systematic-debugging SKILL.md skillA
systematic-debugging from brandonfla/bearpaws is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add brandonfla/bearpaws/systematic-debugging@git:20260501.de63568Pins git:20260501.de63568 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- brandonfla/bearpaws
- Path
skills/systematic-debugging/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 4
- Latest version
- git:20260501.3dcb621, committed May 1, 2026
- First version recorded
- May 1, 2026
- Size
- 9,857 bytes
- Repository stars
- 4
- License
- MIT
Use when encountering any bug, test failure, or unexpected behavior, before proposing fixes.
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
<skill>
<purpose>
Random fixes waste time and create new bugs. ALWAYS find root cause before attempting fixes. Symptom fixes are failure. Violating the letter of this process is violating the spirit of debugging.
</purpose>
<triggers>
<rule>Use for ANY technical issue: test failures, bugs, unexpected behavior, performance problems, build failures.</rule>
<rule>Use ESPECIALLY under time pressure, when "just one quick fix" seems obvious, or after multiple failed fixes.</rule>
</triggers>
<warning level="hard">
NO FIXES WITHOUT ROOT CAUSE INVESTIGATION FIRST. If you haven't completed Phase 1, you cannot propose fixes.
</warning>
<process>
<step>**Phase 1: Root Cause Investigation** — (a) Read error messages completely (stack traces, line numbers, error codes). (b) Reproduce consistently (exact steps, every time?). (c) Check recent changes (git diff, new deps, config, env). (d) In multi-component systems: add diagnostic instrumentation at each component boundary BEFORE proposing fixes — log what enters/exits each layer, run once, analyze where it breaks. (e) Trace data flow backward to source (see root-cause-tracing.md).</step>
…Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add brandonfla/bearpaws/systematic-debugging@sha256:7ac57c6dd9d8e8a6The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260501.de63568, 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.
[](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_cbjua5mvc55pl7nj)
2 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 4 versions of this file, all committed on May 1, 2026.
| version | committed | commit | size | audit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| git:20260501.3dcb621 latest | 2026-05-01 | 3dcb621 | 9,857 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260501.de63568 | 2026-05-01 | de63568 | 3,928 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260501.067793d | 2026-05-01 | 067793d | 9,875 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260501.402017b | 2026-05-01 | 402017b | 9,884 B | A | view |
Audit of the latest version
- pass: Frontmatter block present
- pass: Frontmatter declares a name
- pass: Frontmatter declares a description
- pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (9857 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
brandonfla/bearpaws · 4 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-11-05 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_cbjua5mvc55pl7nj GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=brandonfla/bearpaws/systematic-debugging GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/7ac57c6dd9d8e8a6dfc69498647e11ee5329fa9adf8715513661c6f41497b8d2
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.
Guides: the SKILL.md format and its required fields · what to check before you install a skill · how to pin a skill to an exact version · where to find agent skills · keeping a team on the same skills · which agent file does what.
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