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debug

Structured debugging session β€” reproduce, isolate, diagnose, and fix. Trigger with an error message or stack trace, "this works in staging but not prod", "something broke after the deploy", or when behavior diverges from expected and the cause isn't obvious.

Install / Use

npx skills add anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins --skill debug

Installs into whichever agent you are using.

About this skill
πŸ“„

SKILL.md

Installable skill definition

Quality Score

93/100

Category

Operations

Supported Platforms

Universal

Tags

Our assessment of debug

debug scores 93/100 on our quality scale, 143rd of 708 Operations skills we index (top 21%).

Its SKILL.md is 3.5 KB long, well organised into 12 sections with 3 code examples: a solid amount of guidance for an agent.

With 25,526 GitHub stars, it is one of the more widely adopted skills in the catalogue.

Substance
26/30
Structure
18/20
Description
15/15
Adoption
19/20
Freshness
15/15

Maintenance, license and trust

  • The repository was last updated 7 days ago, so debug is actively maintained.
  • It is released under the Apache-2.0 license, a permissive license that allows use, modification and commercial use with attribution.
  • Its trust signals score 100/100, with no cautions. These come from repository metadata, not a code audit β€” read the skill file before letting an agent act on it.

debug compared with similar skills

All 4 of these similar skills score higher than debug; compare them before choosing.

SkillScoreStarsUpdatedFormat
debug (this skill)by anthropics9325.5k7d agoSKILL.md
algorithmic-artby anthropics100177.9k9d agoSKILL.md
pptxby anthropics100177.9k9d agoSKILL.md
designby nextlevelbuilder100130.2k10d agoSKILL.md
ui-ux-pro-maxby nextlevelbuilder100130.2k10d agoSKILL.md

Frequently asked questions

How do I install debug?
Run npx skills add anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins --skill debug. The install tabs above show the steps for each supported agent.
Which AI agents does debug work with?
It is written for Universal, as a SKILL.md file. Other agents that read the same format can often use it too.
Is debug safe to use?
It is Apache-2.0-licensed and scores 100/100 on trust signals. Skills are instructions an agent will follow, so read the file before installing it and do not approve commands you do not understand.
Is debug still maintained?
The repository was last updated 7 days ago, so debug is actively maintained.

name: debug description: Structured debugging session β€” reproduce, isolate, diagnose, and fix. Trigger with an error message or stack trace, "this works in staging but not prod", "something broke after the deploy", or when behavior diverges from expected and the cause isn't obvious. argument-hint: "<error message or problem description>"

/debug

If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see CONNECTORS.md.

Run a structured debugging session to find and fix issues systematically.

Usage

/debug $ARGUMENTS

How It Works

β”Œβ”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”
β”‚                       DEBUG                                        β”‚
β”œβ”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€
β”‚  Step 1: REPRODUCE                                                β”‚
β”‚  βœ“ Understand the expected vs. actual behavior                   β”‚
β”‚  βœ“ Identify exact reproduction steps                             β”‚
β”‚  βœ“ Determine scope (when did it start? who is affected?)        β”‚
β”‚                                                                    β”‚
β”‚  Step 2: ISOLATE                                                   β”‚
β”‚  βœ“ Narrow down the component, service, or code path             β”‚
β”‚  βœ“ Check recent changes (deploys, config changes, dependencies) β”‚
β”‚  βœ“ Review logs and error messages                                β”‚
β”‚                                                                    β”‚
β”‚  Step 3: DIAGNOSE                                                  β”‚
β”‚  βœ“ Form hypotheses and test them                                 β”‚
β”‚  βœ“ Trace the code path                                           β”‚
β”‚  βœ“ Identify root cause (not just symptoms)                      β”‚
β”‚                                                                    β”‚
β”‚  Step 4: FIX                                                       β”‚
β”‚  βœ“ Propose a fix with explanation                                β”‚
β”‚  βœ“ Consider side effects and edge cases                          β”‚
β”‚  βœ“ Suggest tests to prevent regression                           β”‚
β””β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”€β”˜

What I Need From You

Tell me about the problem. Any of these help:

  • Error message or stack trace
  • Steps to reproduce
  • What changed recently
  • Logs or screenshots
  • Expected vs. actual behavior

Output

## Debug Report: [Issue Summary]

### Reproduction
- **Expected**: [What should happen]
- **Actual**: [What happens instead]
- **Steps**: [How to reproduce]

### Root Cause
[Explanation of why the bug occurs]

### Fix
[Code changes or configuration fixes needed]

### Prevention
- [Test to add]
- [Guard to put in place]

If Connectors Available

If ~~monitoring is connected:

  • Pull logs, error rates, and metrics around the time of the issue
  • Show recent deploys and config changes that may correlate

If ~~source control is connected:

  • Identify recent commits and PRs that touched affected code paths
  • Check if the issue correlates with a specific change

If ~~project tracker is connected:

  • Search for related bug reports or known issues
  • Create a ticket for the fix once identified

Tips

  1. Share error messages exactly β€” Don't paraphrase. The exact text matters.
  2. Mention what changed β€” Recent deploys, dependency updates, and config changes are top suspects.
  3. Include context β€” "This works in staging but not prod" or "Only affects large payloads" narrows things fast.

Related Skills

View on GitHub
GitHub Stars25.5k
CategoryOperations
Updated7d ago
Forks3.0k

Languages

Python

Trust signals

100/100

From repository metadata: license, adoption, age and documentation. Not a code audit β€” see the Safety scan above for what the skill file itself contains.

No cautions
debug β€” Universal Skill: Install & Safety Check | SkillAgent