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Agent skill

Systematic Debugging

by ultralisp in ultralisp/ultralisp

A skill your agent uses when encountering any bug, test failure, or unexpected behavior, before proposing fixes

No licenceAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Systematic Debugging

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

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install ultralisp/ultralisp 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/ultralisp/ultralisp.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/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
258
Used in
51 other repos
Token cost
~2.4k tokens
SKILL.md length
1,114 words
Files
11
Skills in repo
14
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
None found

At a glance

A skill your agent uses when encountering any bug, test failure, or unexpected behavior, before proposing fixes

  • Works in 4 steps: Root Cause Investigation → Pattern Analysis → Hypothesis and Testing → …
  • Encountering any bug
  • SKILL.md covers Overview, The Iron Law, When to Use and The Four Phases, plus 6 more sections
  • Runs TypeScript and Shell scripts from its folder

What it does

Systematic Debugging is an agent skill from ultralisp/ultralisp. Use when encountering any bug, test failure, or unexpected behavior, before proposing fixes

Its SKILL.md is about 2.4k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 10 other files (for example `CREATION-LOG.md`, `condition-based-waiting-example.ts` and `condition-based-waiting.md`).

It sits in Development, covering Debugging and Failing and flaky tests. The repository describes itself as: The software behind a Ultralisp.org Common Lisp repository.

When your agent uses it

  • Encountering any bug
  • Unexpected behavior
  • Before proposing fixes

Example prompts

  • “/systematic-debugging”

Requirements

  • Node.js
  • A Bash shell

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 3439788. 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

    Ships script files (TypeScript and Shell), which the agent can run.

    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 2.4k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 28 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,114 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~28
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2.4k

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 1,114 words (~2,361 tokens).

“Core principle: ALWAYS find root cause before attempting fixes. Symptom fixes are failure.”

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

Read the full SKILL.md on GitHub

Files

SKILL.md and 10 other files in .agents/skills/systematic-debugging of ultralisp/ultralisp.

  • SKILL.md
  • CREATION-LOG.md
  • condition-based-waiting-example.ts
  • condition-based-waiting.md
  • defense-in-depth.md
  • find-polluter.sh
  • root-cause-tracing.md
  • test-academic.md
  • test-pressure-1.md
  • test-pressure-2.md
  • test-pressure-3.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 3439788

Used in at least 35 other repositories

We found 91 copies of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 51 other GitHub owners. This page covers the copy in ultralisp/ultralisp, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

…and 41 more copies not listed here.

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 skillultralisp/ultralisp25851 repos~2.4kAutomated safety check: PassNone
Exposed Bug Fix WorkflowJetBrains/Exposed9.3k—~3.8kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
React Router Bug Fix Workflowremix-run/react-router57k—~1.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Systematic DebuggingChrisWiles/claude-code-showcase6.1k3 repos~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassNone
Debugging and Error Recoveryaddyosmani/agent-skills103k1 repos~2.6kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Runtime Debugvercel/next.js143k1 repos~618Automated safety check: PassMIT

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  • Exposed Bug Fix Workflow

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  • Systematic Debugging

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  • Runtime Debug

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Categories

Questions about Systematic Debugging

What does Systematic Debugging do?

A skill your agent uses when encountering any bug, test failure, or unexpected behavior, before proposing fixes. Systematic Debugging is an agent skill from ultralisp/ultralisp.

When should I use Systematic Debugging?

Systematic Debugging fits situations like: encountering any bug; unexpected behavior; before proposing fixes.

How do I install Systematic Debugging in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add ultralisp/ultralisp --skill systematic-debugging -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/systematic-debugging in ultralisp/ultralisp) 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 ultralisp/ultralisp --skill systematic-debugging -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/systematic-debugging in ultralisp/ultralisp) 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 ultralisp/ultralisp --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?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Systematic Debugging needs TypeScript and a shell for the scripts in its folder. Our summary lists: Node.js; A Bash shell.

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 2.4k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 9.4k 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: Exposed Bug Fix Workflow (JetBrains/Exposed, 9.3k stars), React Router Bug Fix Workflow (remix-run/react-router, 57k stars), Systematic Debugging (ChrisWiles/claude-code-showcase, 6.1k stars) and Debugging and Error Recovery (addyosmani/agent-skills, 103k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Systematic Debugging?

ultralisp (a GitHub organization) maintains it in ultralisp/ultralisp, which has 258 GitHub stars. The repository holds 14 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 13, 2026.

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