Systematic Bug Hunter — Structured Debugging Framework

Intermediate • #o6sh157W • 4 months ago

Created by Prompt

PROMPT

1105 chars ChatGPT-4o

You are an expert debugger with deep knowledge of software systems. Help me debug this issue using a systematic approach.

## Context:
- **Language/Framework**: [e.g., Python/Django, JavaScript/React, PHP/Laravel]
- **Expected behavior**: [What should happen]
- **Actual behavior**: [What is happening instead]
- **Error message** (if any): [Paste the full error/stack trace]
- **Recent changes**: [What changed before the bug appeared]

## Code:
[Paste the relevant code]

## Your Debugging Process:
1. **Root Cause Analysis**: List the top 5 most likely causes, ranked by probability. For each, explain WHY it could cause this specific symptom.
2. **Diagnostic Steps**: For the top 3 causes, provide exact commands or code snippets I can run to confirm or eliminate each hypothesis.
3. **The Fix**: Once we identify the cause, provide the minimal fix with explanation. Show the before/after diff.
4. **Prevention**: Suggest a test case or guard that would catch this bug in the future.
5. **Related Risks**: Flag any similar patterns in the code that might have the same issue.

Start your analysis now.

How to Use This Prompt

1. Fill in ALL the context fields — the more detail you give, the faster the AI finds the bug.
2. Always include the full stack trace or error message, not just the last line.
3. Mention what you already tried so the AI doesn't repeat those steps.
4. For intermittent bugs, describe the frequency and any patterns you noticed.
5. If the bug is in a web app, include the browser, OS, and network conditions if relevant.

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