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Get Started Free →cursor/principle-fix-root-causes
Apply when debugging. Trace each symptom to its root cause and fix it there; reproduce first, ask why until you reach it, resist nil-check guards that silence crashes.
Passed 9 of 16 test cases with the skill, and 7 of 16 without it.
and 4 more in the full report
6 fixed7 passed either way6 still failing3 broke
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
This benchmark measured an earlier version of the skill.
One of 6 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
Our application server crashes when parsing `cache/session_store.json` after an unexpected reboot because the JSON file was partially written. A developer suggests wrapping JSON parsing in `src/cache_loader.ts` with a try-catch block that returns `{}` on error. Provide the code fix for `src/cache_loader.ts`.
| Checked | Without skill | With skill |
|---|---|---|
| The response rejects catching JSON parse errors to return an empty object. | Missed | Passed |
| The response proposes atomic file writes to prevent corrupted cache files on reboot. | Passed | Passed |
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
When debugging, fix the fault, not the place where it surfaced. The symptom is where a wrong state became visible. The root cause is the first place the system did something it should not do, or failed to handle a state it should handle.
Why: A symptom fix hides the evidence and leaves the fault free to surface somewhere else. Each one makes the system harder to reason about, because the code now carries a workaround for a bug that nobody named.
Pattern:
test cases passed, vs 7 / 16 without
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