Guide

Systematic Debugging

Move from symptom to confirmed failure mode before changing code.

The debug workflow exists for failures, regressions, and unclear runtime behavior.

Its key rule is simple: do not jump straight to code changes.

Debug Process

  • Reproduce the issue or state why reproduction is blocked.
  • Capture evidence such as logs, exact errors, failing tests, inputs, and expected vs actual behavior.
  • Identify the failure boundary and rank hypotheses.
  • Test hypotheses until the root cause is confirmed.
  • Fix only after the failure mode is understood, then add or update tests.