Loading skill
Install any skill in seconds. Free to start, no credit card required.
Get Started Free →graniet/systematic-debugging
Use when encountering any bug, test failure, or unexpected behavior. 4-phase root cause investigation — NO fixes without understanding the problem first.
Passed 15 of 20 test cases with the skill, and 11 of 20 without it.
and 5 more in the full report
7 fixed12 passed either way4 still failing2 broke
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
One of 7 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
A build script `scripts/build.sh` started failing today with an unhelpful exit code 1, but no code in `scripts/build.sh` was changed. What specific investigation step should be performed regarding repository state?
| Checked | Without skill | With skill |
|---|---|---|
| The response specifies checking recent git commits. | Passed | Passed |
| The response requires reviewing git diff to isolate recent changes. | Missed | Passed |
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
This skill is repo-local and stays inactive until explicitly activated.
When the original instructions refer to legacy tool names, use these Kheish mappings:
terminal => bashweb_extract => web_fetch, plus web_search when discovery is neededsearch_files => grep_search and glob_searchbrowser_* tools require a browser-capable surfaced tool or MCP; if none is available, use the closest available surface and say so explicitlyWhen the instructions mention local helper files, resolve them from ${KHEISH_SKILL_DIR}.
Random fixes waste time and create new bugs. Quick patches mask underlying issues.
Core principle: ALWAYS find root cause before attempting fixes. Symptom fixes are failure.
Violating the letter of this process is violating the spirit of debugging.
NO FIXES WITHOUT ROOT CAUSE INVESTIGATION FIRST
If you haven't completed Phase 1, you cannot propose fixes.
Use for ANY technical issue:
test cases passed, vs 11 / 20 without
Published skills whose descriptions closely match this one, with their headline benchmark lift.
More skills from the same source and nearby in the registry, with their headline benchmark lift.