Debug Deep
Tree-of-thoughts reasoning for elusive bugs.
When to Use
- •Intermittent or hard-to-reproduce bugs
- •Standard debugging failed
- •Race conditions suspected
- •Multiple potential causes
Artifacts
- •
DEBUG-PLAN-[BUG-ID].md - •
task.mdupdated viatask_boundary
Approach
Phase 1: False Premise Challenge
List every assumption in the bug report. Test each as True/False before proceeding:
- •Assumption 1: [e.g., "Bug occurs on every load"]
- •Assumption 2: [e.g., "Data is correctly formatted"]
Phase 2: Tree of Thoughts (Multi-Hypothesis)
Generate 4-6 hypotheses with dual investigation paths:
| # | Hypothesis | Confidence | Path A | Path B | Selected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ... | High | Check X with grep | Instrument Y | A (faster) |
| 2 | ... | Medium | Trace via debugger | Reproduce isolated | B (reliable) |
Phase 3: Investigation & Fix Plan
- •Primary Fix Plan: Main approach
- •Reflexion (Security Engineer): List 3 ways fix might fail, introduce vulnerabilities, or degrade performance
- •Fallback Plan: If primary fails
Phase 4: Systemic Analysis
- •Does this bug represent a class of problems?
- •Should a new rule be added to prevent recurrence?
Constraints
- •Non-Linear Exploration: Don't converge prematurely
- •Must have fallback plan
- •If fix fails, iterate (max 3 attempts)