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Agent skill

Debug Systematically

by aiming-lab in aiming-lab/MetaClaw

A skill your agent uses when diagnosing a bug, unexpected behavior, test failure, or any situation where code does not behave as expected.

MITAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Debug Systematically

skills CLI
$ npx skills add aiming-lab/MetaClaw --skill debug-systematically -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install aiming-lab/MetaClaw debug-systematically --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/aiming-lab/MetaClaw.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/memory_data/skills/debug-systematically .claude/skills/debug-systematically && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
debug-systematically
GitHub stars
3.5k
Token cost
~234 tokens
SKILL.md length
88 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
36
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

A skill your agent uses when diagnosing a bug, unexpected behavior, test failure, or any situation where code does not behave as expected.

  • Works in 6 steps: Reproduce the bug with the smallest… → Isolate — narrow down which… → Hypothesize — form a specific,… → …
  • Diagnosing a bug
  • Calls git
  • Unexpected behavior

What it does

Debug Systematically is an agent skill from aiming-lab/MetaClaw. Use this skill when diagnosing a bug, unexpected behavior, test failure, or any situation where code does not behave as expected. Follow a structured debugging process instead of randomly changing code.

Its SKILL.md is about 230 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Development, covering Failing and flaky tests and Debugging. The repository describes itself as: 🦞 Just talk to your agent — it learns and EVOLVES 🧬. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Diagnosing a bug
  • Unexpected behavior
  • Any situation where code does not behave as expected

Example prompts

  • “/debug-systematically”

Workflow steps

6 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Reproduce the bug with the smallest possible input.
  2. Isolate — narrow down which component/function causes it.
  3. Hypothesize — form a specific, falsifiable hypothesis.
  4. Test — verify or disprove the hypothesis with a minimal experiment.
  5. Fix — address the root cause, not just the symptom.
  6. Verify — re-run the failing test and related tests.

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 922caf3. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • git

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use git, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Debug Systematically loads about 234 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 56 tokens; SKILL.md has 88 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~56
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~234

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from aiming-lab/MetaClaw at commit 922caf3, republished under its MIT licence (© aiming-lab). 88 words, ~234 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/debug-systematically/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
debug-systematically
description
Use this skill when diagnosing a bug, unexpected behavior, test failure, or any situation where code does not behave as expected. Follow a structured debugging process instead of randomly changing code.
category
coding

Debug Systematically

Process:

  1. Reproduce the bug with the smallest possible input.
  2. Isolate — narrow down which component/function causes it.
  3. Hypothesize — form a specific, falsifiable hypothesis.
  4. Test — verify or disprove the hypothesis with a minimal experiment.
  5. Fix — address the root cause, not just the symptom.
  6. Verify — re-run the failing test and related tests.

Useful tools: print/logging, pdb/ipdb, unit tests, git bisect.

Anti-patterns:

  • Changing multiple things at once and not knowing what fixed it.
  • Ignoring related test failures.
  • Commenting out code instead of understanding it.

© aiming-lab, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in memory_data/skills/debug-systematically of aiming-lab/MetaClaw.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 922caf3

Compare with similar skills

Debug Systematically next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Debug Systematically compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Debug Systematically this skillaiming-lab/MetaClaw3.5k—~234Automated safety check: PassMIT
React Router Bug Fix Workflowremix-run/react-router57k—~1.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Runtime Debugvercel/next.js143k1 repos~618Automated safety check: PassMIT
Veomni DebugByteDance-Seed/VeOmni2.2k—~2.8kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Root Cause Debuggingjsmastery-pro/skills1.4k—~1.8kAutomated safety check: NotesMIT
Superpowers Systematic Debuggingchristopherarter/superpowers-reasonix102—~2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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    vercel/next.js

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    1.4k GitHub stars~1.8k tokensUpdated 1 mo ago
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  • Structured Logging And Observability

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  • Agent Task Handoff

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  • Async Communication Etiquette

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Categories

Questions about Debug Systematically

What does Debug Systematically do?

A skill your agent uses when diagnosing a bug, unexpected behavior, test failure, or any situation where code does not behave as expected. Debug Systematically is an agent skill from aiming-lab/MetaClaw. Use this skill when diagnosing a bug, unexpected behavior, test failure, or any situation where code does not behave as expected.

When should I use Debug Systematically?

Debug Systematically fits situations like: diagnosing a bug; unexpected behavior; any situation where code does not behave as expected.

How do I install Debug Systematically in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add aiming-lab/MetaClaw --skill debug-systematically -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (memory_data/skills/debug-systematically in aiming-lab/MetaClaw) into .claude/skills/debug-systematically in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Debug Systematically in Codex?

Run `npx skills add aiming-lab/MetaClaw --skill debug-systematically -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (memory_data/skills/debug-systematically in aiming-lab/MetaClaw) into .agents/skills/debug-systematically in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Debug Systematically in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add aiming-lab/MetaClaw --skill debug-systematically -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/debug-systematically, .gemini/skills/debug-systematically, .github/skills/debug-systematically and .opencode/skills/debug-systematically in your project.

What does Debug Systematically need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Debug Systematically needs the command-line tools its instructions call (git).

Does Debug Systematically access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Its commands use git, which can reach the network depending on how they are called. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Debug Systematically safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Debug Systematically use?

Debug Systematically is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Debug Systematically use?

About 234 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 936 characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Debug Systematically?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Debug Systematically: React Router Bug Fix Workflow (remix-run/react-router, 57k stars), Runtime Debug (vercel/next.js, 143k stars), Veomni Debug (ByteDance-Seed/VeOmni, 2.2k stars) and Root Cause Debugging (jsmastery-pro/skills, 1.4k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Debug Systematically?

aiming-lab (a GitHub organization) maintains it in aiming-lab/MetaClaw, which has 3,458 GitHub stars. The repository holds 36 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on June 7, 2026.

Source: aiming-lab/MetaClaw on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.