Iterative Debugging with External Tests

About

Provides a systematic methodology for debugging complex issues that are difficult to reproduce. This skill guides you to create a dedicated test script that interacts with the application's external interfaces (like a CLI or API) rather than its internal code. By following an iterative loop of adding extensive logs, running the script, and analyzing the output in a real environment (without mocks), you can effectively isolate and fix elusive bugs.

Key Features

• Creates external test scripts to interact with application interfaces (CLI, API).
• Ignores existing test suites until a working fix is validated by the new debug script.
• Provides a step-by-step process for replicating, identifying, and resolving complex bugs.
• 69 GitHub stars
• Mandates testing against the live application, avoiding mocks or test harnesses.
• Employs an iterative debugging loop: add logs, run script, analyze, and update.

Use Cases

• Diagnosing bugs that only appear in a production-like environment.
• Replicating complex user workflows or API interactions that lead to an error.
• Debugging issues in systems where internal unit tests are insufficient to find the root cause.