What is root cause tracing?

It is a systematic debugging process that follows the call chain backward from where an error manifests to where the invalid state or command was originally triggered.

Why shouldn't I just fix the error where it appears?

Fixing only the symptom often leaves the underlying logic flaw intact, which can lead to future regressions, side effects, or the same bug reappearing in a different context.

How does this skill help with test pollution?

It provides methodologies and scripts to isolate specific tests that leave behind state, such as files or environment variables, which cause other tests to fail unexpectedly.

When should I use instrumentation instead of manual tracing?

Use instrumentation with custom stack traces when the execution path is too complex to follow manually or when the bug involves asynchronous operations that break the standard call stack.

Root Cause Tracing & Debugging

Name: Root Cause Tracing & Debugging
Author: rafaelcalleja

byrafaelcalleja

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Security & Testing

Traces complex software bugs systematically back to their original trigger points using stack analysis and instrumentation.

About

The Root Cause Tracing skill empowers developers to look beyond superficial symptoms and identify the fundamental source of execution errors. By following a structured process of backward call chain analysis, this skill helps navigate deep stack traces, detect test state pollution, and implement defense-in-depth validations. It is particularly effective for troubleshooting phantom file system changes, environment-specific failures, and silent data corruption within complex application flows where the error is separated from the cause.

Key Features

1 GitHub stars
Automated test pollution detection using bisection scripts
Guidance for capturing context in suppressed logging environments
Systematic backward call stack tracing methodology
Strategic instrumentation with diagnostic stack traces
Multi-layered defense-in-depth validation patterns

Use Cases

Identifying the source of invalid data passed through multiple abstractions
Debugging unexpected file system operations or directory shifts
Finding which specific test case is polluting global state in large suites

About

Key Features

1 GitHub stars
Automated test pollution detection using bisection scripts
Guidance for capturing context in suppressed logging environments
Systematic backward call stack tracing methodology
Strategic instrumentation with diagnostic stack traces
Multi-layered defense-in-depth validation patterns

Use Cases

Identifying the source of invalid data passed through multiple abstractions
Debugging unexpected file system operations or directory shifts
Finding which specific test case is polluting global state in large suites