systematic-debugging is agent-read markdown (skill) from komluk/scaffolding: Phase-based root cause investigation: reproduce, observe, hypothesize, bisect, verify. TRIGGER when: investigating a bug report, diagnosing unexpected behavior, or doing root cause analysis. SKIP: looking up a known error first (use sofa-search); writing the regression test (use testing-strategy); live-repro watcher (use watch-patterns)..
Indexed from public GitHub and served as immutable, content-addressed versions. Install it pinned to an exact SHA-256 with the mdr CLI, and every file is verified against the hash recorded here before it reaches your agent. The deterministic audit below grades the latest version, and the same file always earns the same grade.
What the file says
# Systematic Debugging Skill
## Purpose
A repeatable root cause investigation procedure. A bug is not understood until
it can be reproduced on demand and the causal chain is traced back to a fixable
defect. This skill encodes the phase order and the discipline (one variable at a
time, bisect instead of scan, verify by reverting) that keeps an investigation
from turning into guesswork.
## When to Apply
Apply this skill when:
- Investigating a reported bug or unexpected behavior
- Diagnosing a failing test, crash, or incorrect output
- Performing root cause analysis before recommending a fix
- An error message, stack trace, or log output needs to be traced to its origin
Do NOT apply this skill for:
- Writing the regression test that prevents recurrence — use `testing-strategy`
- Constructing the poll/watch loop used to observe a live reproduction — use `watch-patterns`
- Looking up a known/unfamiliar error before investigating from scratch — use `sofa-search`
---
## Investigation Phases
Work the phases in order. Do not skip ahead to a fix before phase 6.
| Phase | Action | Exit Criterion |
|-------|--------|-----------------|
…
Pin to a label to follow the author's releases, or to a sha256 to freeze the exact bytes forever. Either way the resolved hash is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install reproduces it on any machine.
A 17 of 17 checks passed. Deterministic, no model, 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 (5329 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
komluk/scaffolding · 15 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-09-21 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_nvlztrvwvxzmdh4i
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=komluk/scaffolding/systematic-debugging
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/c7b14eaed2bdd5a3dc0c6ed924a74096cc89f3f70733c4cdf7de2b893f7b8752
Your agent 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.
komluk/scaffolding · skills/github-actions-template/SKILL.md · GitHub Actions CI pipeline templates and workflow YAML patterns. TRIGGER when: creating or editing a CI workflow…
a5c-ai/babysitter · library/methodologies/superpowers/skills/systematic-debugging/SKILL.md · Use when encountering any bug, test failure, or unexpected behavior, before proposing fixes. Requires root cause…
