trebuchet/.claude/commands/debug.md

description

description
Systematically debug errors using context analysis and structured recovery

You are debugging an issue. Follow this structured approach to avoid spinning in circles.

Step 1: Capture Error Context

• Read the full error message and stack trace
• Identify the layer where the error originated:
  • CLI/Args - Input validation, path resolution
  • Config Parsing - YAML parsing, JSON Schema validation (src/config-parser.ts)
  • Session Management - Agent definitions (src/session-manager.ts), mutex (src/utils/concurrency.ts)
  • DI Container - Container initialization/lookup (src/services/container.ts)
  • Services - AgentExecutionService, ConfigLoaderService, ExploitationCheckerService, error-handling (src/services/)
  • Audit System - Logging, metrics tracking, atomic writes (src/audit/)
  • Claude SDK - Agent execution, MCP servers, turn handling (src/ai/claude-executor.ts)
  • Git Operations - Checkpoints, rollback, commit (src/services/git-manager.ts)
  • Validation - Deliverable checks, queue validation (src/services/queue-validation.ts)

Step 2: Check Relevant Logs

Session audit logs:

# Find most recent session
ls -lt workspaces/ | head -5

# Check session metrics and errors
cat workspaces/<session>/session.json | jq '.errors, .agentMetrics'

# Check agent execution logs
ls -lt workspaces/<session>/agents/
cat workspaces/<session>/agents/<latest>.log

Step 3: Trace the Call Path

For Shannon, trace through these layers:

1. Worker + Client → src/temporal/worker.ts - Combined worker + workflow submission
2. Workflow → src/temporal/workflows.ts - Pipeline orchestration
3. Activities → src/temporal/activities.ts - Thin wrappers: heartbeat, error classification
4. Container → src/services/container.ts - Per-workflow DI
5. Services → src/services/agent-execution.ts - Agent lifecycle
6. Config → src/config-parser.ts via src/services/config-loader.ts
7. Prompts → src/services/prompt-manager.ts
8. Audit → src/audit/audit-session.ts - Logging facade, metrics tracking
9. Executor → src/ai/claude-executor.ts - SDK calls, MCP setup, retry logic
10. Validation → src/services/queue-validation.ts - Deliverable checks

Step 4: Identify Root Cause

Common Shannon-specific issues:

Symptom	Likely Cause	Fix
Agent hangs indefinitely	MCP server crashed, Playwright timeout	Check Playwright logs in /tmp/playwright-*
"Validation failed: Missing deliverable"	Agent didn't create expected file	Check deliverables/ dir, review prompt
Git checkpoint fails	Uncommitted changes, git lock	Run git status, remove .git/index.lock
"Session limit reached"	Claude API billing limit	Not retryable - check API usage
Parallel agents all fail	Shared resource contention	Check mutex usage, stagger startup timing
Cost/timing not tracked	Metrics not reloaded before update	Add metricsTracker.reload() before updates
session.json corrupted	Partial write during crash	Delete and restart, or restore from backup
YAML config rejected	Invalid schema or unsafe content	Run through AJV validator manually
Prompt variable not replaced	Missing {{VARIABLE}} in context	Check src/services/prompt-manager.ts interpolation
Service returns Err result	Check ErrorCode in Result	Trace through classifyErrorForTemporal() in src/services/error-handling.ts
Container not found	getOrCreateContainer() not called	Check activity setup code in src/temporal/activities.ts
ActivityLogger undefined	createActivityLogger() not called	Must be called at top of each activity function

MCP Server Issues:

# Check if Playwright browsers are installed
npx playwright install chromium

# Check MCP server startup (look for connection errors)
grep -i "mcp\|playwright" workspaces/<session>/agents/*.log

Git State Issues:

# Check for uncommitted changes
git status

# Check for git locks
ls -la .git/*.lock

# View recent git operations from Shannon
git reflog | head -10

Step 5: Apply Fix with Retry Limit

• CRITICAL: Track consecutive failed attempts
• After 3 consecutive failures on the same issue, STOP and:
  • Summarize what was tried
  • Explain what's blocking progress
  • Ask the user for guidance or additional context
• After a successful fix, reset the failure counter

Step 6: Validate the Fix

For code changes:

# Compile TypeScript
npx tsc --noEmit

# Quick validation run
shannon <URL> <REPO> --pipeline-testing

For audit/session issues:

• Verify session.json is valid JSON after fix
• Check that atomic writes complete without errors
• Confirm mutex release in finally blocks

For agent issues:

• Verify deliverable files are created in correct location
• Check that validation functions return expected results
• Confirm retry logic triggers on appropriate errors

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

• Don't delete session.json without checking if session is active
• Don't modify git state while an agent is running
• Don't retry billing/quota errors (they're not retryable)
• Don't ignore PentestError type - it indicates the error category
• Don't make random changes hoping something works
• Don't fix symptoms without understanding root cause
• Don't bypass mutex protection for "quick fixes"

Quick Reference: Error Types

ErrorCode enum in src/types/errors.ts provides finer-grained classification used by classifyErrorForTemporal() in src/services/error-handling.ts.

PentestError Type	Meaning	Retryable?
config	Configuration file issues	No
network	Connection/timeout issues	Yes
prompt	Claude SDK/API issues	Sometimes
filesystem	File read/write errors	Sometimes
validation	Deliverable validation failed	Yes (via retry)
billing	API quota/billing limit	No
unknown	Unexpected error	Depends

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Now analyze the error and begin debugging systematically.