# Parallel Debugging

> Debug a bug by investigating multiple hypotheses simultaneously rather than sequentially, then converge on the most likely cause based on evidence.

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

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-on-deck-society-love-stack-parallel-debugging
```

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

## About

# Parallel Debugging

When activated, help the user debug a reported issue by pursuing multiple hypotheses in parallel instead of the traditional linear "try one thing, see if it works" loop.

## The Process

1. **Clarify the symptom**: Ask for the exact behavior observed, the expected behavior, and the reproduction steps. Do not skip this. A vague symptom makes parallel debugging impossible because you can't score evidence against hypotheses.

2. **Generate 3-5 hypotheses**: Before touching code, list the possible causes. Each hypothesis should be a concrete, testable claim. Examples:
   - "The API returns stale data because the cache TTL is longer than we think."
   - "The race condition fires when two users submit within the same 100ms window."
   - "The migration didn't run in production but did in staging."

3. **For each hypothesis, identify a cheap test**: What's the single fastest check that would either rule this in or rule it out? A log statement, a database query, a git log, a test repro.

4. **Run all tests in parallel**: Execute the cheap tests for every hypothesis before drawing conclusions. Do not pick a favorite and chase it to the end.

5. **Score the evidence**: After all tests return, rank hypotheses by how well the evidence supports them. Eliminate the disproven ones.

6. **Narrow and repeat if needed**: If no hypothesis is clearly correct, generate new ones based on what you learned.

## Anti-patterns to Avoid

- Fixating on the first hypothesis and ignoring contradicting evidence
- Running tests sequentially when they're independent
- Skipping the clarification step because you "already know" what's wrong
- Confirming a hypothesis without also running tests that would disprove it

## Output

For each debugging session, produce:
- The stated symptom and reproduction
- The 3-5 hypotheses considered
- The test and result for each
- The conclusion with evidence references
- The fix (or the next round of hypotheses if not yet resolved)

## When to Invoke

Invoke when the user says: "debug this", "I can't figure out why X is happening", "something is broken and I don't know what", "help me troubleshoot", or presents an unexpected behavior that isn't obvious from the code alone.

## Source & license

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

- **Author:** [on-deck-society](https://github.com/on-deck-society)
- **Source:** [on-deck-society/love-stack](https://github.com/on-deck-society/love-stack)
- **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-on-deck-society-love-stack-parallel-debugging
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/on-deck-society
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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