search-before-debugging

Search Before Debugging with CogmemAi

The single highest-leverage debugging habit: search for an existing fix before debugging from scratch. Most bugs in established codebases are repeats. Someone (you, a teammate, a past version of you) has already solved it. CogmemAi makes those fixes instantly findable.

This skill is the recall half of the bugfix loop. Pair it with the save-bugfix skill which captures fixes for future sessions to find.

When to Use

Trigger before any debugging action when you encounter:

• An error message or stack trace
• A failing test (especially flaky or new failures)
• Unexpected behavior or output
• A regression after a recent change
• A user report of "it broke" or "this doesn't work"
• Confusing log output
• A build failure

The rule: search first, debug second. Always.

How to Search

Call recall_memories with the most distinctive part of the symptom as the query. Pass context_type: "debugging" to bias the ranker toward bug and pattern memories.

recall_memories({
  query: "Cannot read properties of undefined Stripe webhook",
  context_type: "debugging",
  limit: 10
})

If the literal error string is too generic, also try:

• The component name + the error type ("auth jwt token expired")
• The library name + the symptom ("postgres connection pool exhausted")
• The recent change that may have triggered it ("after migrating to Next 15, hydration mismatch")

Run two or three queries with different phrasings if the first returns nothing relevant. CogmemAi's semantic search will catch reformulations the keyword wouldn't.

What to Do With Results

A high-relevance match exists

Stop. Read the memory carefully. It contains the symptom, root cause, fix, and why-it-works that a past debugging session captured. Verify:

1. The symptom in the memory matches your current bug closely
2. The file path or component named in the fix still exists in the codebase
3. The fix is still applicable (the underlying library, version, or architecture hasn't changed in a way that invalidates it)