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systematic-debugging SKILL.md skillA

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.

systematic-debugging from osrim/ski is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.

Install it, pinned

mdr add osrim/ski/systematic-debugging@git:20260927.e6d3d84

Pins git:20260927.e6d3d84 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.

Audit grade: A, 17 of 17 checks passed
Kind: SKILL.md skill
Repository: osrim/ski
Path: cli/testdata/benign-skills/superpowers/systematic-debugging/SKILL.md
Versions recorded: 1
Latest version: git:20260927.e6d3d84, committed Sep 27, 2026
Size: 9,465 bytes
Repository stars: 9
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

# Systematic Debugging

## Overview

**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.**

## The Iron Law

```
NO FIXES WITHOUT ROOT CAUSE INVESTIGATION FIRST
```

If you haven't completed Phase 1, you cannot propose fixes.

## When to Use

Use for ANY technical issue:
- Test failures
- Bugs in production
- Unexpected behavior
- Performance problems
- Build failures
- Integration issues

**Use this ESPECIALLY when:**
- Under time pressure (emergencies make guessing tempting)
- "Just one quick fix" seems obvious
- You've already tried multiple fixes
- Previous fix didn't work
- You don't fully understand the issue

**Don't skip when:**
- Issue seems simple (simple bugs have root causes too)
- You're in a hurry (rushing guarantees rework)
- Manager wants it fixed NOW (systematic is faster than thrashing)

## The Four Phases

You MUST complete each phase before proceeding to the next.

### Phase 1: Root Cause Investigation

**BEFORE attempting ANY fix:**

1. **Read Error Messages Carefully**
   - Don't skip past errors or warnings
…

Read the whole file at its exact version.

How to install

The exact contents, by fingerprint

mdr add osrim/ski/systematic-debugging@sha256:808fc5717aa88ad6

The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260927.e6d3d84, 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.

Badge

[![mdr](https://markdownregistry.com/badge/art_evtydju7ho6dlgk3.svg)](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_evtydju7ho6dlgk3)

2 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.

Versions

The registry has recorded 1 version of this file, committed on Sep 27, 2026.

version	committed	commit	size	audit
git:20260927.e6d3d84 latest	2026-09-27	e6d3d84	9,465 B	A	view

Audit of the latest version

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 (9465 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

osrim/ski · 9 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-11-02 · branch main

API

GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_evtydju7ho6dlgk3
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=osrim/ski/systematic-debugging
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/808fc5717aa88ad65efff312b11c186294d3e6ee301afb584e2f86599b137787

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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