autoresearch:debug

EXECUTE IMMEDIATELY.

Parse Arguments

Extract from $ARGUMENTS:

• Scope: or --scope — file globs to investigate
• Symptom: or --symptom — error message or behavior description
• Iterations: or --iterations — default 15. "unlimited" for unbounded.
• --fix — shorthand for --chain fix
• --severity — filter: critical, high, medium, low
• --technique — force specific technique
• --evals, --evals-interval N, --chain

Setup (if required context missing)

If Scope and Symptom both missing:

1. Auto-scan: run tests, lint, typecheck to detect existing failures
2. AskUserQuestion (single batch): Q1 (Issue): "What's the problem?" — hunt all bugs, specific error, failing tests, CI failure, performance Q2 (Scope): "Which files?" — suggested globs + entire codebase Q3 (Depth): "How deep?" — quick (5), standard (15), deep (30+), unlimited Q4 (After): "When bugs found?" — report only, find and fix (--chain fix), chain to other, ask each time If all provided → skip.

Investigation Techniques

Technique	When to Use
Binary search	Know when it worked, find when it broke
Differential	Compare working vs broken state
Minimal reproduction	Simplify to smallest failing case
Trace	Follow execution path through code
Pattern search	Grep for known anti-patterns
Working backwards	Start from error, trace to root cause

Establish Baseline (before loop)

1. Auto-scan for failures if no symptom provided
2. Create output directory: autoresearch/debug-{YYMMDD}-{HHMM}/
3. TSV header: # metric_direction: higher_is_better\niteration\ttimestamp\thypothesis\tstatus\ttechnique\tevidence\tfile_line
4. Metric = cumulative confirmed findings count

Iteration Loop

Phase 1: Review Context

• Read results TSV (past findings)
• Assess: what's been tested, what vectors remain
• If no hypotheses left → early stop

Phase 2: Hypothesize

• Form ONE specific, falsifiable hypothesis
• Format: "I hypothesize that {X} because {evidence}. Test by {Y}."
• Hypothesis must be testable and different from all previous