Debugging Strategies
Transform debugging from frustrating guesswork into systematic problem-solving with proven strategies, powerful tools, and methodical approaches.
When to Use This Skill
- •Tracking down elusive bugs
- •Investigating performance issues
- •Understanding unfamiliar codebases
- •Debugging production issues
- •Analyzing crash dumps and stack traces
- •Profiling application performance
- •Investigating memory leaks
- •Debugging distributed systems
Core Principles
1. The Scientific Method
1. Observe: What's the actual behavior? 2. Hypothesize: What could be causing it? 3. Experiment: Test your hypothesis 4. Analyze: Did it prove/disprove your theory? 5. Repeat: Until you find the root cause
2. Debugging Mindset
Don't Assume:
- •"It can't be X" - Yes it can
- •"I didn't change Y" - Check anyway
- •"It works on my machine" - Find out why
Do:
- •Reproduce consistently
- •Isolate the problem
- •Keep detailed notes
- •Question everything
- •Take breaks when stuck
3. Rubber Duck Debugging
Explain your code and problem out loud (to a rubber duck, colleague, or yourself). Often reveals the issue.
Systematic Debugging Process
Phase 1: Reproduce
markdown
## Reproduction Checklist 1. **Can you reproduce it?** - Always? Sometimes? Randomly? - Specific conditions needed? - Can others reproduce it? 2. **Create minimal reproduction** - Simplify to smallest example - Remove unrelated code - Isolate the problem 3. **Document steps** - Write down exact steps - Note environment details - Capture error messages
Phase 2: Gather Information
markdown
## Information Collection 1. **Error Messages** - Full stack trace - Error codes - Console/log output 2. **Environment** - OS version - Language/runtime version - Dependencies versions - Environment variables 3. **Recent Changes** - Git history - Deployment timeline - Configuration changes 4. **Scope** - Affects all users or specific ones? - All browsers or specific ones? - Production only or also dev?
Phase 3: Form Hypothesis
markdown
## Hypothesis Formation Based on gathered info, ask: 1. **What changed?** - Recent code changes - Dependency updates - Infrastructure changes 2. **What's different?** - Working vs broken environment - Working vs broken user - Before vs after 3. **Where could this fail?** - Input validation - Business logic - Data layer - External services
Phase 4: Test & Verify
markdown
## Testing Strategies 1. **Binary Search** - Comment out half the code - Narrow down problematic section - Repeat until found 2. **Add Logging** - Strategic console.log/print - Track variable values - Trace execution flow 3. **Isolate Components** - Test each piece separately - Mock dependencies - Remove complexity 4. **Compare Working vs Broken** - Diff configurations - Diff environments - Diff data
Debugging Tools
JavaScript/TypeScript Debugging
typescript
// Chrome DevTools Debugger
function processOrder(order: Order) {
debugger; // Execution pauses here
const total = calculateTotal(order);
console.log("Total:", total);
// Conditional breakpoint
if (order.items.length > 10) {
debugger; // Only breaks if condition true
}
return total;
}
// Console debugging techniques
console.log("Value:", value); // Basic
console.table(arrayOfObjects); // Table format
console.time("operation");
/* code */ console.timeEnd("operation"); // Timing
console.trace(); // Stack trace
console.assert(value > 0, "Value must be positive"); // Assertion
// Performance profiling
performance.mark("start-operation");
// ... operation code
performance.mark("end-operation");
performance.measure("operation", "start-operation", "end-operation");
console.log(performance.getEntriesByType("measure"));
VS Code Debugger Configuration:
json
// .vscode/launch.json
{
"version": "0.2.0",
"configurations": [
{
"type": "node",
"request": "launch",
"name": "Debug Program",
"program": "${workspaceFolder}/src/index.ts",
"preLaunchTask": "tsc: build - tsconfig.json",
"outFiles": ["${workspaceFolder}/dist/**/*.js"],
"skipFiles": ["<node_internals>/**"]
},
{
"type": "node",
"request": "launch",
"name": "Debug Tests",
"program": "${workspaceFolder}/node_modules/jest/bin/jest",
"args": ["--runInBand", "--no-cache"],
"console": "integratedTerminal"
}
]
}
Python Debugging
python
# Built-in debugger (pdb)
import pdb
def calculate_total(items):
total = 0
pdb.set_trace() # Debugger starts here
for item in items:
total += item.price * item.quantity
return total
# Breakpoint (Python 3.7+)
def process_order(order):
breakpoint() # More convenient than pdb.set_trace()
# ... code
# Post-mortem debugging
try:
risky_operation()
except Exception:
import pdb
pdb.post_mortem() # Debug at exception point
# IPython debugging (ipdb)
from ipdb import set_trace
set_trace() # Better interface than pdb
# Logging for debugging
import logging
logging.basicConfig(level=logging.DEBUG)
logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
def fetch_user(user_id):
logger.debug(f'Fetching user: {user_id}')
user = db.query(User).get(user_id)
logger.debug(f'Found user: {user}')
return user
# Profile performance
import cProfile
import pstats
cProfile.run('slow_function()', 'profile_stats')
stats = pstats.Stats('profile_stats')
stats.sort_stats('cumulative')
stats.print_stats(10) # Top 10 slowest
Go Debugging
go
// Delve debugger
// Install: go install github.com/go-delve/delve/cmd/dlv@latest
// Run: dlv debug main.go
import (
"fmt"
"runtime"
"runtime/debug"
)
// Print stack trace
func debugStack() {
debug.PrintStack()
}
// Panic recovery with debugging
func processRequest() {
defer func() {
if r := recover(); r != nil {
fmt.Println("Panic:", r)
debug.PrintStack()
}
}()
// ... code that might panic
}
// Memory profiling
import _ "net/http/pprof"
// Visit http://localhost:6060/debug/pprof/
// CPU profiling
import (
"os"
"runtime/pprof"
)
f, _ := os.Create("cpu.prof")
pprof.StartCPUProfile(f)
defer pprof.StopCPUProfile()
// ... code to profile
Advanced Debugging Techniques
Technique 1: Binary Search Debugging
bash
# Git bisect for finding regression git bisect start git bisect bad # Current commit is bad git bisect good v1.0.0 # v1.0.0 was good # Git checks out middle commit # Test it, then: git bisect good # if it works git bisect bad # if it's broken # Continue until bug found git bisect reset # when done
Technique 2: Differential Debugging
Compare working vs broken:
markdown
## What's Different? | Aspect | Working | Broken | | ------------ | ----------- | -------------- | | Environment | Development | Production | | Node version | 18.16.0 | 18.15.0 | | Data | Empty DB | 1M records | | User | Admin | Regular user | | Browser | Chrome | Safari | | Time | During day | After midnight | Hypothesis: Time-based issue? Check timezone handling.
Technique 3: Trace Debugging
typescript
// Function call tracing
function trace(
target: any,
propertyKey: string,
descriptor: PropertyDescriptor,
) {
const originalMethod = descriptor.value;
descriptor.value = function (...args: any[]) {
console.log(`Calling ${propertyKey} with args:`, args);
const result = originalMethod.apply(this, args);
console.log(`${propertyKey} returned:`, result);
return result;
};
return descriptor;
}
class OrderService {
@trace
calculateTotal(items: Item[]): number {
return items.reduce((sum, item) => sum + item.price, 0);
}
}
Technique 4: Memory Leak Detection
typescript
// Chrome DevTools Memory Profiler
// 1. Take heap snapshot
// 2. Perform action
// 3. Take another snapshot
// 4. Compare snapshots
// Node.js memory debugging
if (process.memoryUsage().heapUsed > 500 * 1024 * 1024) {
console.warn("High memory usage:", process.memoryUsage());
// Generate heap dump
require("v8").writeHeapSnapshot();
}
// Find memory leaks in tests
let beforeMemory: number;
beforeEach(() => {
beforeMemory = process.memoryUsage().heapUsed;
});
afterEach(() => {
const afterMemory = process.memoryUsage().heapUsed;
const diff = afterMemory - beforeMemory;
if (diff > 10 * 1024 * 1024) {
// 10MB threshold
console.warn(`Possible memory leak: ${diff / 1024 / 1024}MB`);
}
});
Debugging Patterns by Issue Type
Pattern 1: Intermittent Bugs
markdown
## Strategies for Flaky Bugs 1. **Add extensive logging** - Log timing information - Log all state transitions - Log external interactions 2. **Look for race conditions** - Concurrent access to shared state - Async operations completing out of order - Missing synchronization 3. **Check timing dependencies** - setTimeout/setInterval - Promise resolution order - Animation frame timing 4. **Stress test** - Run many times - Vary timing - Simulate load
Pattern 2: Performance Issues
markdown
## Performance Debugging 1. **Profile first** - Don't optimize blindly - Measure before and after - Find bottlenecks 2. **Common culprits** - N+1 queries - Unnecessary re-renders - Large data processing - Synchronous I/O 3. **Tools** - Browser DevTools Performance tab - Lighthouse - Python: cProfile, line_profiler - Node: clinic.js, 0x
Pattern 3: Production Bugs
markdown
## Production Debugging 1. **Gather evidence** - Error tracking (Sentry, Bugsnag) - Application logs - User reports - Metrics/monitoring 2. **Reproduce locally** - Use production data (anonymized) - Match environment - Follow exact steps 3. **Safe investigation** - Don't change production - Use feature flags - Add monitoring/logging - Test fixes in staging
Best Practices
- •Reproduce First: Can't fix what you can't reproduce
- •Isolate the Problem: Remove complexity until minimal case
- •Read Error Messages: They're usually helpful
- •Check Recent Changes: Most bugs are recent
- •Use Version Control: Git bisect, blame, history
- •Take Breaks: Fresh eyes see better
- •Document Findings: Help future you
- •Fix Root Cause: Not just symptoms
Common Debugging Mistakes
- •Making Multiple Changes: Change one thing at a time
- •Not Reading Error Messages: Read the full stack trace
- •Assuming It's Complex: Often it's simple
- •Debug Logging in Prod: Remove before shipping
- •Not Using Debugger: console.log isn't always best
- •Giving Up Too Soon: Persistence pays off
- •Not Testing the Fix: Verify it actually works
Quick Debugging Checklist
markdown
## When Stuck, Check: - [ ] Spelling errors (typos in variable names) - [ ] Case sensitivity (fileName vs filename) - [ ] Null/undefined values - [ ] Array index off-by-one - [ ] Async timing (race conditions) - [ ] Scope issues (closure, hoisting) - [ ] Type mismatches - [ ] Missing dependencies - [ ] Environment variables - [ ] File paths (absolute vs relative) - [ ] Cache issues (clear cache) - [ ] Stale data (refresh database)
Resources
- •references/debugging-tools-guide.md: Comprehensive tool documentation
- •references/performance-profiling.md: Performance debugging guide
- •references/production-debugging.md: Debugging live systems
- •assets/debugging-checklist.md: Quick reference checklist
- •assets/common-bugs.md: Common bug patterns
- •scripts/debug-helper.ts: Debugging utility functions