# Debug First

> Before fixing a bug: reproduce it, confirm root cause, write a failing test first.

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-eoeboh-agent-skills-debug-first`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [EOEboh](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/eoeboh)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [EOEboh](https://github.com/EOEboh)
- **Source:** https://github.com/EOEboh/agent-skills/tree/main/skills/debug-first

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-eoeboh-agent-skills-debug-first
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# Debug-first

Run this whenever asked to fix a bug, investigate unexpected behavior, or explain
"why is X happening." Do not jump straight to a plausible-looking fix.

## Sequence (do not skip steps)

1. Reproduce the bug first. If you can't reproduce it, say so explicitly and ask for
   more detail (exact steps, input, environment) rather than guessing at a fix for
   something you haven't confirmed.
2. Once reproduced, write a failing test that captures the bug. If the codebase has no
   test infrastructure for this area, at minimum write a minimal reproduction script
   and show its output before touching the fix.
3. State the root cause in one or two sentences before writing any fix. If you're not
   sure it's the root cause vs. a symptom, say that uncertainty out loud rather than
   fixing the symptom and reporting success.
4. Write the fix.
5. Run the failing test again and confirm it now passes. Paste the actual output.
6. Run the broader test suite (not just the new test) to check for regressions.

## Edge cases

- If the bug is intermittent/flaky and you can't reliably reproduce it: say so, describe
  what you tried, and propose instrumentation (logging, assertions) rather than a blind
  fix. Do not claim a fix resolved an intermittent bug without a way to verify it did.
- If reproducing requires an external dependency you don't have access to (a real
  webhook payload, a specific API response, a production dataset shape): ask for a
  sample/mock rather than fabricating one that might not match reality.
- If the "bug" turns out to be expected behavior or a misunderstanding of the spec: say
  that plainly instead of changing code to match an incorrect assumption.

## Reporting format

- Reproduction: how, and what you saw
- Root cause: one or two sentences
- Test added: path + the failing-then-passing output
- Full suite result after the fix
- Anything you couldn't verify, named explicitly

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [EOEboh](https://github.com/EOEboh)
- **Source:** [EOEboh/agent-skills](https://github.com/EOEboh/agent-skills)
- **License:** MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-eoeboh-agent-skills-debug-first
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/eoeboh
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.