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
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.**
## 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:**
…
The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260702.9dc0119, 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 (9885 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
jdanigo/hydraia · 8 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-09-24 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_p3t54r4qqttxlqce
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=jdanigo/hydraia/systematic-debugging
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/3b20719eca4f0461cb51a195221320d775dcf03b6859271066a03a5132a6ce7a
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.
jdanigo/hydraia · codex/skills/hydraia/SKILL.md · Codex-native hydraia pipeline. Use when the user asks to build, add, implement, or change a feature, brings a…
jdanigo/hydraia · skills/adr/SKILL.md · Use when a design decision is made that is expensive to reverse, affects multiple components, or rejects a plausible…
jdanigo/hydraia · skills/agency-tier-ui/SKILL.md · Teaches the AI to design like a high-end agency. Defines the exact fonts, spacing, shadows, card structures, and…
jdanigo/hydraia · skills/api-design/SKILL.md · Use when designing or reviewing an API surface — REST, GraphQL, or gRPC. Contract-first methodology: the contract…
jdanigo/hydraia · skills/banner-design/SKILL.md · Design banners for social media, ads, website heroes, creative assets, and print. Multiple art direction options with…
jdanigo/hydraia · skills/brainstorming/SKILL.md · You MUST use this before any creative work - creating features, building components, adding functionality, or modifying…
jdanigo/hydraia · skills/caveman/SKILL.md · Ultra-compressed communication mode. Cuts token usage ~75% by speaking like caveman while keeping full technical…
jdanigo/hydraia · skills/db-optimization/SKILL.md · Use when the bottleneck is database-shaped — slow queries, lock timeouts, connection exhaustion, N+1 patterns, index…
jdanigo/hydraia · skills/design-to-code/SKILL.md · Elite render-to-code skill. The user brings a finished website design render (jpg/png); this skill distills it into…
mvschwarz/openrig · skills/_canonical/process/systematic-debugging/SKILL.md · Use when encountering any bug, test failure, or unexpected behavior, before proposing fixes
mvschwarz/openrig · packages/daemon/specs/agents/shared/skills/process/systematic-debugging/SKILL.md · Use when encountering any bug, test failure, or unexpected behavior, before proposing fixes
cbrock84/headcount · plugins/technology/skills/systematic-debugging/SKILL.md · Finds the root cause of a bug, test failure, or unexpected behavior before proposing any fix. Use this whenever…
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…
