debugging-strategies skill (wshobson) for Claude Code: find bugs step by step

debugging-strategies makes Claude debug in steps: reproduce, gather facts, form a hypothesis, test it.

Installs: 13.7K; on skills.sh
Stars: 42.1K; on GitHub
Files: 1; besides SKILL.md
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

debugging-strategies is a skill from wshobson/agents. It loads when you investigate bugs, performance problems or unexpected behavior. Claude then follows four phases (reproduce, gather information, form a hypothesis, test and verify) and uses checklists for flaky bugs, slow code and production incidents.

SKILL.md also points to one bundled guide, references/tools-and-techniques.md. Claude reads it before it picks debugging tools or runs a bisect, differential, trace or memory analysis. The guide covers JavaScript and TypeScript, Python and Go tools. The skill bundles no scripts.

Good for

Developers chasing a bug they cannot reproduce
Teams debugging production issues who want a safe-investigation checklist
Anyone learning a systematic debugging routine

Install debugging-strategies

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the debugging-strategies skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

npx skills add wshobson/agents --skill debugging-strategies

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Requires Node.js.

Built from the package data we hold. Not yet tested by us. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Master systematic debugging techniques, profiling tools, and root cause analysis to efficiently track down bugs across any codebase or technology stack. Use when investigating bugs, performance issues, or unexpected behavior.

Sections in SKILL.md

When to Use This Skill
Core Principles
1. The Scientific Method
2. Debugging Mindset
3. Rubber Duck Debugging
Systematic Debugging Process
Phase 1: Reproduce
Reproduction Checklist
Phase 2: Gather Information
Information Collection
Phase 3: Form Hypothesis
Hypothesis Formation
Phase 4: Test & Verify
Testing Strategies
Debugging Patterns by Issue Type
Pattern 1: Intermittent Bugs

Key facts

Author: wshobson (GitHub account that owns the repo)
Source repo: wshobson/agents
Installs on skills.sh: 13,677 as of 2026-11-02
GitHub stars: 42,081 (whole repo) as of 2026-11-02
License: MIT
Last repo commit: 2026-10-30
Files: 2 files including SKILL.md (plus references/tools-and-techniques.md)
skills.sh audits: Gen Agent Trust Hub pass, Socket pass, Snyk pass

What it includes

Observe, hypothesize, experiment, analyze, repeat until you find the root cause.
Scientific method
Reproduction checklist: always or sometimes, minimal case, written steps.
Phase 1: Reproduce
Collect error messages, logs, environment details and recent changes.
Phase 2: Gather information
Turn the evidence into specific, testable guesses.
Phase 3: Form a hypothesis
Binary search, added logging, isolating components, and comparing working against broken.
Phase 4: Test and verify
Logging, race conditions, timing dependencies and stress tests.
Pattern: intermittent bugs
Profile first; check N+1 queries, re-renders, big data and synchronous I/O.
Pattern: performance issues
Gather evidence, reproduce locally, investigate without changing production.
Pattern: production bugs
Guide to debuggers and profilers for JS/TS, Python and Go, plus git bisect.
Includes example commands such as go install for the Delve debugger and git bisect. Claude only runs them if you ask or approve.
Tools and techniques guide

From the official docs

Permissions

Low risk

This skill is Markdown instructions only, but its guide includes example shell commands. Approve any command Claude proposes before it runs.

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

The tools guide includes example commands
references/tools-and-techniques.md shows go install for Delve, git bisect and profiler snippets. Claude can run them in Claude Code, so review each command first. github.com
The plugin route adds more than this skill
The developer-essentials plugin folder holds 11 skills, 1 agent file(s) and 0 command file(s), plus plugin.json files. The repo tree shows no hooks or MCP config in it. The skills CLI route installs only this skill. github.com

Questions

How do I install the debugging-strategies skill?

Use the install box above. The skills CLI command installs only this skill. The plugin route installs the developer-essentials plugin, which also holds 10 other skills and an agent file.

What does debugging-strategies make Claude do?

It makes Claude work through a bug in four phases: reproduce it, gather information, form a hypothesis, then test and verify. It also supplies checklists for intermittent bugs, performance issues and production incidents.

Does it need setup or an API key?

The skill folder holds two Markdown files and bundles no scripts. Neither file mentions an API key. Its tools guide mentions debuggers and profilers you may need to install yourself, for example Delve for Go.

Does it work in the Claude app or Codex?

The upload route in the Claude tab and the Codex plugin route in the Codex tab are both listed in the install box. The README of the repo says it supports Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor, OpenCode, Antigravity CLI, GitHub Copilot and Pi.

Is debugging-strategies safe to install?

The skill is two Markdown files, so installing it alone adds instructions only. Its guide shows example commands such as go install and git bisect, and Claude can run commands you approve in Claude Code. The plugin route adds more files, listed in the safety section.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: wshobson/agents
Folder: plugins/developer-essentials/skills/debugging-strategies

wshobson/agents skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 6

wshobson/agents README · github.com
Claude Code skills · code.claude.com
Using skills in Claude · support.claude.com
debugging-strategies SKILL.md · github.com
debugging-strategies on skills.sh · skills.sh
debugging-strategies tools guide · github.com