Systematic Debugging

Use when encountering any bug, test failure, or unexpected behavior, before proposing fixes

309,696 stars 27,549 forksSoftware Development Plugin marketplace

Install

Claude Code plugin

/plugin marketplace add obra/superpowers

The repo is a Claude Code plugin marketplace. Run /plugin afterwards to pick the plugin that includes this skill.

skills CLI (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and more)

npx skills add obra/superpowers --skill systematic-debugging

Manual install

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/obra/superpowers.git /tmp/superpowers
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/superpowers/skills/systematic-debugging ~/.claude/skills/systematic-debugging

Personal skills live in ~/.claude/skills. Use .claude/skills in a project folder to share a skill with your team.

From the SKILL.md

# Systematic Debugging

## Overview

**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.

## 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)
- Manager 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

2. **Reproduce Consistently**
   - Can you trigger it reliably?
   - What are the exact steps?
   - Does it happen every time?
   - If not reproducible → gather more data, don't guess

Read the full skill on GitHub

Details

Skill name: systematic-debugging
Repository: obra/superpowers
Path: skills/systematic-debugging/SKILL.md
License: MIT
Repo updated: 29 October 2026
Listed in: BehiSecc/awesome-claude-skills, ComposioHQ/awesome-claude-skills, hesreallyhim/awesome-claude-code, karanb192/awesome-claude-skills, travisvn/awesome-claude-skills, VoltAgent/awesome-agent-skills

FAQ

What does the Systematic Debugging skill do?

Use when encountering any bug, test failure, or unexpected behavior, before proposing fixes

How do I install the Systematic Debugging skill?

Claude Code plugin: /plugin marketplace add obra/superpowers. Skills go in ~/.claude/skills (personal) or .claude/skills (project), and Claude loads them automatically when a task matches the description.

Is Systematic Debugging popular?

It lives in obra/superpowers, which has 309,696 GitHub stars and 27,549 forks, and is included in 6 curated skill lists.

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