madappgang/claude-code/debug-mode

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Enable, disable, and manage debug mode for agentdev sessions. Records all tool invocations, skill activations, hook triggers, and agent delegations to JSONL. Use when debugging agent behavior, optimizing workflows, or analyzing session performance.

Install

npx vskill@latest install madappgang/claude-code/debug-mode

SKILL.md

plugin: agentdev updated: 2026-01-20

AgentDev Debug Mode

Debug mode captures detailed session information for analysis, debugging, and optimization. All events are recorded to a JSONL file in claude-code-session-debug/.

Configuration

Debug mode uses per-project configuration stored in .claude/agentdev-debug.json.

Config File Format

Location: .claude/agentdev-debug.json (in project root)

json
{
"enabled": true,
"level": "standard",
"created_at": "2026-01-09T07:00:00Z"
}

Fields:

  • enabled: boolean - Whether debug mode is active
  • level: string - Debug level (minimal, standard, verbose)
  • created_at: string - ISO timestamp when config was created

Enabling Debug Mode

Use the command to create the config file:

/agentdev:debug-enable

This creates .claude/agentdev-debug.json with enabled: true.

Or manually create the file:

bash
mkdir -p .claude
cat > .claude/agentdev-debug.json << 'EOF'
{
"enabled": true,
"level": "standard",
"created_at": "2026-01-09T07:00:00Z"
}
EOF

Debug Levels

LevelCaptured Events
minimalPhase transitions, errors, session start/end
standardAll of minimal + tool invocations, agent delegations
verboseAll of standard + skill activations, hook triggers, full parameters

Default level is standard.

Changing Debug Level

Using jq:

bash
jq '.level = "verbose"' .claude/agentdev-debug.json > tmp.json && mv tmp.json .claude/agentdev-debug.json

Output Location

Debug sessions are saved to:

claude-code-session-debug/agentdev-{slug}-{timestamp}-{id}.jsonl

Example:

claude-code-session-debug/agentdev-graphql-reviewer-20260109-063623-ba71.jsonl

JSONL Format

Each line in the JSONL file is a complete JSON event object. This append-only format is:

  • Crash-resilient (no data loss on unexpected termination)
  • Easy to process with jq
  • Streamable during the session
Event Schema (v1.0.0)
json
{
"event_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440001",
"correlation_id": null,
"timestamp": "2026-01-09T06:40:00Z",
"type": "tool_invocation",
"data": { ... }
}

Fields:

  • event_id: Unique UUID for this event
  • correlation_id: Links related events (e.g., tool_invocation -> tool_result)
  • timestamp: ISO 8601 timestamp
  • type: Event type (see below)
  • data: Type-specific payload
Event Types
TypeDescription
session_startSession initialization with metadata
session_endSession completion
tool_invocationTool called with parameters
tool_resultTool execution result
skill_activationSkill loaded by agent
hook_triggerPreToolUse/PostToolUse hook fired
agent_delegationTask delegated to sub-agent
agent_responseSub-agent returned result
phase_transitionWorkflow phase changed
user_interactionUser approval/input requested
proxy_mode_requestExternal model request via Claudish
proxy_mode_responseExternal model response
errorError occurred

What Gets Captured

Session Metadata
  • Session ID and path
  • User request
  • Environment (Claudish availability, plugin version)
  • Start/end timestamps
Tool Invocations
  • Tool name
  • Parameters (sanitized - credentials redacted)
  • Execution context (phase, agent)
  • Duration and result size
Agent Delegations
  • Target agent name
  • Prompt preview (first 200 chars)
  • Proxy mode model if used
  • Session path
Proxy Mode
  • Model ID
  • Request/response duration
  • Success/failure status
Phase Transitions
  • From/to phase numbers and names
  • Transition reason (completed, skipped, failed)
  • Quality gate results
Errors
  • Error type (tool_error, hook_error, agent_error, etc.)
  • Message and stack trace
  • Context (phase, agent, tool)
  • Recoverability

Sensitive Data Protection

Debug mode automatically sanitizes sensitive data:

Redacted Patterns:

  • API keys (sk-*, ghp_*, AKIA*, etc.)
  • Tokens (bearer, access, auth)
  • Passwords and secrets
  • AWS credentials
  • Slack tokens (xox*)
  • Google API keys (AIza*)

Analyzing Debug Output

Prerequisites

Install jq for JSON processing:

bash
# macOS
brew install jq
# Linux
apt-get install jq
Quick Statistics
bash
# Count events by type
cat session.jsonl | jq -s 'group_by(.type) | map({type: .[0].type, count: length})'
Tool Usage Analysis
bash
# Tool invocation counts
cat session.jsonl | jq -s '
[.[] | select(.type == "tool_invocation") | .data.tool_name]
| group_by(.)
| map({tool: .[0], count: length})
| sort_by(-.count)'
Failed Operations
bash
# Find all errors and failed tool results
cat session.jsonl | jq 'select(.type == "error" or (.type == "tool_result" and .data.success == false))'
Timeline View
bash
# Chronological event summary
cat session.jsonl | jq '"\(.timestamp) [\(.type)] \(.data | keys | join(", "))"'
Event Correlation
bash
# Find tool invocation and its result
INVOCATION_ID="550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440001"
cat session.jsonl | jq "select(.event_id == \"$INVOCATION_ID\" or .correlation_id == \"$INVOCATION_ID\")"
Phase Duration Analysis
bash
# Calculate time between phase transitions
cat session.jsonl | jq -s '
[.[] | select(.type == "phase_transition")]
| sort_by(.timestamp)
| .[]
| {phase: .data.to_name, timestamp: .timestamp}'
Agent Delegation Timing
bash
# Find slowest agent delegations
cat session.jsonl | jq -s '
[.[] | select(.type == "agent_response")]
| sort_by(-.data.duration_ms)
| .[:5]
| .[]
| {agent: .data.agent, duration_sec: (.data.duration_ms / 1000)}'
Proxy Mode Performance
bash
# External model response times
cat session.jsonl | jq -s '
[.[] | select(.type == "proxy_mode_response")]
| .[]
| {model: .data.model_id, success: .data.success, duration_sec: (.data.duration_ms / 1000)}'

Disabling Debug Mode

Use the command:

/agentdev:debug-disable

Or manually update:

bash
jq '.enabled = false' .claude/agentdev-debug.json > tmp.json && mv tmp.json .claude/agentdev-debug.json

Or delete the config file:

bash
rm -f .claude/agentdev-debug.json

Cleaning Up Debug Files

Remove All Debug Files
bash
rm -rf claude-code-session-debug/
Remove Files Older Than 7 Days
bash
find claude-code-session-debug/ -name "*.jsonl" -mtime +7 -delete
Remove Files Larger Than 10MB
bash
find claude-code-session-debug/ -name "*.jsonl" -size +10M -delete

File Permissions

Debug files are created with restrictive permissions:

  • Directory: 0o700 (owner only)
  • Files: 0o600 (owner read/write only)

This prevents other users from reading potentially sensitive session data.

Example Session Output

jsonl
{"event_id":"init-1736408183","timestamp":"2026-01-09T06:36:23Z","type":"session_start","data":{"schema_version":"1.0.0","session_id":"agentdev-graphql-reviewer-20260109-063623-ba71","user_request":"Create an agent that reviews GraphQL schemas","session_path":"ai-docs/sessions/agentdev-graphql-reviewer-20260109-063623-ba71","environment":{"claudish_available":true,"plugin_version":"1.4.0","jq_available":true}}}
{"event_id":"550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440001","timestamp":"2026-01-09T06:36:25Z","type":"tool_invocation","data":{"tool_name":"TodoWrite","parameters":{"todos":"[REDACTED]"},"context":{"phase":0,"agent":null}}}
{"event_id":"550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440002","correlation_id":"550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440001","timestamp":"2026-01-09T06:36:25Z","type":"tool_result","data":{"tool_name":"TodoWrite","success":true,"result_size_bytes":156,"duration_ms":12}}
{"event_id":"550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440003","timestamp":"2026-01-09T06:36:26Z","type":"phase_transition","data":{"from_phase":null,"to_phase":0,"from_name":null,"to_name":"Init","transition_reason":"completed","quality_gate_result":true}}
{"event_id":"550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440004","timestamp":"2026-01-09T06:36:30Z","type":"agent_delegation","data":{"target_agent":"agentdev:architect","prompt_preview":"SESSION_PATH: ai-docs/sessions/agentdev-graphql-reviewer...","prompt_length":1456,"proxy_mode":null,"session_path":"ai-docs/sessions/agentdev-graphql-reviewer-20260109-063623-ba71"}}
{"event_id":"end-1736408565","timestamp":"2026-01-09T06:42:45Z","type":"session_end","data":{"success":true}}

Troubleshooting

Debug File Not Created
  1. Check if debug mode is enabled:

``bash /agentdev:debug-status ``

  1. Verify config file:

``bash cat .claude/agentdev-debug.json ``

  1. Verify the directory is writable:

``bash ls -la claude-code-session-debug/ ``

jq Commands Not Working
  1. Install jq: brew install jq or apt-get install jq
  2. Verify JSONL format (each line should be valid JSON):

``bash head -1 session.jsonl | jq . ``

Large Debug Files

Debug files can grow large in verbose mode. Use minimal level for lighter capture:

Update config:

bash
jq '.level = "minimal"' .claude/agentdev-debug.json > tmp.json && mv tmp.json .claude/agentdev-debug.json

Or clean up old files regularly:

bash
find claude-code-session-debug/ -name "*.jsonl" -mtime +3 -delete

Integration with Other Tools

Viewing in VS Code

The JSONL format works with JSON syntax highlighting. For better viewing:

  1. Install "JSON Lines" VS Code extension
  2. Use "Format Document" on each line individually
Importing to Analytics
bash
# Convert to CSV for spreadsheet import
cat session.jsonl | jq -rs '
(.[0] | keys_unsorted) as $keys
| ($keys | @csv),
(.[] | [.[$keys[]]] | @csv)' > session.csv
Streaming to External Service
bash
# Tail and send to logging service
tail -f session.jsonl | while read line; do
curl -X POST -d "$line" https://logging.example.com/ingest
done

Commands Reference

CommandDescription
/agentdev:debug-enableEnable debug mode (creates config file)
/agentdev:debug-disableDisable debug mode (updates config file)
/agentdev:debug-statusCheck current debug mode status

Security

  • Security scanPassed, 100 of 100Pattern checks on the skill's files.
  • Model reviewPassed

Quality evaluation

  • Task evaluationNot runNo evaluation yet. Run one in Skill Studio.

Source

Popularity

Repository stars
279
Repository forks
32
7-day trend score
28

Stars and forks are for the whole GitHub repository, not this skill alone. Refreshed 14 May 2026, 5 months ago.

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