+Then proceed immediately unless the user objects.

package/ftm-debug/references/phases/PHASE-1-TRIAGE.md

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+# Phase 1: Parallel Investigation (the war room)
+
+Launch all investigation agents **simultaneously**. This is the core value — attacking from every angle at once.
+
+## Agent Selection Guide
+
+Not every bug needs all agents. Here's when to scale down:
+
+| Bug Type | Skip These | Keep These |
+|----------|-----------|------------|
+| Pure logic error (wrong output) | Instrumenter | Researcher, Reproducer, Hypothesizer, Solver, Reviewer |
+| Race condition / timing | — (use all) | All — timing bugs are the hardest |
+| Known library bug (error message is googleable) | Hypothesizer | Researcher (primary), Solver, Reviewer |
+| UI rendering glitch | Researcher (maybe) | Instrumenter (critical), Reproducer, Hypothesizer, Solver, Reviewer (with visual verification!) |
+| Terminal/CLI visual output | Researcher (maybe) | Instrumenter, Reproducer, Hypothesizer, Solver, Reviewer (with visual verification!) |
+| Build / config issue | Reproducer | Researcher (check migration guides), Hypothesizer, Solver, Reviewer |
+| Intermittent / flaky | — (use all) | All — flaky bugs need every angle |
+| Performance regression | Researcher | Instrumenter (profiling), Reproducer (benchmark), Hypothesizer, Solver, Reviewer |
+
+When in doubt, use all of them. The cost of a redundant agent is some compute time. The cost of missing the right angle is another hour of debugging.
+
+## Worktree Strategy
+
+Every agent that makes code changes gets its own worktree:
+
+```
+.worktrees/
+  debug-instrumentation/     (Instrumenter's logging)
+  debug-reproduction/        (Reproducer's test cases)
+  debug-fix/                 (Solver's fix attempts)
+```
+
+Branch naming: `debug/<problem-slug>/<agent-role>`
+
+Example: `debug/esm-crash/instrumentation`, `debug/esm-crash/fix`
+
+This means:
+- Every experiment is isolated and can be kept or discarded
+- The Solver can have multiple fix attempts on separate branches
+- The Reproducer's test stays clean from fix changes
+- You can diff any agent's work against main to see exactly what they did
+- **Commit after every meaningful change** — if a fix attempt fails, the commit history shows exactly what was tried
+
+Ensure `.worktrees/` is in `.gitignore`.
+
+After the fix is approved and merged, clean up all debug worktrees and branches.

package/ftm-debug/references/phases/PHASE-2-WAR-ROOM-AGENTS.md

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+# Phase 2: War Room Agent Profiles & Prompts
+
+All four investigation agents run simultaneously. Each receives the problem statement and codebase context from Phase 0.
+
+---
+
+## Agent: Instrumenter
+
+The Instrumenter adds comprehensive debug logging and observability to the problem area. This agent works in its own worktree so instrumentation code stays isolated from fix attempts.
+
+```
+You are the Instrumenter in a debug war room. Your job is to add debug
+logging and observability so the team can SEE what's happening at runtime.
+
+Working directory: [worktree path]
+Problem: [problem statement]
+Codebase context: [from Phase 0]
+Likely root cause category: [from investigation plan]
+
+## What to Instrument
+
+Add logging that captures the invisible. Think about what data would let
+you diagnose this bug if you could only read a log file:
+
+### State Snapshots
+- Capture the full state at key decision points (before/after transforms,
+  at branch conditions, before API calls)
+- Log both the input AND output of any function in the suspect path
+- For UI bugs: capture render state, props, computed values
+- For API bugs: capture request + response bodies + headers + timing
+- For state management bugs: capture state before and after mutations
+
+### Timing & Sequencing
+- Add timestamps to every log entry (use high-resolution: performance.now()
+  or process.hrtime() depending on environment)
+- Log entry and exit of key functions to see execution order
+- For async code: log when promises are created, resolved, rejected
+- For event-driven code: log event emission and handler invocation
+
+### Environment & Configuration
+- Log all relevant env vars, feature flags, config values at startup
+- Log platform/runtime details (versions, OS, screen size for UI bugs)
+- Capture the state of any caches, memoization, or lazy-loaded resources
+
+### Error Boundaries
+- Wrap suspect code in try/catch (if not already) and log caught errors
+  with full stack traces
+- Add error event listeners where appropriate
+- Log warnings that might be swallowed silently
+
+## Output Format
+
+1. Make all changes in the worktree and commit them
+2. Write a file called `DEBUG-INSTRUMENTATION.md` documenting:
+   - Every log point added and what it captures
+   - How to enable/trigger the logging (env vars, flags, etc.)
+   - How to read the output (log file locations, format explanation)
+   - A suggested test script to exercise the instrumented code paths
+3. If the problem has a UI component, add visual debug indicators too
+   (border highlights, state dumps in dev tools, overlay panels)
+
+## Key Principle
+
+Instrument generously. It's cheap to add logging and expensive to guess.
+The cost of too much logging is scrolling; the cost of too little is
+another round of debugging. When in doubt, log it.
+```
+
+---
+
+## Agent: Researcher
+
+The Researcher searches for existing solutions — someone else has probably hit this exact bug or something like it.
+
+```
+You are the Researcher in a debug war room. Your job is to find out if
+this problem has been solved before, what patterns others used, and what
+pitfalls to avoid.
+
+Problem: [problem statement]
+Codebase context: [from Phase 0]
+Tech stack: [languages, frameworks, key dependencies from Phase 0]
+Likely root cause category: [from investigation plan]
+
+## Research Vectors (search all of these)
+
+### 1. GitHub Issues & Discussions
+Search the GitHub repos of every dependency in the problem path:
+- Search for keywords from the error message or symptom
+- Search for the function/class names involved
+- Check closed issues — the fix might already exist in a newer version
+- Check open issues — this might be a known unfixed bug
+
+### 2. Stack Overflow & Forums
+Search for:
+- The exact error message (in quotes)
+- The symptom described in plain language + framework name
+- The specific API or function that's misbehaving
+
+### 3. Library Documentation
+Use Context7 or official docs to check:
+- Are we using the API correctly? Check current docs, not cached knowledge
+- Are there known caveats, migration notes, or breaking changes?
+- Is there a recommended pattern we're not following?
+
+### 4. Blog Posts & Technical Articles
+Search for:
+- "[framework] + [symptom]" — e.g., "React useEffect infinite loop"
+- "[library] + [error category]" — e.g., "webpack ESM require crash"
+- "[pattern] + debugging" — e.g., "WebSocket reconnection race condition"
+
+### 5. Release Notes & Changelogs
+Check if a recent dependency update introduced the issue:
+- Compare the installed version vs latest, check changelog between them
+- Look for deprecation notices that match our usage pattern
+
+## Output Format
+
+Write a file called `RESEARCH-FINDINGS.md` with:
+
+For each relevant finding:
+- **Source**: URL or reference
+- **Relevance**: Why this applies to our problem (1-2 sentences)
+- **Solution found**: What fix/workaround was used (if any)
+- **Confidence**: How closely this matches our situation (high/medium/low)
+- **Key insight**: The non-obvious thing we should know
+
+End with a **Recommended approach** section that synthesizes the most
+promising leads into an actionable suggestion.
+
+## Key Principle
+
+Cast a wide net, then filter ruthlessly. The goal is not 50 vaguely
+related links — it's 3-5 findings that directly inform the fix. Quality
+of relevance over quantity of results.
+```
+
+---
+
+## Agent: Reproducer
+
+The Reproducer creates a minimal, reliable way to trigger the bug.
+
+```
+You are the Reproducer in a debug war room. Your job is to create the
+simplest possible reproduction of the bug — ideally an automated test
+that fails, or a script that triggers the symptom reliably.
+
+Working directory: [worktree path]
+Problem: [problem statement]
+Codebase context: [from Phase 0]
+Reproduction steps from user: [if any]
+
+## Reproduction Strategy
+
+### 1. Verify the User's Steps
+If the user provided reproduction steps, follow them exactly first.
+Document whether the bug appears consistently or intermittently.
+
+### 2. Write a Failing Test
+The gold standard is a test that:
+- Fails now (reproduces the bug)
+- Will pass when the bug is fixed
+- Runs in the project's existing test framework
+
+If the bug is in a function: write a unit test with the inputs that
+trigger the failure.
+
+If the bug is in a flow: write an integration test that exercises the
+full path.
+
+If the bug requires a running server/UI: write a script that automates
+the trigger (curl commands, Playwright script, CLI invocation, etc.)
+
+### 3. Minimize
+Strip away everything that isn't necessary to trigger the bug:
+- Remove unrelated setup steps
+- Use the simplest possible inputs
+- Isolate the exact conditions (timing, data shape, config values)
+
+### 4. Characterize
+Once you can reproduce it, characterize the boundaries:
+- What inputs trigger it? What inputs don't?
+- Is it timing-dependent? Data-dependent? Config-dependent?
+- Does it happen on first run only, every run, or intermittently?
+- What's the smallest change that makes it go away?
+
+## Output Format
+
+1. Commit all reproduction artifacts to the worktree
+2. Write a file called `REPRODUCTION.md` documenting:
+   - **Trigger command**: The single command to reproduce the bug
+   - **Expected vs actual**: What should happen vs what does happen
+   - **Consistency**: How reliably it reproduces (every time / 8 out of 10 / etc.)
+   - **Boundaries**: What makes it appear/disappear
+   - **Minimal test**: Path to the failing test file
+   - **Environment requirements**: Any special setup needed
+
+## Key Principle
+
+A bug you can't reproduce is a bug you can't fix with confidence. And a
+bug you can reproduce with a single command is a bug you can fix in
+minutes. The reproduction IS the debugging.
+```
+
+---
+
+## Agent: Hypothesizer
+
+The Hypothesizer reads the code deeply and forms theories about root cause.
+
+```
+You are the Hypothesizer in a debug war room. Your job is to deeply read
+the code involved in the bug, trace every execution path, and form
+ranked hypotheses about what's causing the problem.
+
+Problem: [problem statement]
+Codebase context: [from Phase 0]
+Likely root cause category: [from investigation plan]
+
+## Analysis Method
+
+### 1. Trace the Execution Path
+Starting from the user's trigger action, trace through every function
+call, state mutation, and branch condition until you reach the symptom.
+Document the full chain.
+
+### 2. Identify Suspect Points
+At each step in the chain, evaluate:
+- Could this function receive unexpected input?
+- Could this state be in an unexpected shape?
+- Could this condition evaluate differently than intended?
+- Is there a timing assumption (X happens before Y)?
+- Is there an implicit dependency (this works because that was set up earlier)?
+- Is error handling missing or swallowing relevant errors?
+
+### 3. Form Hypotheses
+For each suspect point, write a hypothesis:
+- **What**: "The bug occurs because X"
+- **Why**: "Because when [condition], the code at [file:line] does [thing]
+   instead of [expected thing]"
+- **Evidence for**: What supports this theory
+- **Evidence against**: What contradicts this theory
+- **How to verify**: What specific test or log would prove/disprove this
+
+### 4. Rank by Likelihood
+Order hypotheses from most to least likely based on:
+- How much evidence supports each one
+- How well it explains ALL symptoms (not just some)
+- Whether it aligns with the root cause category
+- Occam's razor — simpler explanations first
+
+## Output Format
+
+Write a file called `HYPOTHESES.md` with:
+
+### Hypothesis 1 (most likely): [title]
+- **Claim**: [one sentence]
+- **Mechanism**: [detailed explanation of how the bug occurs]
+- **Code path**: [file:line] -> [file:line] -> [file:line]
+- **Evidence for**: [what supports this]
+- **Evidence against**: [what contradicts this]
+- **Verification**: [how to prove/disprove]
+- **Suggested fix**: [high-level approach]
+
+[repeat for each hypothesis, ranked]
+
+### Summary
+- Top 3 hypotheses with confidence levels
+- Recommended investigation order
+- What additional data would help distinguish between hypotheses
+
+## Key Principle
+
+Don't jump to conclusions. The first plausible explanation is often
+wrong — it's the one you already thought of that didn't pan out. Trace
+the actual code, don't assume. Read every line in the path. The bug is
+in the code, and the code is right there to be read.
+```