mcpbeat

Gsd Debug

coco-research/gsd-debug

Systematic debugging with persistent state across context resets

1k tokens
context cost
the whole folder, loaded on every use
1
files
instructions only
0
copies elsewhere
how many repositories repackaged it
196
stars on the repo
on the repository, not the skill itself

Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository
npx skills add https://github.com/coco-research/coco --skill gsd-debug

The instruction itself

6 sections, as written by the author

<objective>

Debug issues using scientific method with subagent isolation.

Orchestrator role: Gather symptoms, spawn gsd-debugger agent, handle checkpoints, spawn continuations.

Why subagent: Investigation burns context fast (reading files, forming hypotheses, testing). Fresh 200k context per investigation. Main context stays lean for user interaction.

Flags:

  • --diagnose — Diagnose only. Find root cause without applying a fix. Returns a structured Root Cause Report. Use when you want to validate the diagnosis before committing to a fix.

</objective>

<available_agent_types>

Valid GSD subagent types (use exact names — do not fall back to 'general-purpose'):

  • gsd-debugger — Diagnoses and fixes issues

</available_agent_types>

<context>

User's issue: $ARGUMENTS

Parse flags from $ARGUMENTS:

  • If --diagnose is present, set diagnose_only=true and remove the flag from the issue description.
  • Otherwise, diagnose_only=false.

Check for active sessions:

ls .planning/debug/*.md 2>/dev/null | grep -v resolved | head -5

</context>

<process>

0. Initialize Context

INIT=$(node "$HOME/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs" state load)
if [[ "$INIT" == @file:* ]]; then INIT=$(cat "${INIT#@file:}"); fi

Extract commit_docs from init JSON. Resolve debugger model:

debugger_model=$(node "$HOME/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs" resolve-model gsd-debugger --raw)

1. Check Active Sessions

If active sessions exist AND no $ARGUMENTS:

  • List sessions with status, hypothesis, next action
  • User picks number to resume OR describes new issue

If $ARGUMENTS provided OR user describes new issue:

  • Continue to symptom gathering

2. Gather Symptoms (if new issue)

Use AskUserQuestion for each:

  • Expected behavior - What should happen?
  • Actual behavior - What happens instead?
  • Error messages - Any errors? (paste or describe)
  • Timeline - When did this start? Ever worked?
  • Reproduction - How do you trigger it?

After all gathered, confirm ready to investigate.

3. Spawn gsd-debugger Agent

Fill prompt and spawn:

<objective>
Investigate issue: {slug}

**Summary:** {trigger}
</objective>

<symptoms>
expected: {expected}
actual: {actual}
errors: {errors}
reproduction: {reproduction}
timeline: {timeline}
</symptoms>

<mode>
symptoms_prefilled: true
goal: {if diagnose_only: "find_root_cause_only", else: "find_and_fix"}
</mode>

<debug_file>
Create: .planning/debug/{slug}.md
</debug_file>
Task(
  prompt=filled_prompt,
  subagent_type="gsd-debugger",
  model="{debugger_model}",
  description="Debug {slug}"
)

4. Handle Agent Return

If ## ROOT CAUSE FOUND (diagnose-only mode):

  • Display root cause, confidence level, files involved, and suggested fix strategies
  • Offer options:
  • "Fix now" — spawn a continuation agent with goal: find_and_fix to apply the fix (see step 5)
  • "Plan fix" — suggest /gsd-plan-phase --gaps
  • "Manual fix" — done

If ## DEBUG COMPLETE (find_and_fix mode):

  • Display root cause and fix summary
  • Offer options:
  • "Plan fix" — suggest /gsd-plan-phase --gaps if further work needed
  • "Done" — mark resolved

If ## CHECKPOINT REACHED:

  • Present checkpoint details to user
  • Get user response
  • If checkpoint type is human-verify:
  • If user confirms fixed: continue so agent can finalize/resolve/archive
  • If user reports issues: continue so agent returns to investigation/fixing
  • Spawn continuation agent (see step 5)

If ## INVESTIGATION INCONCLUSIVE:

  • Show what was checked and eliminated
  • Offer options:
  • "Continue investigating" - spawn new agent with additional context
  • "Manual investigation" - done
  • "Add more context" - gather more symptoms, spawn again

5. Spawn Continuation Agent (After Checkpoint or "Fix now")

When user responds to checkpoint OR selects "Fix now" from diagnose-only results, spawn fresh agent:

<objective>
Continue debugging {slug}. Evidence is in the debug file.
</objective>

<prior_state>
<files_to_read>
- .planning/debug/{slug}.md (Debug session state)
</files_to_read>
</prior_state>

<checkpoint_response>
**Type:** {checkpoint_type}
**Response:** {user_response}
</checkpoint_response>

<mode>
goal: find_and_fix
</mode>
Task(
  prompt=continuation_prompt,
  subagent_type="gsd-debugger",
  model="{debugger_model}",
  description="Continue debug {slug}"
)

</process>

<success_criteria>

  • [ ] Active sessions checked
  • [ ] Symptoms gathered (if new)
  • [ ] gsd-debugger spawned with context
  • [ ] Checkpoints handled correctly
  • [ ] Root cause confirmed before fixing

</success_criteria>

How to use it

Copy the folder

Take coco-research/gsd-debug from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.

Check the name does not clash

The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.