dx-diagnose

dx-diagnose

Find the cause of a bug or perf regression, then either fix it inline or promote it into a change. Feedback-loop-first: no red-capable loop, no hypothesising. Read foundation/glossary.md if present (one-line habit — name the symptom in the project's terms).

Ad-hoc by default: this runs on a raw symptom with no container. If invoked mid-task (e.g. during /dx-implement), finish diagnosing this bug, then suggest the next step — don't silently resume the interrupted skill.

Phase 1 — Build a tight, red-capable loop (this is the skill)

Name one command — a failing test, curl, CLI diff, headless-browser script, trace replay, throwaway harness, fuzz/property loop, git bisect run, or differential run — that you have already run once (paste invocation + output) and that:

• goes red on THIS bug — drives the real code path and asserts the user's exact symptom (not "runs without erroring");
• is deterministic (flaky bugs: raise the reproduction rate until debuggable) and fast (seconds).

Spend your effort here — once a tight loop exists, most of the fix follows. If you genuinely cannot build one, stop and say so — list what you tried, ask for an environment/artifact/instrumentation. Done when that command exists and goes red. Catching yourself theorising before it exists is the exact failure this prevents.

Phase 2 — Reproduce + minimise

Run the loop red. Confirm it is the user's symptom, not a nearby one. Then shrink to the smallest scenario that still goes red — cut inputs/callers/config one at a time, re-running each cut. Done when every remaining element is load-bearing.

Phase 3 — Hypothesise (3–5, ranked, falsifiable)

Generate 3–5 hypotheses before testing any — single-hypothesis anchors on the first plausible idea. Each states its prediction: "if X is the cause, changing Y flips the verdict." No prediction → it's a vibe; sharpen or drop it. Show the ranked list to the user before instrumenting (they may re-rank instantly); proceed on your ranking if they're AFK.