investigate
Investigate guides you through a disciplined five-phase debugging process: collect evidence, form ranked hypotheses, verify each one methodically, apply a minimal fix only after confirming root cause, then verify resolution. The workflow prevents guess-and-fix cycles by enforcing evidence gathering before hypothesis formation and a three-strike rule that forces re-collection rather than endless speculation.
Investigate provides a five-phase debugging workflow that prioritizes root-cause discovery before attempting any fix.
AI-generated summary based on this skill's SKILL.md
Decision gist · record as of 2026-05-31
Investigate provides a five-phase debugging workflow that prioritizes root-cause discovery before attempting any fix. Investigate guides you through a disciplined five-phase debugging process: collect evidence, form ranked hypotheses, verify each one methodically, apply a minimal fix only after confirming root cause, then verify resolution. The workflow prevents guess-and-fix cycles by enforcing evidence gathering before hypothesis formation and a three-strike rule that forces re-collection rather than endless speculation.
Use it when
- Investigate's root cause analysis follows a disciplined sequence: gather concrete evidence about the failure.
- Investigate guides you to investigate unexpected behavior by collecting evidence first, then forming ranked hypotheses about what caused it.
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blueberrycongee/termcanvas/investigate · repository language: TypeScript
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Frequently asked questions
AI-generated answers based on this skill's SKILL.md and metadata
How do I debug a bug systematically with Investigate?
Investigate teaches a five-phase debugging process: collect evidence first, form ranked hypotheses from that evidence, verify each hypothesis methodically, apply a minimal fix only after confirming root cause, then verify the fix resolves the issue. This structured approach prevents guess-and-fix cycles by enforcing evidence gathering before hypothesis formation and stopping endless speculation with a three-strike rule that forces re-collection of evidence.
What is the root cause analysis workflow in Investigate?
Investigate's root cause analysis follows a disciplined sequence: gather concrete evidence about the failure, rank multiple hypotheses by likelihood based on that evidence, test each hypothesis systematically rather than guessing, confirm which one is actually the root cause, and only then apply a minimal targeted fix. This methodology ensures you diagnose code issues properly instead of applying premature fixes to symptoms.
How does Investigate help me investigate unexpected behavior?
Investigate guides you to investigate unexpected behavior by collecting evidence first, then forming ranked hypotheses about what caused it. You verify each hypothesis methodically before moving to the next, avoiding the pitfall of skipping phases. The three-strike rule prevents endless speculation—after three failed hypotheses, you must re-collect evidence rather than continue guessing, ensuring you develop debugging discipline.
Can Investigate help me debug without guessing?
Yes. Investigate's structured debugging methodology eliminates guessing by enforcing an evidence-first approach. You collect concrete data about the failure, form ranked hypotheses from that evidence, then verify each one systematically. Only after confirming the actual root cause do you apply a fix. This prevents the common pitfall of skipping phases and teaches debugging discipline that avoids premature fixes and wasted troubleshooting.
What makes Investigate's debugging approach different?
Investigate enforces a five-phase process that separates evidence gathering from hypothesis formation, preventing guess-and-fix cycles. Its three-strike rule stops endless speculation by forcing re-collection of evidence after three failed hypotheses. By requiring verification before applying any fix, Investigate ensures you diagnose root cause properly and apply only minimal, targeted solutions—teaching debugging best practices that avoid common pitfalls.
How does Investigate verify a fix resolves the issue?
Investigate's final phase verifies resolution after you apply the minimal fix. This completes the five-phase workflow: evidence collection, hypothesis ranking, verification of root cause, minimal fix application, and confirmation that the fix actually resolves the original failure. This systematic approach ensures your debugging process is complete and the issue is truly resolved, not just masked.
SKILL.md
Rendered from the published skill. Quoted content, verbatim.
Investigate
Systematic debugging workflow. Do not guess-and-fix — find the root cause first.
Phase 1: Collect
Gather all available evidence before forming any hypothesis.
- Read the error message, stack trace, or symptom description exactly as given
- Identify the affected code path — read the relevant source files
- Check
git log --oneline -20in the affected area for recent changes - If reproducible, reproduce the issue and capture the exact output
- List what you know and what you do not know
Deliverable: a structured symptom summary with affected files, error output, and recent changes.
Phase 2: Hypothesize
Form up to 3 ranked hypotheses. For each:
- State the hypothesis in one sentence
- Identify the single cheapest check that would confirm or refute it
- Do NOT start fixing yet
Phase 3: Verify
Test hypotheses in rank order. For each:
- Run the cheapest check
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Related skills
Investigate guides you through structured debugging in five phases, from evidence collection to verified fix. It enforces the Iron Law principle—never fix without a confirmed root cause—using pattern analysis, hypothesis testing with a 3-strike escalation rule, and regression coverage. Output includes a machine-readable debug report with the full evidence chain.
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Code Review executes a systematic multi-phase examination of pull requests and code diffs, starting with scope and intent identification before conducting a critical pass for logic errors, injection vulnerabilities, and resource leaks. Specialist lenses then apply targeted checks based on change type—tests, data access, auth, or UI—with each finding assigned a confidence level to guide merge decisions.
This skill enforces a disciplined debugging workflow: gather symptoms and code context, test hypotheses against known patterns, verify your theory before writing any fix, and document findings in a structured report. It prioritizes root cause discovery over quick patches, flagging when investigation stalls so you know when to escalate rather than guess.
Hydra is a Lead-driven orchestration toolkit that lets you coordinate multiple agents through structured workflows. The Lead makes strategic decisions while workers report semantic outcomes (done, needs_rework, replan) via a typed result contract, enabling parallel task execution with explicit decision points and intervention capabilities.
Investigate walks you through a structured methodology to pinpoint what's causing bugs, test failures, build errors, and unexpected behavior. It cycles through characterization, isolation, hypothesis generation, and targeted testing—with escalation to deeper analysis when needed—to diagnose the root cause without applying fixes.
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