Debugging Failing Tests

When a test fails, follow this sequence before giving up:

1. •Understand the test — read its name and body to know exactly which behaviour it verifies.
2. •Walk the call stack — trace backwards from the failure to find the function responsible.
3. •Verify inputs — confirm the failing function receives the values you expect.
4. •Add instrumentation — insert temporary print / console.log / dbg! statements to:
   • •Pinpoint the branch or condition that diverges from the expected path.
   • •Identify the exact variable and the moment its value departs from what is correct.
5. •Escalate if stuck — if the above steps don't lead to a fix, stop and present a structured report to the user containing:
   • •Test name
   • •Full error message and stack trace
   • •Inputs passed to the failing function
   • •Observed value vs. expected value
   • •Any additional observations
6. •Link to an issue when appropriate — if the failure relates to work tracked in a GitHub issue (check the branch name for a clue), post the report as a comment on that issue. Otherwise, display it directly.