claude-mpm 4.17.0__py3-none-any.whl → 4.18.3__py3-none-any.whl

claude_mpm/skills/bundled/systematic-debugging.md

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+---
+skill_id: systematic-debugging
+skill_version: 0.1.0
+description: Structured approach to identifying and fixing bugs efficiently, eliminating redundant debugging guidance per agent.
+updated_at: 2025-10-30T17:00:00Z
+tags: [debugging, troubleshooting, problem-solving, best-practices]
+---
+
+# Systematic Debugging
+
+Structured approach to identifying and fixing bugs efficiently. Eliminates ~300-400 lines of redundant debugging guidance per agent.
+
+## Core Debugging Principles
+
+### 1. Debug First Protocol (MANDATORY)
+
+Before writing ANY fix or optimization:
+1. **Check System Outputs:** Review logs, network requests, error messages
+2. **Identify Root Cause:** Investigate actual failure point, not symptoms
+3. **Implement Simplest Fix:** Solve root cause with minimal code change
+4. **Test Core Functionality:** Verify fix works WITHOUT optimization layers
+5. **Optimize If Measured:** Add performance improvements only after metrics prove need
+
+### 2. Root Cause Over Symptoms
+
+- Debug the actual failing operation, not its side effects
+- Trace errors to their source before adding workarounds
+- Question whether the problem is where you think it is
+
+### 3. Simplicity Before Complexity
+
+- Start with the simplest solution that correctly solves the problem
+- Advanced patterns/libraries are rarely the answer to basic problems
+- If a solution seems complex, you probably haven't found the root cause
+
+## The Debugging Process
+
+### Step 1: Reproduce Reliably
+
+**Goal:** Create a minimal, reproducible test case
+
+```
+Questions to answer:
+- Does it happen every time or intermittently?
+- What are the exact steps to reproduce?
+- What is the minimal input that triggers it?
+- Which environment variables matter?
+- What's the smallest code example that shows the bug?
+```
+
+**Example:**
+```python
+# Minimal reproduction
+def test_bug_reproduction():
+    # Simplest case that demonstrates the bug
+    result = problematic_function(edge_case_input)
+    assert result == expected_output  # Currently fails
+```
+
+### Step 2: Isolate the Problem
+
+**Strategy:** Binary search through code/data
+
+```
+Isolation techniques:
+1. Comment out half the code - does bug persist?
+2. Add logging at midpoints to narrow down location
+3. Test with minimal data set
+4. Remove external dependencies one by one
+5. Test in clean environment (new VM, fresh install)
+```
+
+**Example:**
+```python
+# Add strategic logging to isolate
+def complex_operation(data):
+    logger.debug(f"Input: {data}")  # Checkpoint 1
+
+    processed = process_step_1(data)
+    logger.debug(f"After step 1: {processed}")  # Checkpoint 2
+
+    validated = validate_step_2(processed)
+    logger.debug(f"After step 2: {validated}")  # Checkpoint 3
+
+    return finalize_step_3(validated)
+```
+
+### Step 3: Form and Test Hypotheses
+
+**Process:** Scientific method for debugging
+
+```
+For each hypothesis:
+1. State clearly: "I believe X is causing Y because Z"
+2. Predict: "If my hypothesis is true, then..."
+3. Test: Design experiment to confirm/refute
+4. Observe: Record actual results
+5. Conclude: Was hypothesis correct?
+```
+
+**Example:**
+```python
+# Hypothesis: The bug is caused by integer overflow
+
+# Prediction: Using larger integer type will fix it
+# Test:
+def test_hypothesis_integer_overflow():
+    # Original (fails)
+    result_int32 = calculate_with_int32(large_number)
+
+    # Modified (should work if hypothesis correct)
+    result_int64 = calculate_with_int64(large_number)
+
+    # Compare
+    print(f"Int32 result: {result_int32}")  # Overflowed?
+    print(f"Int64 result: {result_int64}")  # Correct?
+```
+
+### Step 4: Verify the Fix
+
+**Checklist before committing:**
+
+```
+✓ Original bug is fixed
+✓ No new bugs introduced
+✓ Edge cases handled
+✓ Tests added to prevent regression
+✓ Code is simpler, not more complex
+✓ Performance is acceptable
+✓ Documentation updated if needed
+```
+
+## Debugging Tools and Techniques
+
+### Print Debugging (Strategic Logging)
+
+**When to use:** Quick investigation, unfamiliar codebase
+
+```python
+# Strategic logging points
+def complex_algorithm(data):
+    # 1. Input validation
+    logger.debug(f"Input received: {data}")
+
+    # 2. Before transformation
+    logger.debug(f"Before processing: {data}")
+
+    result = expensive_operation(data)
+
+    # 3. After transformation
+    logger.debug(f"After processing: {result}")
+
+    # 4. Before return
+    logger.debug(f"Returning: {result}")
+
+    return result
+```
+
+**Best practices:**
+- Include variable names and values
+- Log at decision points (if/else branches)
+- Use structured logging for filtering
+- Remove debugging logs after fixing
+
+### Interactive Debugging (Debugger)
+
+**When to use:** Complex bugs, need to inspect state
+
+```python
+# Python (pdb)
+import pdb
+
+def problematic_function(x, y):
+    result = x + y
+    pdb.set_trace()  # Execution pauses here
+    return result * 2
+
+# Commands:
+# n - next line
+# s - step into function
+# c - continue execution
+# p variable - print variable
+# l - list code around current line
+```
+
+```javascript
+// JavaScript (Node.js)
+function problematicFunction(x, y) {
+    const result = x + y;
+    debugger;  // Execution pauses here when DevTools open
+    return result * 2;
+}
+```
+
+### Error Message Analysis
+
+**Read error messages carefully - they tell you exactly what's wrong**
+
+```
+Example error:
+TypeError: Cannot read property 'name' of undefined
+    at getUserName (user.js:15:20)
+    at processUser (app.js:42:10)
+
+Information extracted:
+1. Error type: TypeError (type-related issue)
+2. Specific problem: accessing 'name' property
+3. Root cause: object is undefined
+4. Location: user.js line 15, column 20
+5. Call stack: originated in processUser()
+
+Next steps:
+- Check why object is undefined at that point
+- Add null check or ensure object exists
+- Trace back to where object should be created
+```
+
+### Binary Search Through Code
+
+**For intermittent bugs or "it stopped working"**
+
+```bash
+# Git bisect - find commit that introduced bug
+git bisect start
+git bisect bad                  # Current version has bug
+git bisect good v1.2.0         # This version was working
+# Git checks out middle commit
+# Test if bug exists
+git bisect bad  # if bug exists
+git bisect good # if bug doesn't exist
+# Repeat until bug commit found
+```
+
+### Rubber Duck Debugging
+
+**Explain the problem out loud (to a rubber duck, colleague, or yourself)**
+
+```
+Process:
+1. State what the code is supposed to do
+2. Explain what it actually does
+3. Walk through the code line by line
+4. Often, the act of explaining reveals the bug
+
+Why it works:
+- Forces you to be precise
+- Reveals assumptions
+- Highlights inconsistencies
+- Activates different brain regions
+```
+
+## Common Bug Categories and Solutions
+
+### Null/Undefined Reference Errors
+
+```python
+# Problem: Accessing property of None/null/undefined
+user.name  # Crashes if user is None
+
+# Solutions:
+# 1. Guard clause
+if user is None:
+    return default_name
+return user.name
+
+# 2. Optional chaining (languages that support it)
+return user?.name ?? default_name
+
+# 3. Early validation
+def process_user(user):
+    if user is None:
+        raise ValueError("User cannot be None")
+    return user.name
+```
+
+### Off-by-One Errors
+
+```python
+# Problem: Loop runs one too many or too few times
+for i in range(len(array)):
+    process(array[i+1])  # IndexError on last iteration!
+
+# Solutions:
+# 1. Adjust range
+for i in range(len(array) - 1):
+    process(array[i+1])
+
+# 2. Better iteration
+for current, next_item in zip(array, array[1:]):
+    process(next_item)
+
+# 3. Test boundaries explicitly
+def test_boundary_conditions():
+    assert process_array([]) == expected_empty
+    assert process_array([1]) == expected_single
+    assert process_array([1, 2]) == expected_pair
+```
+
+### Race Conditions
+
+```python
+# Problem: Order of operations matters
+shared_counter = 0
+
+def increment():
+    # Read-modify-write is not atomic!
+    temp = shared_counter
+    temp += 1
+    shared_counter = temp
+
+# Solutions:
+# 1. Use locks
+import threading
+lock = threading.Lock()
+
+def increment():
+    with lock:
+        shared_counter += 1
+
+# 2. Use atomic operations
+from threading import atomic
+counter = atomic.AtomicInteger(0)
+counter.increment()
+
+# 3. Avoid shared state
+def increment(counter):
+    return counter + 1  # Pure function
+```
+
+### Memory Leaks
+
+```python
+# Problem: Objects not being garbage collected
+class Cache:
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.data = {}
+
+    def store(self, key, value):
+        self.data[key] = value  # Never removed!
+
+# Solutions:
+# 1. Explicit cleanup
+def store(self, key, value, ttl=3600):
+    self.data[key] = (value, time.time() + ttl)
+    self._cleanup_expired()
+
+# 2. Use weak references
+import weakref
+self.data = weakref.WeakValueDictionary()
+
+# 3. Limit cache size
+from functools import lru_cache
+@lru_cache(maxsize=128)
+def expensive_function(arg):
+    pass
+```
+
+## Debugging Anti-Patterns
+
+### ❌ Random Changes (Hope-Driven Debugging)
+
+```python
+# Bad: Changing things randomly
+try:
+    result = function(x)  # Doesn't work
+    # Try adding +1? Maybe that helps?
+    result = function(x + 1)  # Still doesn't work
+    # Try multiplying by 2?
+    result = function(x * 2)
+```
+
+**Better:** Understand why it's failing first, then make targeted fix.
+
+### ❌ Cargo Cult Fixes
+
+```python
+# Bad: Copying solutions without understanding
+# "I found this on Stack Overflow"
+time.sleep(0.1)  # "Fixes" race condition by accident
+```
+
+**Better:** Understand the root cause and fix it properly.
+
+### ❌ Debugging in Production
+
+```python
+# Bad: Testing theories on live system
+if user.is_admin:
+    print("DEBUG: Admin access granted")  # Left in production!
+    grant_access()
+```
+
+**Better:** Reproduce locally, fix, test, then deploy.
+
+### ❌ Ignoring Warnings
+
+```python
+# Bad: Suppressing warnings without investigation
+import warnings
+warnings.filterwarnings("ignore")  # What could go wrong?
+```
+
+**Better:** Address the root cause of warnings.
+
+## Advanced Debugging Techniques
+
+### Time-Travel Debugging
+
+Record execution and replay it:
+```python
+# Python: Use `python -m pdb -cc script.py` for post-mortem debugging
+# JavaScript: Use Chrome DevTools recording
+# Rust: Use rr (record and replay)
+```
+
+### Performance Profiling for Bug-Finding
+
+```python
+import cProfile
+import pstats
+
+# Profile code to find bottlenecks
+profiler = cProfile.Profile()
+profiler.enable()
+
+slow_function()
+
+profiler.disable()
+stats = pstats.Stats(profiler)
+stats.sort_stats('cumtime')
+stats.print_stats(10)  # Top 10 slowest functions
+```
+
+### Memory Profiling
+
+```python
+# Python: memory_profiler
+from memory_profiler import profile
+
+@profile
+def memory_intensive_function():
+    large_list = [i for i in range(1000000)]
+    return sum(large_list)
+
+# Run: python -m memory_profiler script.py
+```
+
+## Quick Debugging Checklist
+
+When you encounter a bug:
+
+```
+□ Can you reproduce it reliably?
+□ Have you read the error message completely?
+□ Have you checked the logs?
+□ Is it the code or the data?
+□ Have you tested with minimal input?
+□ Have you isolated the failing component?
+□ Have you checked recent changes (git log)?
+□ Have you verified your assumptions?
+□ Have you tried explaining it out loud?
+□ Have you checked for common issues (null, off-by-one, race condition)?
+□ Have you written a test that demonstrates the bug?
+□ Does the fix address the root cause, not the symptom?
+```
+
+## Remember
+
+- **Correctness before performance** - Fast but wrong is always worse than slow but correct
+- **Simplest fix first** - Complex solutions are often solving the wrong problem
+- **Test your assumptions** - The bug is usually in code you're "sure" is correct
+- **Read the error message** - It tells you exactly what's wrong
+- **One change at a time** - Change multiple things and you won't know what fixed it