Brummel
de42974056
The carrier (symptom/repro_known/recent_iter) and handoff (red_test_path/cause_summary/constraint) field definitions were tabled in full in both SKILL.md and debugger.md — the exact duplication that let the `constraint` wording drift earlier. Since the debugger agent runs in a fresh context, it must carry both contracts inline regardless; that makes debugger.md the natural single source. Mark its Carrier-contract and Output-format tables authoritative, fold in the richer field descriptions that only SKILL.md had, and reduce SKILL.md to naming the fields plus a pointer — no field semantics restated. Drift-prone prose now lives in exactly one place. Consistent with SKILL.md's own stated split (debugger.md = source of truth; skill = trigger/dispatch/handoff). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
99 lines
4.0 KiB
Markdown
99 lines
4.0 KiB
Markdown
---
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name: debug
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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.
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---
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# debug — RED-first bug diagnoser
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> **Violating the letter of these rules is violating the spirit.**
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## Overview
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Bugs are diagnosed and fixed by a two-stage handoff: this
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skill produces the RED test and the cause analysis; the
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`implement` skill then drives the fix to GREEN. Skipping the
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RED stage — even for "trivial" bugs — produces fixes that don't
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stick and tests that don't exist to catch the next regression.
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The substantive process — root cause investigation → pattern
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analysis → minimal, autonomous RED test → handoff, plus the
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Phase 4.5 architecture-question trigger after three failed
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hypotheses — lives in `agents/debugger.md`. The RED stage is
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not "any failing test": Phase 3 reduces the reproducer to the
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smallest autonomous trigger before the test counts. That file is the single source of truth
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for the discipline; this skill file only governs trigger,
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dispatch, and handoff.
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## When to Use / Skipping
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Trigger this skill on:
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- a failing run of the project's test command (configured under
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`commands.test` in the profile)
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- wrong stdout from running a project artefact
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- a segfault from a built binary
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- a panic / unhandled exception in the toolchain
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- a structured diagnostic from `bencher` or `architect` that
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names a concrete misbehaviour
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**Never skipped.** A bug without a regression test is a code
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change, not a fix. Ad-hoc judgement that a bug is "too small
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for TDD" is the exact failure mode this skill exists to prevent.
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## The Iron Law
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```
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NO FIXES WITHOUT ROOT CAUSE INVESTIGATION FIRST
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NO FIX WITHOUT A FAILING TEST FIRST
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```
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Both clauses are non-negotiable.
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## Dispatch
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Dispatch the `debugger` agent with the carrier fields it defines
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under **Carrier contract** in `agents/debugger.md` — `symptom`,
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`repro_known`, `recent_iter`. That table is the authoritative
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definition of those fields; it is deliberately not restated here,
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so the two files cannot drift.
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The agent writes the RED test to the working tree (uncommitted)
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and reports the handoff carrier for `implement` mini-mode. The
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agent does NOT commit anything, and does NOT write the fix —
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splitting RED (this skill) and GREEN (`implement` mini-mode)
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across two dispatches keeps the diagnosis honest. The
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orchestrator decides whether to commit the RED test as a
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separate audit-trail commit before dispatching `implement`
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mini-mode, or to hand the dirty working tree directly to
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mini-mode (the mini-mode orchestrator's Phase-0 clean-tree
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check will refuse the latter — so for an audit-trail-preserving
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flow the orchestrator commits the RED test first; for a
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streamlined-fix flow the orchestrator commits the combined
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RED+GREEN at the end of mini-mode).
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## Handoff Contract
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`debug` produces, for `implement` mini-mode, the handoff carrier
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the agent defines under **Output format** in `agents/debugger.md`
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— `red_test_path`, `cause_summary`, `constraint`. That list is
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the authoritative definition of those fields; it is deliberately
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not restated here, so the two files cannot drift.
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Anything else (broader refactor, doc rewrite, new feature) is
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OUT of scope for the bug-fix iteration and gets queued for a
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separate one.
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## Cross-references
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- **Agent dispatched:** `agents/debugger.md` — carries the
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four-phase process, the Phase 4.5 escalation rule, the
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Common Rationalisations table, and the Red Flags list. It is
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also the single source for the carrier and handoff field
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definitions (Carrier contract / Output format); this skill
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names the fields but does not redefine them. The orchestrator
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does not execute these phases directly.
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- **Hand-off target:** `../implement/SKILL.md` — runs the
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GREEN side after the orchestrator has decided whether to
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commit the RED test separately or as part of the final fix
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commit.
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