Structured Debugging

Recent Changes

!git log --oneline -10 2>/dev/null !git diff --stat HEAD~3 2>/dev/null

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Debugging Process

Step 1: Gather Information

1. What is the symptom? — Error message, unexpected behavior, crash, performance issue
2. When did it start? — Check recent commits: git log --oneline -20
3. Is it reproducible? — Always, sometimes, only in certain environments?
4. What changed? — Recent code changes, dependency updates, config changes

Step 2: Read the Error

If there's an error message or stack trace:

1. Read the full error message — don't skip parts
2. Identify the origin — which file and line threw the error?
3. Trace the call stack — how did execution reach that point?
4. Check for root cause vs symptom — the first error in the chain is usually the cause

Step 3: Isolate the Problem

Use a binary search strategy:

1. Narrow the scope: Is the issue in the frontend, backend, database, or external service?
2. Check inputs: Are the inputs to the failing function correct?
3. Check dependencies: Are all required services/modules available?
4. Check state: Is the application/database in the expected state?
5. Check environment: Are env vars, configs, and versions correct?

Step 4: Common Debugging Patterns

"It works on my machine"

• Check environment variables
• Check dependency versions (lock file differences)
• Check OS/runtime version differences
• Check file path separators (Windows vs Unix)
• Check timezone/locale differences

"It worked yesterday"

• git bisect to find the breaking commit
• Check for dependency updates (lock file changes)
• Check for infrastructure/config changes
• Check for data changes in the database

"It works sometimes"

• Race condition — look for shared mutable state
• Timing issue — look for missing awaits, unhandled promises
• Resource exhaustion — connections, file handles, memory
• External dependency flakiness — network, API rate limits

"It's slow"

• Profile before guessing — use the project's profiling tools
• Check for N+1 queries
• Check for missing indexes
• Check for synchronous blocking in async code
• Check for unnecessary re-computation

Step 5: Fix and Verify

1. Implement the minimal fix
2. Verify the fix resolves the original issue
3. Check for regressions — run related tests
4. Add a test that would have caught this bug
5. Document the root cause in the commit message

Step 6: Prevent Recurrence

• Should there be input validation to catch this earlier?
• Should there be a test for this scenario?
• Should there be monitoring/alerting for this condition?
• Should the error message be improved for faster debugging next time?

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Rules

• Don't guess and check randomly — use a systematic approach
• Read the error message — it usually tells you exactly what's wrong
• Check the obvious first — typos, missing imports, wrong file paths
• One change at a time — so you know what fixed it
• Always add a regression test for the bug you fixed