timander/copilot-instructions-starter-kit/diagnose

Diagnose

Help me debug systematically. Don't suggest fixes yet — help me understand what's happening.

Step 1: Describe the Symptom

What exactly is broken? Ask:

• What error message or unexpected behavior do you see?
• What did you expect to happen instead?
• When did this start? What changed recently?

Step 2: Reproduce

Can we trigger it reliably?

• What are the exact steps to reproduce?
• Does it happen every time or intermittently?
• What's the minimal reproduction case?

Step 3: Gather Evidence

What do we know vs. what are we assuming?

• Review the error message/stack trace together
• Check logs, network requests, state at the failure point
• Identify what we know for certain vs. what we're guessing

Step 4: Hypotheses

List 2-3 possible causes ranked by likelihood:

1. Most likely: ...
2. Possible: ...
3. Less likely but worth ruling out: ...

Step 5: Isolate

What's the smallest experiment to confirm or rule out each hypothesis?

Only after we understand the cause should we discuss solutions.

For sustained investigation (read-leaning, no edits), use the diagnose agent instead.