
investigate-first
PopularDiagnose ambiguous failures before editing. Use for unknown causes, intermittent behavior, performance regressions, or investigations needing evidence-ranked hypotheses.
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Updated 8/13/2026
SKILL.md
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investigate-first
description
Diagnose ambiguous failures before editing. Use for unknown causes, intermittent behavior, performance regressions, or investigations needing evidence-ranked hypotheses.
Investigate first
Gather evidence before changing product code.
- Separate observed symptom from inferred cause.
- Trace inputs, state transitions, ownership boundaries, and failure output.
- Rank hypotheses by evidence and cheap falsification value.
- Do not edit until one credible mechanism explains evidence.
- Stop exploration when evidence is sufficient to name cause or exact blocker.
Report cause and proof. Make no fix unless task authorizes implementation.



