debug-issue 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.
debug-issue from phmatray/tagout is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add phmatray/tagout/debug-issue@git:20260926.f1d668cPins git:20260926.f1d668c in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- phmatray/tagout
- Path
skills/debug-issue/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 5
- Latest version
- git:20260926.f1d668c, committed Sep 26, 2026
- First version recorded
- Aug 31, 2026
- Size
- 18,948 bytes
- Repository stars
- 4
- License
- MIT
Use the moment a user reports something broken or behaving unexpectedly — a bug, failing or flaky test, crash, exception, stack trace, regression, build break, or integration failure — and use it BEFORE the first command you would run to investigate, not just before the fix. That first look is where the symptom gets patched and the cause survives. It applies even when the report is thin ("this stack trace", "the deploy fails") and even when the next step seems obvious: gathering what is…
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
# Debug an issue — the root cause before any fix ## Overview When something breaks, the fastest-feeling move is to change the line where the error appears and re-run. That instinct is usually wrong: it fixes where the problem *surfaces*, not where it *starts*. The symptom goes quiet, the cause stays, and it resurfaces later — often somewhere harder to see. **Core principle:** Find the root cause before changing code. A fix you can't explain is a guess, and guesses tend to add new variables rather than remove the broken one. This skill is a process for not-guessing. It is most valuable exactly when guessing is most tempting — under time pressure, when a quick patch looks obvious, or after a fix has already failed. ## The Iron Law ``` NO FIX WITHOUT A ROOT CAUSE YOU CAN EXPLAIN ``` If you cannot say *"this fails because X, and here is the evidence,"* you are not ready to propose a fix. Finish Phase 1 first. This isn't bureaucracy — it's the one rule that separates debugging from thrashing. Every shortcut around it trades a few minutes now for a latent bug and a longer second session later. ## When to use …
Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add phmatray/tagout/debug-issue@sha256:fd6a01d6e751ba88The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260926.f1d668c, 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_pw7wregzvxgfhbts)
4 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 5 versions of this file, between Aug 31, 2026 and Sep 26, 2026, about one every 6 days.
| version | committed | commit | size | audit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| git:20260926.f1d668c latest | 2026-09-26 | f1d668c | 18,948 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260914.a9bc0b6 | 2026-09-14 | a9bc0b6 | 18,808 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260907.e009fc8 | 2026-09-07 | e009fc8 | 18,818 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260902.3d3a820 | 2026-09-02 | 3d3a820 | 18,589 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260831.d1e53de | 2026-08-31 | d1e53de | 18,561 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 (18948 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
phmatray/tagout · 4 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-10-31 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_pw7wregzvxgfhbts GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=phmatray/tagout/debug-issue GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/fd6a01d6e751ba88a131f10e0530ae0d848988eae2f0737aca15fcb504635579
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.