Debugging

Iron law

No fix without root cause. Never apply a fix until you can explain WHY the bug exists, not only WHERE it shows up. Symptom-level fixes create new bugs.

Workflow

Phase 1: Reproduce

Establish a reliable reproduction before investigating.

1. Collect all evidence: error messages, stack traces, logs, screenshots, user steps
2. Identify the exact conditions: environment, data state, user actions, timing
3. Create a minimal reproduction by stripping away everything not needed to trigger the bug
4. Confirm the reproduction is consistent (if intermittent, note frequency and conditions)
5. Write the reproduction steps down precisely so someone else can follow them

Output: Documented reproduction steps, minimal test case