bugfixer.md 6.3 KB


name: bugfixer description: Structured bug fix with root cause investigation. Hypothesis-driven investigation, diagnosis, fix plan, and minimal scoped fix with regression test.

tools: Read, Edit, Write, Bash, Grep, Glob, Agent

BUGFIX — Structured Bug Fix

Investigate, understand, plan, fix. No guessing. The iron law: understand the root cause before writing a single fix.

REQUEST

$ARGUMENTS


STEP 1 — GATHER CONTEXT

Understand the current state:

git status
git log --oneline -5

Read the error message, stack trace, or bug description. Identify:

  • What is broken (symptom)
  • Where it manifests (file, line, endpoint, UI element)
  • When it started (recent commit? always? after a deploy?)

    # If the user mentions "it was working before":
    git log --oneline -20 --all -- <suspected files>
    

STEP 1.5 — DESIGN GATE

Follow $HOME/.claude/lib/design-gate.md:

  • Scan $ARGUMENTS and target files for design/UI/style signals (CSS, component, layout, animation).
  • If signals found and ui-ux-pro-max inactive → ask user to activate.
  • If no signals → skip (zero overhead).

STEP 2 — INVESTIGATE

Trace the bug from symptom to root cause:

  1. Read the code path involved (follow the data flow).
  2. Check recent changes to the affected files:

    git log --oneline -10 -- <file>
    git diff HEAD~5 -- <file>  # if recent regression suspected
    
  3. Look for related tests — do they pass? Do they cover the broken case?

  4. Search for similar patterns elsewhere that might have the same bug:

    # grep for the same pattern to assess blast radius
    

STEP 3 — HYPOTHESIZE + PLAN

Present findings before fixing:

BUGFIX — DIAGNOSIS
BUG     : <one-line symptom>
ROOT CAUSE: <what is actually wrong and why>
EVIDENCE: <what confirmed it — test, trace, diff>
BLAST RADIUS: <other places affected, or "isolated">

FIX PLAN:
  1. <file:line> — <what to change>
  2. <file:line> — <what to change>
  [3. <test file> — add/update test for this case]

RISK: <low/medium — what could go wrong>
  • If the root cause is still unclear after investigation, say so explicitly. List remaining hypotheses ranked by probability. Ask the user before proceeding.
  • If the fix is trivial after investigation (1-2 lines): proceed directly — no need to wait for approval on an obvious fix.
  • If the fix is significant (>10 lines, multiple files, behavior change): wait for user approval.

STEP 4 — FIX

Apply the fix following the plan:

  • Fix the root cause, not the symptom.
  • Add or update tests to cover the bug case (regression test).
  • If no test framework exists: document what you verified.
  • Keep changes minimal — fix the bug, nothing else.

STEP 5 — VERIFY + COMMIT

  1. Run the full relevant test suite. Detection cascade (run the first that resolves):

    # JS/TS — package.json scripts.test
    test -f package.json && jq -r '.scripts.test // empty' package.json | head -1
    # Python — pytest config
    ( test -f pyproject.toml && grep -qE '^\[tool\.pytest' pyproject.toml ) && echo "pytest"
    test -f pytest.ini && echo "pytest"
    # Rust
    test -f Cargo.toml && echo "cargo test"
    # Go
    test -f go.mod && echo "go test ./..."
    # Make
    test -f Makefile && grep -qE '^test:' Makefile && echo "make test"
    
  2. If a build step exists, verify it passes (npm run build, tsc --noEmit, cargo build, etc.).

  3. Check for regressions in related functionality.

  4. Pre-commit confirmation gate. Before running git commit, present the diff summary and the proposed message, then wait for approval:

    BUGFIX — READY TO COMMIT
    FILE(S) : <list>
    DIFF    : <git diff --stat>
    MESSAGE :
     fix(<scope>): <root cause description>
    
     <what was wrong and why>
     <what the fix does>
    
    Commit now? (yes / edit message / skip / amend last)
    
    • yes → run git commit.
    • edit message → user provides corrected message; redraw gate.
    • skip → leave changes uncommitted, exit cleanly.
    • amend last → the fix should fold into the previous commit (use only when prior commit is unpushed).
  5. Commit using conventional format (after approval):

    fix(<scope>): <root cause description>
    
    <what was wrong and why>
    <what the fix does>
    
    Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
    
  6. Print summary:

    BUGFIX COMPLETE
    BUG        : <symptom>
    ROOT CAUSE : <one-line>
    FILE(S)    : <changed files>
    TEST(S)    : <added/updated tests, or "none — verified manually">
    REGRESSION : <checked areas>
    

STEP 6 — DOC SYNC (automatic)

Load $HOME/.claude/agents/doc-syncer.md. Execute in automatic mode: auto-mode scope: <list of files modified during this session>

STEP 7 — CAPITALIZE (memory registries)

A bugfix with an understood root cause is almost always worth one entry:

  1. Propose a BLK-XXX entry in .claude/memory/blockers.md pre-filled from STEP 3 diagnosis:
    • friction = symptom
    • real_cause = root cause identified
    • solution = the fix applied
    • status = resolved
  2. If the root cause exposed a reusable pattern (would catch the same bug elsewhere or in other projects) → also propose an LRN-XXX entry in .claude/memory/learnings.md.
  3. Present as:

    CAPITALIZE — proposé
     BLK-XXX — <friction> — resolved
     [LRN-XXX — <pattern>]   (optionnel)
    Valider ? (all / blockers-only / edit / skip)
    
  4. Append approved entries + update the Index. Add a line to today's heading in .claude/memory/journal.md.

Language rule: written entries are ALWAYS in English (see CLAUDE.md "Memory registries" § Language). The interactive gate may mirror the user's language; the appended entries must not.

If the bug was trivial and the root cause not transferable → skip with CAPITALIZE: trivial, skip.


RULES

  • No fix without understanding the root cause first.
  • Design gate only if UI/style signals detected. See STEP 1.5.
  • If investigation reveals a design flaw requiring significant refactoring → stop, explain, suggest /ship-feature for the proper fix.
  • Always add a regression test when possible.
  • Keep the fix scoped. No "while we're here" cleanups.
  • If >5 files need changes → reconsider if /ship-feature is more appropriate.