This file is byte-identical to the first copy the registry indexed, one of 4 indexed copies. Same content hash, so the same checks give both the same grade.
five-whys from wesammustafa/claude-code-quest is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
Finds the root cause of a bug, failure or recurring problem by asking "why" until the answer is a cause you can fix. Use when the user asks why something keeps happening, or wants the root cause rather than a quick fix.
Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.
What the file says
Find the root cause of this problem: $ARGUMENTS
If no problem is given, ask for one in a single sentence, then stop.
1. Restate the problem as a symptom someone can observe: what happens, where and when.
2. Ask "Why does this happen?" Answer from evidence: the code, tests, logs and git history. Mark any answer you can't back with evidence as a guess.
3. Ask "Why?" of that answer, and keep going until the answer is a cause the team can change. That often takes about five rounds; stop sooner if you get there, and say so if you need more.
4. Check the chain backwards: each cause must explain the step before it.
5. Report the chain as a numbered list, the root cause in one sentence, then one fix for the root cause and one for the symptom.
Don't change any files. Propose the fixes and let the user decide.
The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20261006.11cadf7, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.
A 17 of 17 checks passed. Fixed automatic checks with no AI involved, so the same checks give the same answer every run.
pass: Frontmatter block present
pass: Frontmatter declares a name
pass: Frontmatter declares a description
pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (1603 bytes)
pass: No zero-width or bidi control characters
pass: No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
pass: No link to an exfiltration or paste host
pass: No credential-shaped string
pass: No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
pass: No text hidden with inline styles
pass: No prompt-injection phrasing
pass: No curl or wget piped into a shell
pass: No recursive delete of root, home or parent
pass: No instruction to read or print local credentials
pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
pass: No link to a raw IP address
pass: No script tag
Source
GitHub
wesammustafa/claude-code-quest · 3,611 stars · license a license file GitHub does not identify · pushed 2026-11-06 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_ayhgj3sfnn3cuoxd
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=wesammustafa/claude-code-quest/five-whys
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/0dadec96f67beecb4a292f1132d4d18e23b69fb746d5faa4b890725a214648bc
Your AI assistant does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.
wesammustafa/claude-code-quest · .github/scripts/fixtures/valid-example-kit/tree/examples/intermediate/01-first-skill/dot-claude/skills/five-whys/SKILL.md · Find the root cause of a bug by asking why five times
wesammustafa/claude-code-quest · examples/advanced/06-share-your-setup/plugins/team-kit/skills/onboard/SKILL.md · Explains this repository's shared Claude Code setup to a new teammate, covering what is committed and shared, what…
wesammustafa/claude-code-quest · solutions/a-6/team-marketplace/plugins/team-kit/skills/onboard/SKILL.md · Explains this repository's shared Claude Code setup to a new teammate, covering what is committed and shared, what…
wesammustafa/claude-code-quest · solutions/a-6/team-marketplace/plugins/team-kit/skills/review-checklist/SKILL.md · The team's checklist for reviewing a change to linkcheck. Use before you commit or open a pull request.
wesammustafa/claude-code-quest · solutions/a-capstone/dot-claude/skills/team-review/SKILL.md · The team's review of a change to linkcheck, run the same way on a laptop and in CI. Use on a staged diff or a pull…
wesammustafa/claude-code-quest · solutions/i-1/dot-claude/skills/five-whys/SKILL.md · Finds the root cause of a bug, failure or recurring problem by asking "why" until the answer is a cause you can fix…
wesammustafa/claude-code-quest · solutions/i-1/dot-claude/skills/tdd/SKILL.md · Builds a requested feature test-first, one behavior at a time, and stops at a diff for review. Use when the user asks…
wesammustafa/claude-code-everything-you-need-to-know · solutions/i-1/dot-claude/skills/five-whys/SKILL.md · Finds the root cause of a bug, failure or recurring problem by asking "why" until the answer is a cause you can fix…
wesammustafa/claude-code-everything-you-need-to-know · .github/scripts/fixtures/valid-example-kit/tree/examples/intermediate/01-first-skill/dot-claude/skills/five-whys/SKILL.md · Find the root cause of a bug by asking why five times
wesammustafa/claude-code-everything-you-need-to-know · examples/intermediate/01-first-skill/dot-claude/skills/five-whys/SKILL.md · Finds the root cause of a bug, failure or recurring problem by asking "why" until the answer is a cause you can fix…
wesammustafa/claude-code-quest · solutions/i-1/dot-claude/skills/five-whys/SKILL.md · Finds the root cause of a bug, failure or recurring problem by asking "why" until the answer is a cause you can fix…
wesammustafa/claude-code-quest · .github/scripts/fixtures/valid-example-kit/tree/examples/intermediate/01-first-skill/dot-claude/skills/five-whys/SKILL.md · Find the root cause of a bug by asking why five times
ysskrishna/ai-agent-skills · skills/five-whys/SKILL.md · Use for the 5 Whys, or when the user wants the root cause of a failure: "why did this happen?", "this keeps breaking"…
