systematic-debugging

systematic-debugging is a skill for Claude Code, Codex from john-data-chen/hermes-agent-backup. It costs 16 tokens per session (3,263 once invoked), scanned A, a copy of systematic-debugging, MIT.

A four-phase method for finding the underlying cause of a software problem before changing code. It starts by creating a repeatable test that shows the problem and can confirm the fix.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use it for failing tests, production bugs, unexpected behaviour, slow code, build failures, and integration problems.
Why use it?
It prevents guesswork and quick patches that hide the real issue or create new bugs. It also gives you a clear way to tell whether the problem is actually fixed.

Skill for Claude CodeCodex

Install

Getting it into your agent

One page per mod, every tool's command on it. A separate URL per tool would split the same page into five that compete with each other.

agentmods
npx agentmods add skills/john-data-chen/hermes-agent-backup/systematic-debugging
Any agent
npx skills add john-data-chen/hermes-agent-backup --skill systematic-debugging
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/john-data-chen/hermes-agent-backup

Made for: Claude Code, Codex.

Wrote this? Show the measurements

A badge with what this costs and how it scanned, read live from this page, so it follows the numbers instead of freezing them. Markdown for a README, HTML for a documentation site or a project page.

agentmods badge for systematic-debugging

README.md
[![agentmods](https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/john-data-chen/hermes-agent-backup/systematic-debugging.svg)](https://agentmods.dev/skills/john-data-chen/hermes-agent-backup/systematic-debugging)
Your own site
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/skills/john-data-chen/hermes-agent-backup/systematic-debugging"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/john-data-chen/hermes-agent-backup/systematic-debugging.svg" alt="Measured on agentmods" height="20"></a>
Per session 16 Skills are progressive disclosure: only the name and description are preloaded; the body loads when the skill is used.
When invoked 3,263 The whole file, excluding the scripts and references it only reads on demand.
Security scan A 1 finding. Scan, not verified.
Origin 100% copy Near-identical to another mod in the catalogue.
Token cost

What it costs to keep this loaded

Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.

ModelPer sessionOnce invoked
Fable 5 $0.00016 $0.03263
Opus 5 $0.00008 $0.01631
Sonnet 5 $0.00003 $0.00653
Haiku 4.5 $0.00002 $0.00326

Measured yesterday against content hash ec6c97b1d553, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-08-30, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

systematic-debugging scanned grade A with 1 finding against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured yesterday.

A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.

Makes network callslowCapability

Not a fault in itself. Listed so you know the mod talks to something, and to what.

2. **HTTP script / curl** against a running dev server.
Origin

This is a copy

100% identical to systematic-debugging — 2 lines differ, which has more behind it and is treated as the original. This page carries a canonical link to it rather than competing with it.

skills/software-development/systematic-debugging/SKILL.md · 412 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 412 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

Systematic Debugging

Overview

Random fixes waste time and create new bugs. Quick patches mask underlying issues.

Core principle: ALWAYS find root cause before attempting fixes. Symptom fixes are failure.

Violating the letter of this process is violating the spirit of debugging.

The Iron Law

NO FIXES WITHOUT ROOT CAUSE INVESTIGATION FIRST

If you haven't completed Phase 1, you cannot propose fixes.

The Feedback Loop Rule

The feedback loop is the debugging work. Before reading code to build a theory, create or identify a tight command that can go red on the user's exact symptom and green when the bug is fixed. A tight loop is fast, deterministic, agent-runnable, and specific enough to catch this bug — not merely "doesn't crash".

When a clean repro is hard, spend disproportionate effort building the loop. Guessing without a red-capable loop is the failure mode this skill exists to prevent.

When to Use

Use for ANY technical issue:

  • Test failures
  • Bugs in production
  • Unexpected behavior
  • Performance problems
  • Build failures
  • Integration issues

Use this ESPECIALLY when:

  • Under time pressure (emergencies make guessing tempting)
  • "Just one quick fix" seems obvious
  • You've already tried multiple fixes
  • Previous fix didn't work
  • You don't fully understand the issue

Don't skip when:

  • Issue seems simple (simple bugs have root causes too)
  • You're in a hurry (rushing guarantees rework)
  • Someone wants it fixed NOW (systematic is faster than thrashing)

The Four Phases

You MUST complete each phase before proceeding to the next.


Phase 1: Root Cause Investigation

BEFORE attempting ANY fix:

1. Read Error Messages Carefully

  • Don't skip past errors or warnings
  • They often contain the exact solution
  • Read stack traces completely
  • Note line numbers, file paths, error codes

Action: Use read_file on the relevant source files. Use search_files to find the error string in the codebase.

Read the full file on GitHub · 412 lines

Changes

What this file has done since we first saw it

Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.

  1. yesterday First seen · 412 lines · 16 tokens per session scan A ec6c97b1d553

Subscribe to this mod's changes

systematic-debugging is a skill published in the GitHub repository john-data-chen/hermes-agent-backup (2 stars, last pushed 1mo ago), licensed MIT. It adds 16 tokens to every session and 3,263 once invoked, about $0.0001 per session on Opus 5. A static security scan graded it A with 1 finding (makes network calls). It is 100% identical to systematic-debugging, differing in 2 lines, and is treated as a copy.

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