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Agent skill

Systematic Debugging

by ChrisWiles in ChrisWiles/claude-code-showcase

Applies a four-phase debugging routine that finds the root cause of a bug or failing test before any fix is written.

No licenceAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Systematic Debugging

skills CLI
$ npx skills add ChrisWiles/claude-code-showcase --skill systematic-debugging -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install ChrisWiles/claude-code-showcase systematic-debugging --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/ChrisWiles/claude-code-showcase.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/systematic-debugging .claude/skills/systematic-debugging && 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
systematic-debugging
GitHub stars
6.1k
Used in
3 other repos
Token cost
~1.2k tokens
SKILL.md length
475 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
6
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
None found

At a glance

Applies a four-phase debugging routine that finds the root cause of a bug or failing test before any fix is written.

  • Works in 4 steps: Root Cause Investigation → Pattern Analysis → Hypothesis and Testing → …
  • Investigating a bug whose cause is not yet clear
  • SKILL.md covers Core Principle, The Four-Phase Framework, Red Flags - Process Violations and Warning Signs of Deeper Problems, plus 4 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

One rule governs the skill: no fix before the root cause is understood, and no patch that only hides a symptom. Phase one is investigation: read the error closely, reproduce it reliably, check recent changes, collect logs and stack traces, and trace the data flow up the call chain to where the bad value starts. Phase two compares working code with the broken code and lists the differences and dependencies.

Phase three treats the cause as a hypothesis: state one, change one variable, predict the result, run it and check. Phase four writes a failing test, applies a single fix, confirms the test passes and runs the full suite. If three fixes in a row fail, the agent stops and raises an architecture discussion. A red-flags list names thoughts that signal a process violation, such as planning a quick fix now and an investigation later.

When your agent uses it

  • Investigating a bug whose cause is not yet clear
  • Fixing a failing test without guessing at the cause
  • Troubleshooting unexpected behavior after a recent change

Example prompts

  • “The checkout total is off by one cent for some orders. Find the root cause before changing anything.”
  • “This test started failing after yesterday's merge. Trace it properly and tell me what broke.”
  • “We have tried three fixes and the timeout still happens. Re-evaluate from the start.”

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Root Cause Investigation
  2. Pattern Analysis
  3. Hypothesis and Testing
  4. Implementation

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit a95518f. 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

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

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

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    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

Systematic Debugging loads about 1.2k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 54 tokens; SKILL.md has 475 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~54
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.2k

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

Without a licence we can't republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 475 words (~1,222 tokens).

“NO FIXES WITHOUT ROOT CAUSE INVESTIGATION FIRST.”

— opening of SKILL.md by ChrisWiles
name
systematic-debugging

Read the full SKILL.md on GitHub

Files

Just SKILL.md in .claude/skills/systematic-debugging of ChrisWiles/claude-code-showcase.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit a95518f

Used in 3 other repositories

We found 7 copies of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 3 other GitHub owners. This page covers the copy in ChrisWiles/claude-code-showcase, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

Compare with similar skills

Systematic Debugging 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.

Systematic Debugging compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Systematic Debugging this skillChrisWiles/claude-code-showcase6.1k3 repos~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassNone
Debugging and Error Recoveryaddyosmani/agent-skills102k1 repos~2.6kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Systematic Debugginged3dai/ed3d-plugins2503 repos~2.4kAutomated safety check: PassNone
Debugging And Error Recoveryabashev/vfs-s31066 repos~2.6kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Veomni DebugByteDance-Seed/VeOmni2.2k—~2.8kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Root Cause Debuggingjsmastery-pro/skills1.4k—~1.8kAutomated safety check: NotesMIT

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  • Debugging and Error Recovery

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Categories

Questions about Systematic Debugging

What does Systematic Debugging do?

Applies a four-phase debugging routine that finds the root cause of a bug or failing test before any fix is written. One rule governs the skill: no fix before the root cause is understood, and no patch that only hides a symptom. Phase one is investigation: read the error closely, reproduce it reliably, check recent changes, collect logs and stack traces, and trace the data flow up the call chain to where the bad value starts.

When should I use Systematic Debugging?

Systematic Debugging fits situations like: investigating a bug whose cause is not yet clear; fixing a failing test without guessing at the cause; troubleshooting unexpected behavior after a recent change.

How do I install Systematic Debugging in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add ChrisWiles/claude-code-showcase --skill systematic-debugging -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/systematic-debugging in ChrisWiles/claude-code-showcase) into .claude/skills/systematic-debugging in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Systematic Debugging in Codex?

Run `npx skills add ChrisWiles/claude-code-showcase --skill systematic-debugging -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/systematic-debugging in ChrisWiles/claude-code-showcase) into .agents/skills/systematic-debugging in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Systematic Debugging 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 ChrisWiles/claude-code-showcase --skill systematic-debugging -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/systematic-debugging, .gemini/skills/systematic-debugging, .github/skills/systematic-debugging and .opencode/skills/systematic-debugging in your project.

What does Systematic Debugging need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Systematic Debugging is instructions for the agent only.

Does Systematic Debugging access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Systematic Debugging 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 Systematic Debugging use?

No licence was found for Systematic Debugging or its repository. Without one, default copyright applies: ask the author before reusing or redistributing it.

How many tokens does Systematic Debugging use?

About 1.2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.9k 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 Systematic Debugging?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Systematic Debugging: Debugging and Error Recovery (addyosmani/agent-skills, 102k stars), Systematic Debugging (ed3dai/ed3d-plugins, 250 stars), Debugging And Error Recovery (abashev/vfs-s3, 106 stars) and Veomni Debug (ByteDance-Seed/VeOmni, 2.2k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Systematic Debugging?

ChrisWiles (a GitHub user) maintains it in ChrisWiles/claude-code-showcase, which has 6,072 GitHub stars. The repository holds 6 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on January 6, 2026.

Source: ChrisWiles/claude-code-showcase on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.