debug SKILL.md skillA
debug from etr/groundwork is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add etr/groundwork/debug@git:20260913.4897495Pins git:20260913.4897495 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- etr/groundwork
- Path
skills/debug/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 5
- Latest version
- git:20260913.4897495, committed Sep 13, 2026
- First version recorded
- Jun 22, 2026
- Size
- 27,272 bytes
- Repository stars
- 44
- License
- MIT
This skill should be used when investigating bugs, unexpected behavior, test failures, or any code that does not work as expected - enforces systematic root cause analysis before any fix.
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
# Debugging
## Overview
Find the root cause. Prove it. Then fix it.
**Core principle:** If you can't explain why the bug happens, you don't know if your fix is correct.
**Violating the letter of the rules is violating the spirit of the rules.**
## Pre-flight: Model Recommendation
**Your current effort level is `{{effort_level}}`.**
Skip this step silently if effort is `high`, `xhigh`, or `max` (the scale is `low` < `medium` < `high` < `xhigh` < `max`, so `xhigh` and `max` are already above `high`) AND you are Opus (1M context).
If effort is `low` or `medium` (i.e. below `high`), you MUST show the recommendation prompt — regardless of model.
If you are not Opus (1M context), you MUST show the recommendation prompt - regardless of effort level.
Otherwise → use `AskUserQuestion`:
```json
{
"questions": [{
"question": "Do you want to switch? Falsifiable hypothesis formation and resisting the temptation to jump to fixes benefit from deeper reasoning.\n\nTo switch: cancel, run `/model opus[1m]` and `/effort high`, then re-invoke this skill.",
"header": "Recommended: Opus (1M context) at high effort",
"options": [
{ "label": "Continue" },
…Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add etr/groundwork/debug@sha256:9f53cd76266e90faThe line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260913.4897495, 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_x2h6jixzgfq3ra5f)
3 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 5 versions of this file, between Jun 22, 2026 and Sep 13, 2026, about one every 21 days.
| version | committed | commit | size | audit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| git:20260913.4897495 latest | 2026-09-13 | 4897495 | 27,272 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260912.3e89f41 | 2026-09-12 | 3e89f41 | 27,063 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260912.480a145 | 2026-09-12 | 480a145 | 26,322 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260624.e533827 | 2026-06-24 | e533827 | 25,057 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260622.e142476 | 2026-06-22 | e142476 | 24,917 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 (27272 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
etr/groundwork · 44 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-10-30 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_x2h6jixzgfq3ra5f GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=etr/groundwork/debug GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/9f53cd76266e90fadca1efef1b6712f56fd369fa13b11f5bae4556b959295e91
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.