Brummel
51da9fab53
Two project-wide rules are now explicit across every skill: 1. Only the Boss commits. No skill agent (implementer, brainstormer, planner, debugger, fieldtester, docwriter, architect, bencher) runs `git commit`. Agents write their artefacts to the working tree as unstaged changes; the Boss inspects, decides commit shape, and commits. 2. main HEAD is sacrosanct. No actor runs `git reset` or `git revert` on main. Bad work stays in the working tree where it is still discardable via `git checkout -- <paths>`. Implement loses the `iter/<iter_id>` branch mechanic entirely; Phase 0 of the orchestrator-agent now does a clean-tree check and refuses to start on a dirty tree. Per-task agent commits are removed everywhere; reviewers operate against `git diff HEAD` instead of `pre_task_sha..head_sha`. Motivation: 2026-05-11 iter 23.4 stranded prep2/prep3 commits on an iter-branch that never integrated to main, then a corrected spec falsely claimed those commits had shipped. Branch-per-iter + manual-Boss-merge + iter-stacking made the strand structurally possible. See docs/journals/2026-05-11-iter-disc.1.md for the full per-task notes and motivation.
97 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
97 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
name: debug
|
|
description: Use when a bug surfaces — failing test, segfault, wrong stdout, panic, or any observable misbehaviour. Bug fixes are RED-first TDD; no fix is attempted before the failing test exists in the working tree. Mandatory for any bug, including ones that look trivial.
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
# debug — RED-first bug diagnoser
|
|
|
|
> **Violating the letter of these rules is violating the spirit.**
|
|
|
|
## Overview
|
|
|
|
Bugs in AILang are diagnosed and fixed by a two-stage handoff: this
|
|
skill produces the RED test and the cause analysis; the `implement`
|
|
skill then drives the fix to GREEN. Skipping the RED stage — even for
|
|
"trivial" bugs — produces fixes that don't stick and tests that don't
|
|
exist to catch the next regression.
|
|
|
|
The substantive process — root cause investigation → pattern analysis
|
|
→ RED test → handoff, plus the Phase 4.5 architecture-question trigger
|
|
after three failed hypotheses — lives in
|
|
`agents/ailang-debugger.md`. That file is the single source of truth
|
|
for the discipline; this skill file only governs trigger, dispatch,
|
|
and handoff.
|
|
|
|
## When to Use / Skipping
|
|
|
|
Trigger this skill on:
|
|
- a failing `cargo test` (any crate)
|
|
- wrong stdout from `ail run <example>`
|
|
- a segfault from a built binary
|
|
- a panic in the compiler
|
|
- a structured diagnostic from `ailang-bencher` or `ailang-architect`
|
|
that names a concrete misbehaviour
|
|
|
|
**Never skipped.** A bug without a regression test is a code change,
|
|
not a fix. Ad-hoc judgement that a bug is "too small for TDD" is the
|
|
exact failure mode this skill exists to prevent.
|
|
|
|
## The Iron Law
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
NO FIXES WITHOUT ROOT CAUSE INVESTIGATION FIRST
|
|
NO FIX WITHOUT A FAILING TEST FIRST
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
Both clauses are non-negotiable. The second was formerly the
|
|
CLAUDE.md "Bug fixes — TDD, always" section before the
|
|
2026-05-09 skill-system migration.
|
|
|
|
## Dispatch
|
|
|
|
Dispatch `ailang-debugger` with:
|
|
|
|
| Carrier field | Content |
|
|
|---------------|---------|
|
|
| `symptom` | Exact error message, stack trace, wrong output, or repro command |
|
|
| `repro_known` | One-line repro if known, otherwise the agent finds one |
|
|
| `recent_iter` | Iteration that last touched the suspected area (often `git log` tail) |
|
|
|
|
The agent writes the RED test to the working tree (uncommitted) and
|
|
reports the handoff carrier for `implement` mini-mode. The agent does
|
|
NOT commit anything, and does NOT write the fix — splitting RED (this
|
|
skill) and GREEN (`implement` mini-mode) across two dispatches keeps
|
|
the diagnosis honest. The Boss decides whether to commit the RED test
|
|
as a separate audit-trail commit before dispatching `implement` mini-
|
|
mode, or to hand the dirty working tree directly to mini-mode (the
|
|
mini-mode orchestrator's Phase-0 clean-tree check will refuse the
|
|
latter — so for an audit-trail-preserving flow the Boss commits the
|
|
RED test first; for a streamlined-fix flow the Boss commits the
|
|
combined RED+GREEN at the end of mini-mode).
|
|
|
|
## Handoff Contract
|
|
|
|
`debug` produces, for `implement` mini-mode:
|
|
|
|
| Field | Content |
|
|
|-------|---------|
|
|
| `red_test_path` | absolute path to the failing test file |
|
|
| `cause_summary` | 1-2 sentences naming the file + function + why |
|
|
| `constraint` | `"minimal fix, no surrounding cleanup"` |
|
|
|
|
Anything else (broader refactor, doc rewrite, new feature) is OUT of
|
|
scope for the bug-fix iteration and gets queued for a separate one.
|
|
|
|
## Cross-references
|
|
|
|
- **Agent dispatched:** `skills/debug/agents/ailang-debugger.md` —
|
|
carries the four-phase process, the Phase 4.5 escalation rule, the
|
|
Common Rationalisations table, and the Red Flags list. The
|
|
orchestrator does not execute these phases directly.
|
|
- **Hand-off target:** `skills/implement/SKILL.md` — runs the GREEN
|
|
side after the Boss has decided whether to commit the RED test
|
|
separately or as part of the final fix commit.
|
|
- **Project source:** former CLAUDE.md "Bug fixes — TDD, always"
|
|
section is now superseded by this file; CLAUDE.md keeps a one-line
|
|
pointer.
|