Debugging with GitNexus

Name: gitnexus-debugging
Rating: 87
Author: abhigyanpatwari

When to Use

•"Why is this function failing?"
•"Trace where this error comes from"
•"Who calls this method?"
•"This endpoint returns 500"
•Investigating bugs, errors, or unexpected behavior

Workflow

code

1. gitnexus_query({query: "<error or symptom>"})            → Find related execution flows
2. gitnexus_context({name: "<suspect>"})                    → See callers/callees/processes
3. READ gitnexus://repo/{name}/process/{name}                → Trace execution flow
4. gitnexus_cypher({query: "MATCH path..."})                 → Custom traces if needed

If "Index is stale" → run npx gitnexus analyze in terminal.

Checklist

code

- [ ] Understand the symptom (error message, unexpected behavior)
- [ ] gitnexus_query for error text or related code
- [ ] Identify the suspect function from returned processes
- [ ] gitnexus_context to see callers and callees
- [ ] Trace execution flow via process resource if applicable
- [ ] gitnexus_cypher for custom call chain traces if needed
- [ ] Read source files to confirm root cause

Debugging Patterns

Symptom	GitNexus Approach
Error message	`gitnexus_query` for error text → `context` on throw sites
Wrong return value	`context` on the function → trace callees for data flow
Intermittent failure	`context` → look for external calls, async deps
Performance issue	`context` → find symbols with many callers (hot paths)
Recent regression	`detect_changes` to see what your changes affect

Tools

gitnexus_query — find code related to error:

code

gitnexus_query({query: "payment validation error"})
→ Processes: CheckoutFlow, ErrorHandling
→ Symbols: validatePayment, handlePaymentError, PaymentException

gitnexus_context — full context for a suspect:

code

gitnexus_context({name: "validatePayment"})
→ Incoming calls: processCheckout, webhookHandler
→ Outgoing calls: verifyCard, fetchRates (external API!)
→ Processes: CheckoutFlow (step 3/7)

gitnexus_cypher — custom call chain traces:

cypher

MATCH path = (a)-[:CodeRelation {type: 'CALLS'}*1..2]->(b:Function {name: "validatePayment"})
RETURN [n IN nodes(path) | n.name] AS chain

Example: "Payment endpoint returns 500 intermittently"

code

1. gitnexus_query({query: "payment error handling"})
   → Processes: CheckoutFlow, ErrorHandling
   → Symbols: validatePayment, handlePaymentError

2. gitnexus_context({name: "validatePayment"})
   → Outgoing calls: verifyCard, fetchRates (external API!)

3. READ gitnexus://repo/my-app/process/CheckoutFlow
   → Step 3: validatePayment → calls fetchRates (external)

4. Root cause: fetchRates calls external API without proper timeout